Online Dating: App Reviews

So you have your list of do’s and don’t’s for online dating but you checked your App Store and realized it’s like 50 million of them and you don’t know where to start. First off, congrats to you for taking the initiative to try for yourself. Secondly, I’m here to try and help you with that as your self-proclaimed “street coach.” It’s not like I’m a dating app guru or anything… and some of these thoughts and views of apps are not all of my own… but I’ve been around on a few of them and feel like I can help you make an informed decision. I only use the free features on these apps because I don’t care for the extra bells and whistles just to play in dating traffic. They all let you build a profile on which you can use both photo and thought prompts to give people enough insight to know if they want to match. You can select your age range preference and sexual orientation on all of these apps. They either have a swipe feature (left = no and right = yes) or some sort of like/dislike feature. If you both like or swipe right on each other then you’ll be notified of the match and, depending on the app, be able to make the first move or wait until your match says something. You can see who liked your photos on most with the paid subscriptions that vary in cost. Most or all apps also give a super like feature where you can let a person know you’re REALLY into them, but amounts you can send are limited on the free versions. I’m fine with the gamble tho so I keep it free.

1. Tinder – okay I’ll admit I had a profile on there before. I was working in Charleston for a few months at the time and was just seeing if I could meet someone new while down there. I think I met three people on there and two of them ended up becoming homies that I’m cool with until this day. We hit it off on a friendship level and decided that was it for us. The other guy I can’t remember what happened. It’s def the app for quick meetups tho… mind you this was pre rona so make sure you’re safe – it may have changed but I haven’t touched it since, and I also don’t remember any special features about it. Find anybody on there tho.

2. Bumble – the app where the woman talks first. I’ve questioned this one though because if you’re gay or lesbian, how does it determine who can reach out first? Or can both parties just make the first move? Somebody let me know. Anyway I’ve had like a 45% success rate on that one. I measure success by how many dates turned into a more than just that first date. I was actually sure one was gonna be my husband but that’s a story for another day. Another turned out to be a good friend. This is one where you can’t view all who liked you unless you pay. It’s also weird because I’ve matched with plenty on there but they don’t all respond; they have 24 hours from the first message to respond or they’ll disappear from your matches. You can call, text, or video chat from it as well so your number can stay safe. There’s also the business networking or friend finder features that you can use for just that. I’ve heard of people having success using it to find friends in new places so that’s good to keep in mind should you find yourself in that situation.

3. Facebook Dating – yes I tried it for 24 hours and hurried my ass back off. It was very hectic. The likes came in like crazy and anybody could message you because I def got a sweet message from Inmate #273682 (that’s a random number). I honestly didn’t stay long enough to learn much about it because of how intense it was for me from the start. I don’t reply to regular messages in my inbox though so I should’ve just stayed away. I think one of my best friends found her boyfriend on there though so you might have better luck. I feel the app is a good start and confidence boost to get you into the online dating world. Simple features and you probably already have Facebook downloaded anyway. It’s just a no for me.

4. Hinge – the app I’m currently sticking with. I guess I made a profile on here before because when I made it this time it had all my demographics, either that or my FBI agent had been secretly trying to find me matches on there all along – I’m not mad at it. You can like a photo or prompt response on a persons profile or take it a step further and send a message with your like to try to increase your match chances and you’ll show up in their likes. Either they decide to match with you or hit the “x” on the left and get you out of there. No notification is sent unless y’all match. With the paid feature you can see all your likes and respond to them in any given order but remember I’m there for the freebies so I just go in the order I can see them which is most recent likes to oldest (sucks for the 1st like out of 20). There’s random matches that the app thinks you’ll be good with (it hasn’t given me a decent one yet) and there’s a “Standouts” page where you can see the best of the best. You can send roses to those you’re very interested in. It also likes to keep track of reasons you unmatch with people as well as those you’ve actually met. I’ve had plenty of success as well as plenty of mess but I’m still on it so it’s my recommendation to anyone.

5. Twitter – not marketed as a dating app but gets an honorable mention; iykyk. If you’re not on Twitter, please DO NOT go on there looking for love and then blame me for you being the laugh of the day. Clearly you didn’t know. But if you know, proceed with caution.

Keep in mind that I’m a millennial and these views may differ from those older or younger (all ages use these apps). Also, please beware of the things you might see – it’s wild in the dating streets. I have no clue about those dating websites like eHarmony or BlackPeopleMeet but I’d be willing to try for the team one day and let y’all know if need be. Either way I hope you find my reviews to be useful, but at the same time, I want you to try them for yourselves and see how they go. If you do, we can compare notes.

Happy online dating!

My wild story, good stories and the bottom line of online dating all coming soon.