Dating Apps make it easier to find your perfect match if you can’t seem to meet the right partner elsewhere. Online dating site users will reach 53.3 million, according to Statista, which means an increase of 9 million users since 2020.
Finding Love at 18: Explore the Best Dating Apps
Let’s explore the best dating apps for finding love at 18.
1. Tinder
Tinder continues to remain a popular dating app for those between the ages of 18 and 35. Once in the app, you see your potential matches, even those from the other 190 countries where it’s available. Use the simple interface of Tinder to swipe right for someone you like or left if you are uninterested in the match. You can exchange messages directly on the app if both parties swipe right.
With the free version of Tinder, you get a limited number of right swipes. If you upgrade to one of the paid plans, you get more features, like swipe rewinds and people in areas where you currently aren’t located through their passport feature. If you purchase a boost, your Profile gets boosted as the top profile in your area for 30 minutes, helping with more matches.
2. OkCupid
OkCupid is another of the top dating apps for 18-year-olds. It uses powerful algorithms to help you find a match with the right person, and messaging is free to everyone on OkCupid.
When you sign up, you must answer several questions about your personality. While adding the answers to the questions, you also select the traits you seek in a partner. Some questions are serious, for example, your religion, but be prepared to answer silly ones too, like what crime you are most likely to commit that will land you in jail.
Its features include the Double Take with a swiping interface to evaluate your matches and Discover, where you can see highlighted matches.
Upgrade to the Premium Plan if you want more features and search filters.
3. PlentyofFish
If you’re looking for a dating site with many options, then PlentyofFish (POF) is ideal if you’re prepared to sort through all the clutter. With POF, messaging is free, and the Nearby tab makes it easier to find people near you.
Use the MeetMe interface to swipe on profiles or the Live feature to meet singles streaming in real-time.
You can also get the paid version to access more features like username search and unlimited likes.
4. Coffee Meets Bagel
If you don’t want a ton of matches, then Coffee Meets Bagel is another top dating app for 18-year-olds. You receive just a few matches each day from the app that approaches dating in a curated way. These are the Bagels, which you can find under the Discover or Suggested tabs. You can start a conversation once you make a match, and the app provides starter questions to make it less awkward for you.
With the Coffee Meets Bagel Premium Plan, several added features include information about who has read your receipts and how often your matches respond to chats.
5. Bumble
Bumble is a similar dating app to Tinder, but with one difference: women decide whether they want to start a conversation. The match disappears after 24 hours if the woman doesn’t respond. In same-sex couples, any one of the two can initiate the conversation.
The 24-hour expiration rule keeps your matches list up-to-date so that you don’t waste time on older ones or those who aren’t interested. You cannot use the Bumble app without a clear photo of yourself to ensure that others can see you have a legitimate profile.
Like all the other dating apps above, Bumble’s basic features are free. You can upgrade to Boost or Premium for additional features.
Top Dating Apps for 18-Year-Olds: A Guide
When using any of the top dating apps for young adults, It’s crucial to feel safe. Remember to apply safety rules like meeting up safely, avoiding scammers, and protecting your profile. It takes time to build connections with people, but prefer to block people you have a bad feeling about.
Follow this guide to help you date safely online:
1. Meeting Safely
Your first connection is on the app, but after chatting, you may want to meet up in person with someone you like. When meeting someone you don’t know, even if you feel you do from your chats, always meet in a public space for the first time.
Choose a coffee shop, restaurant, or park with plenty of people since there is safety in numbers. You want to reduce the chances of being threatened in any way if the person turns out different from what you expected.
Another precaution is to let someone else know where you are going and how long you expect the outing to take. Additionally, don’t let the person pick you up, but tell them you will meet them at the agreed place.
2. Avoiding Some Common Scams
The presence of so many people on dating apps increases the risk of being scammed. Luckily, there are several warning signs that you can heed to prevent this from happening to you.
- Photos that look edited
- When the person you meet asks to chat on another app or email with you immediately
- You get strange links from them asking you to click on them
- They immediately start asking for your details
- They request money
3. Protecting Your Profile
You must protect your privacy when using dating apps. One of the best ways to do this is never to use a profile photo you are using elsewhere and to avoid linking to your social media accounts. These precautions make it difficult for someone from a dating app to find you easily online.
Note: At 18, you are of legal age, but that doesn’t mean you cannot be vulnerable. Therefore, if someone keeps urging you for more personal information, avoids sending details about themselves, is creepy, or sends explicit messages, you must block them and report them to the app administrator.
