Ah, Tinder, the “McDonalds of online dating”, the pinnacle of boredom and procrastination, and probably the only place you’ve put that you like cats in hopes of finding someone you can go to the Cat Cafe with so you don’t feel as awkward going alone. I personally would like to thank the people of Tinder for my growing repertoire of puns and pick up lines; you make me sound just slightly more interesting in real life. However, the app can often get repetitive when it seems like one in one hundred matches might be a decent conversation while the rest try to cleverly convince you to “send nudes” in three exchanges or less. Maybe you’ve thought, is it like this on every dating app out there? Or am I doomed to filtering out dry conversations and gross comments until I close the app for the night?
Well, when you’re tired of Tinder, check out some of the unique trending dating apps out there:
Happn
To me, this app plays on the whole ‘love at first sight’ movie trope. It is a heavily location-based in which the app shows you who was near you or you may have crossed paths with during the day. It even shows you if you’ve crossed paths with the same person multiple times! For those you have crossed paths with, you can choose to secretly like them, which won’t notify the person unless they like you back, or you can send the person a charm so they notice you.
A lot of known criticisms with the app are the fact that, unless the person also likes you back or you manually dismiss the profile, they will hang around on your front page, and will climb higher to the top of your page if you’ve crossed paths with this person multiple times. Can you imagine having an unrequited l and seeing them nearly every day? Awkward AF.
Her
Similar to Grindr, Her is a dating app specifically for women! The app not only allows you to meet women or those identifying who are also looking for women or those identifying, it also establishes a community in which one can get LGBTQ+ news and events in their area. When looking through profiles, users have options to like a profile’s individual photos, chat with those who have reciprocated the like, or if they’re not looking to date, send a friend request. A community to both meet others and get updated on events specific to their area, Her is just what LGBTQ+ women needed in a dating app.
In my experience, I feel like the interface can get a bit confusing, especially when there are so many windows and buttons to swipe and click. There are several steps and options a user has to do in order to initiate a conversation with someone. While it is fantastic that there’s an app with an established community specifically geared towards LGBTQ+, it could certainly work on simplifying its interface. And after so long, they’ve finally made an android version! Download here!
Bumble
If you’re like me and just wait for guys to respond on Tinder, this may not appeal to you. Bumble’s unique feature makes the woman match start the conversation within twenty-four hours, or the match disappears (if you are looking for the same gender, however, either person has twenty-four hours to start the conversation). Bumble is unique in that the app forces you to start a conversation, instead of sitting there waiting for someone to say something. The app, in general, makes women make the choice and initiate—a feminist direction to dating apps.
While the freedom to initiate or not may seem to empower women, culture trends may continue to negate that. Female users frequently feel that despite the freedom to initiate, after the first message is made, men quickly bring the “ball back in their court” to steer the conversation in their favour. While this feminist-not-so-feminist agenda is hard to conquer, the app offers a unique way to get users to choose and initiate, which is certainly doing more than leaving profiles to stay in your “kinda cute but not sure what to say” folder.
Coffee Meets Bagel
This one I had just heard about, and not gonna lie, the name peaked my interest more than anything. The app boasts ladies choice as Bumble does: men will receive about twenty or so profiles, or “bagels”. The app will then curate matches for women from the men who have expressed interest in their profiles. After that, women have a choice to start a conversation with the profiles who have expressed interest in them, making it apparently safer and more designed to women users.
While the cute name and supposed freedom of choice seem evident, utilizing the app may not be as straight-forward as it seems. “Your account is linked to your Facebook profile so that you’re only shown matches who are friends of friends,” one user writes, “though you have to use “beans,” the app’s internal currency, to see who those mutual friends are if you want to get their opinion. You’re limited to liking or dismissing one profile, or “bagel,” a day.” Many users also claim that the app makes it seem like you’re just trying to find The One™, a stigma that app’s founders are trying to combat through their interface. Upon trying it myself, I also found how frustrating it was to have to be meticulous in my “bagel” choice; gods forbid if being more selective decreases my chance of being asked for nudes.
Feeld
The dating app polyamorous types have been waiting for! Feeld (previously called “3nder” but renamed due to copyright issues) allows individuals and couples to look for those specifically interested in polyamoury, kink, and/or other sexual preferences. It’s a niche market, but certainly one that hasn’t been specifically addressed in other dating apps. More and more people are starting to identify as polyamorous, and it’s apps like Feeld that allow such communities to grow and flourish.
The only issue I’ve personally faced is buggy notifications and only being able to connect to one Facebook, even if you are a ‘couple’ profile. This shouldn’t be much of an issue if you’re a couple that’s on the app with cute couple photos on Facebook (but it is for someone who likes to keep it as low-key as I do). Even though having individual photos of each person can be a hassle, it can be fixed by just uploading photos and making them visible only to you. All in all, if you and your partner are up to meet other open-relationship, polyamory-type people, download Feeld!