Remember the days when we used to meet people on nights out? And using dating sites was an embarrassing taboo with some adding to their Profile – “if my friends ask we met at a bar.” Those who tried dating sites found them clanky, tedious to use and on top of that expensive. The free sites were littered with creepy profiles and unsolicited offers of photos that should never see the daylight.
Smartphones revolutionised this industry with Apps like Tinder obliterating old platforms. You did not have to sit in front of the computer in the evening browsing profiles and checking messages once a day. It was plain and simple swipe right or left until your thumbs get tired on a bus, train, or in the bathroom. If they liked you back that could be a case of “let’s match and never talk” or maybe a date.
Initially, the apps got themselves an even worse reputation than their dinosaur ancestors like match.com, rsvp.com and Eharmony. Tinder was seen as a hookup app that only those who are after no strings attached fun would use. This perception started shifting when apps distanced themselves from the hookup image with the clever interface and brand messaging. Another factor was that success stories of fun dates, casual romance and marriages became common.
And of course, with the pandemic, there was no other way to meet people when singles were locked up in their homes. The apps adapted to the situation and created features like virtual dates and real-life meetup comfort levels i.e. wearing a mask, keeping distance etc. This was the final nail in the negative perception coffin. Netflix shows telling stories of Tinder swindlers only added to their popularity.
There are tons of dating apps on the market. Match Group which owns Tinder among well-known old-school PlentyofFish and OkCupid has more than 45 apps in its holdings. While owned by the same company, not all these apps are created equal. Some have too many fake profiles or lack local matches. As our attention is a finite resource we want to focus on a large pool of genuine users. Also, an app needs to have an attractive and user-friendly interface. As an average person spends about 90 minutes a day this should be a positive experience rather than drudgery.
Without further delay let us introduce the three best dating apps that are leading the pack as the most downloaded apps in 2021. They tick all of the above mention boxes and should be considered by singles looking for a date.
The original gangster
The first app on the list is Tinder. The app was born in 2012 start-up incubator and grew to a staggering 1.35 billion in revenue in 8 years. This is the biggest Match group money maker that brings %58 of their revenue. In the past Tinder used to match members based on a mysterious profile score using what the CEO called the “general desirability test”. The algorithm evolved since but it is still based on a photo’s attractiveness as Tinder profiles require very little of personality attributes other than age, gender and location.
The tinder world is very different for men and women. While on average guys get an occasional match girls to get inundated with messages and super likes. This creates a high level of noise that makes it difficult to stand out. Tinder comes to the rescue with its paid plans. It seems that frugality does not get you lots of dates on this app.
There are multiple subscription tiers which without going to every detail give you three advantages over the free version. You get to make your profile highly visible for a short period of time, you can send a like that is guaranteed to show up on the person’s profile and they will also have your profile more visible than the free tier in general. What makes Tinder one of the best apps is the number of users on the platform that can lead to potential matches.
Overall we find Tinder a lot messier that the other two apps with a mix of genuine users, followers collectors, overseas subscribers looking for long-distance relationships, adult industry workers and fraudsters. People can and do go on dates but finding the right person could be effortful with that many users that are not a suitable match or are there for a different than dating reason. We also find that Tinder does not make reporting scammers easy with many convoluted options to select before you can submit your request.
The other annoyance is a lack of an option that excludes users with an enabled “Tinder passport”. You may get matches with someone only to find that they are thousands of kilometres away a day later. Since all of these apps are based on proximity matching it’s doubtful that anyone is looking for a pen pal or a distance relationship.
Because of the sheer number of users on the platform, it is almost necessary getting a paid subscription. This will help men send direct messages to a limited number of matches and show up on the top of the swipe queue. Women can benefit from cutting through the noise and only swiping right on the matches shown by the daily best pick feature.
Bees get you honey Bumble gets you dates
Bumble was created in 2014 by a former VP of Tinder who teamed up with the CEO of another well-known but ambiguous in its purpose social app called Badoo. Bumble was created with the idea of placing women first when making a decision to start a conversation. In practice, it is an extra step in the process where women have 24 hours to make a contact before the mutual match expires. The male audience has a chance to extend one match a day for another 24 hours until their fate is finally settled.