The Dating Scene for 18-Year-Olds: Best Apps Revealed
Some dating apps are more geared toward teenagers, while others cater to those aged 18 and up. As you leave your adolescence and move into early adulthood, you may enjoy staying with a dating app you’re familiar with or want to change. These are another 5 top dating apps for 18-year-olds that can help you find your perfect match:
Happn
Happn does have an age limit of 18 and up, making it ideal for you as you reach young adulthood.
With Happn, you can connect with people on your timeline that you cross paths with daily, as long as they also have a profile on Happn. If you have a crush on somebody, the app makes it easy to message them, perhaps making a meeting possible.
If you encounter someone on the app who makes you uncomfortable or keeps crossing your path, you can block them or set age restrictions.
Taffy
Taffy has a younger age limit of 17, making it the ideal place to try a dating app before you turn 18. At Taffy, a person’s personality is as important as physical appearance. What they do is they blur profile pictures until two users start having regular conversations with each other, ensuring you get to know each other’s personality a bit better before seeing a clear picture of each other.
It’s still a relatively new app, so there might be fewer matches here than on more popular dating apps. However, with Taffy, you can express your views through posts that are visible to others.
MeetMe
Like most dating apps, MeetMe has an age limit of 18 and above. It is a lovely app because it’s more than just dating. Its users can communicate through chats, and you can go live and watch other people’s live streams. With payment, you can also send someone a virtual gift.
MeetMe did have an issue a few years back with someone who sued them for their oblique privacy policies that left the doors open for predators to reach out to under-18s. They have since made user safety their top priority with stricter guidelines for content and conduct. You can report anyone who’s misbehaving.
MyLOL
If you are new to using a dating app, you might want to try one for adolescents and young adults like MyLOL. The age limit is 13 to 19, and the app is popular in countries like Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. They are strict with age restrictions, reporting users making lewd suggestions and blocking them from using the platform. MyLOL allows you to chat with people and add new friends. Be wary of profiles with no pictures.
Skout
Skout is more than a dating app. Like MeetMe, you can connect with other users on the app. You can use the app if you are 17 and above. Some features include seeing the feed of people using the app in your area, chats, and live streams.
Skout uses a unique detection engine to read common patterns of child predators. Banned people will find it impossible to recreate a new fake Skout account.
Swipe Right at 18: Discover the Best Dating App
Whatever your reason for wanting to try a dating app, it’s easy to swipe right at 18, thanks to the various ways to attempt the online dating game.
Very Well Mind suggests several ideas you should use to discover the best dating app. These include the following:
- Understand what you are looking for in someone else. For example, what would the ideal date constitute for you, someone of the same religion, who doesn’t drink, etc.. Once you define your parameters, it’s easier to tick off your preferences.
- The best way to know if a dating app suits you is to try it out. If it doesn’t work, move on to another one.
- Privacy matters, so consider things like having a private profile or blocking people.
- Consider whether you want to pay for access to some features or prefer a free app.
- Most dating sites allow you to meet many people from various walks of life, but if you want to meet someone with more things in common, you could consider a niche dating app that matches your culture or interests. One example is Dig, an app for dog owners.
- Consider whether you want to put a lot of effort into filling in a detailed profile and many conversations before you meet up or prefer a quicker process.
- Finally, consider whether you prefer a dating site that first vets its user profiles before signing up.
Love in the Digital Age: Best Dating Apps for 18-Year-Olds
Love in the digital age may seem daunting, but if you’re single and want to meet people, online dating sites or apps make it easier. Some people are skeptical about finding someone through online dating. However, the number of couples meeting online continues to increase. One study in 2017 found that almost 39% of straight couples in the US met online compared to 22% in 2009.
Must-Try Dating Apps for 18-Year-Olds
Tinder remains the most prevalent dating site, with 75 million active users and 10.7 million subscribers in Q1 2023. It and other dating apps aim to allow you to meet far more people than you would while going out with friends or on social media.
Yes, algorithms do play a significant role when meeting people on dating apps, but there’s no doubt that swiping does provide you with the opportunity to meet more people than you would in a bar or coffee shop.
Mashable provides a detailed list of some of the must-try dating apps that are most popular right now. Browse through the article to find all the details and buying options if you want the paid version.
Unlocking Love: Best Dating Apps for 18-Year-olds
If you are 18, there are plenty of top dating apps to try for unlocking love. If you are new at this, you may feel frustrated or overwhelmed by too many possibilities or lack of them. It’s OK to take the dating experience slowly as you get used to it. Remember that meeting people with shared values takes time, no matter where you plan to meet them. Make your online dating experience fun and rewarding by being mindful of the values most important to you.
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