You don’t get to be the second most popular dating app in the US by having a shitty platform
Grindr XTRA is a step below Unlimited, but still offers a bunch of perks the basic (free) subscription won’t getcha (like read receipts, no ads, push notifications, a discreet app icon, more Grindr Tribes, additional filters, online-only view, and much more!).
Bumble
Clearly, Bumble knows what it’s doing and we’re going to break it down for you. As soon as the app appears on your phone screen, It looks like a little square of goodness. Its signature bright yellow theme almost tricks you into being excited to open it up. Once in the app, you go through the standard procedures of selecting a photo and creating your profile. We give a big thumbs up for including over 50 gender identity options to select from, as well as offering the option to browse in three different modes.
Date mode, BFF mode, and Bizz mode are all the ways you can swipe on the app and, as you might have guessed, all lead to different things! Date mode will take you through the standard dating app practices, BFF mode is available for those who simply want to make friends in their area, and Bizz mode allows you to browse through career-driven profiles as the ultimate networking site. Bumble is less like a dating app and more like an awesome social media platform, only here, everyone’s true intentions are known.
Tinder
It almost feels like a waste of time to review Tinder at this point because let’s be honest, its the mother of our modern-day dating apps. But, since it is a list of dating apps and sites, I kind of have to include the original mainstream sex dating app.
For those of you who have been in a long term relationship since 2012, or have been living under a rock, Tinder is the free dating app that invented swiping right. Again, for the 1% of you who don’t know what “swiping right” means, it’s basically Tinder’s way of letting the user match with another user. The whole interface is based on the profile picture, a small bio, and common interests. Swipers see a person’s photo, bio, and interests. If they like it, they swipe right with their finger to try to match with the person, and if they don’t like it, they swipe left. You can only message someone when both of you have swiped right. The app is super straight forward, very clean, and easy to use. It isn’t the most advanced in terms of filtering, but with 1.6 billion swipes per day and 57 million users around the world, I think it’s safe to say that it doesn’t really matter. If you’re looking for a mainstream “anything goes” dating app that many swear by, look no further and give the OG a try.
Tinder is free to use but offers two different premium memberships, Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold. Both extensions allow you unlimited daily likes, the ability to “rewind” your last swipe and do it over again, five Super Likes per day, one free Boost per month, and a “passport” that lets you swipe around the world rather than being limited by your location. Tinder Gold takes it one step further and allows you to see who already liked you, making it much easier to decipher whether or not you’ve got a shot. However, it’s worth noting that if you’re over the age of 30, Tinder is going to upcharge your subscription costs.
Happn
Happn is a breath of fresh air when it comes to fling dating sites. Forget the algorithm and personal aesthetics, this free app matches you with people who have physically crossed your path throughout the day! Using its geo-location system, this app will connect you with other app uses who have crossed your path within a 250-meter radius. The matches appear on your screen in the form of a profile showing the user’s name and occupation. Once a match appears, you can then scroll through photos, and read a short bio of the person detailing things like what they’re looking for in a relationship, their height, how much they exercise, what their food preference is, and even what their party habits are. These “matches” will be available to view for up to one week after crossing paths, however, specific matches will be updated if you cross paths again within the week.