Some of the app’s features are strikingly similar to Tinder. You get super likes and temporarily high profile visibility that can be a part of a subscription or a one-off purchase.
Bumble uses different from the Tinder algorithm however there is also suspected a profile score given to its members based on their popularity. When showing matches based on the search criteria the app shows the most swiped on members first followed by equally cool but less popular matches.
Bumble also allows the users to send expiring photos which is a unique feature compared to the other apps on this list. Sending unwanted body pics is never a good idea but if used intelligently this feature allows users to share moments of your day with potential dates and get them to know you better.
In addition, compared to the patriarch Bumble users generally have better photos, profile sentences that make sense and a genuine interest to date. Bumble appears to be less focused on parting users with their money with a recently introduced lifetime subscription. It gives users advanced search options, unlimited matches and the perks I mentioned earlier. This combined with quality profiles and the second largest user base after Tinder makes Bumble one of the best apps.
On the less understood side, Bumble also has BFF and Bizz modes. These features allow people to make friends and build business connections. I find that including these in a dating app is an awkward brand positioning and would love to hear people’s experiences with these.
Bumble is not immune to scammers but their presence is subjectively smaller compared to the previous app. Like with Tinder pay attention to the profile photos and unusual behaviour. Matches claiming to be your neighbours with no local background photos or suggesting to use WhatsApp after a few sentences could be after your money rather than your heart.
Dating Success Hinges on an App
Driven by the motto “designed to be deleted” Hinge targets the same 20 to 30 years old demographics as Tinder. The original algorithm of this app used members’ Facebook friends to generate matches but In 2018 Hinge ditched that idea introducing compatibility matches instead. Unlike its two other popular rivals, users can message their matches directly if they showed up in their feed without mutual liking.
Hinge user’s profile quality is on par with Bumble. Users often put funny memes or facts about themselves. Hinge also has paid features like daily best picks, roses AKA super likes and unlimited swipes. True to its motto you can’t subscribe for longer than 6 months. The most benefit of a paid subscription is an increased number of daily matches and advanced search options. This saves you time with a tailored match queue based on your preferences.
Hinge routinely removes scammers off the platform and notifies users who were matched with those by email. Overall gives hinge a feeling of a safer place compared to other platforms. Hinge users on the whole are genuine people who want to go on dates. The profiles also provide you with enough information to get a feel of matches personality. While there is a subscription model you don’t really need to pay hinge money to meet new people.
With all of the positives, one of the annoying features hinge is that if you did not like someone’s profile they will still show up in your matches a day or two after. Unlike with other apps when you swipe left on someone they’re gone in Hinge universe you have to remove matches using the options menu. Apparently, both Tinder and Bumble will recycle matches too however it feels a bit more subtle. Overall hinge is a solid dating app with plenty of quality profiles and a relatively cheap subscription that you should consider trying out.
While there are many other apps on the market sticking with the most popular apps gives you an advantage of the large user base and increases your chances of meeting the right person. The age distribution is different across these apps. If you are a younger person 18 to 24 Tinder will be the ideal choice, for users in their 30s Hinge is more popular and Bumble is favoured by those under 30 and over 50. We suggest starting with one app at a time so you do not get overwhelmed with matches and messages. Also, try a free version before you signed up for a paid tier. Once you decide to subscribe remember that signing up for longer periods of 3, 6 and 12 months is cheaper as all apps offer significant discounts.
For those wanting to keep their fingers in all of the pies subscribing to a paid membership with one app while running the other two as a free version could be your choice. It will reduce overwhelm as free tier subscriptions limit daily matches shown in your profile. To learn more about the best tips on how to make the most out of dating apps check out our other article by this link. There we talk about how to build a great dating profile, tips on first steps and red flags you should be looking for when using these apps.
The post 3 Best Dating Apps for Singles in 2022 appeared first on Captain Single.
