Looking for love? View the VIBE takes a look the greatest innovations in mobile love connections to bring you the top 10 dating apps of 2016.
A 2015 issue of Forbes, reported that Tinder — arguably the leader of the pack of free dating apps — had a 600% growth in one year alone. That’s right: using dating apps and even dating sites in the age of Tinder isn’t so shameful after all. Do it on the streetcar if you must, but there’s no reason to feel shy about looking for love on your iPhone. Everyone’s doing it — even some of us right here at Vv Magazine. In honour of the tech revolution in our love lives, here are the top 10 dating apps of 2016. Get ready to download.
Tinder Dating App
We’d call Tinder the “original gangsta” of dating apps, but that’s not giving credit where credit is due. After all, Tinder was originally just Grindr for straight people. These days, the “swipe right if you like” ease of the dating app has made it a go-to for the gay community as well — here in Toronto, Grindr is now considered more of a hookup app, whereas Tinder is more for gays looking for more serious relationships. Call it sleazy if you’re still a non-convert, but we know a ton of people who met their current beau on Tinder, and a ton of people who use it just to get down and dirty. Be still our Tinder hearts…
Bumble Dating App
Former Tinder employee Whitney Wolfe has teamed up with two other early Tinder employees, Chris Gulczynski and Sarah Mick, to launch Bumble. The dating app is a lot like Tinder (surprise, surprise), but it gives females 24 hours to start a conversation with male matches — leaving the women in charge of initiating the first move. The idea is that females will feel more secure about meetups if they’re the ones in charge, but you’ve still got to use some common sense.
Happn Dating App
A good reference for the Happn app is Craigslist missed connections but sans the creep factor. Picture you saw some cutie in the supermarket but didn’t have the courage to make a move. With Happn, you can see all the eligible users within an 800-mile radius and connect with them by sending a charm. Not in the mood to meet right on the fly? Your profile saves every time you’ve encountered one another, so you can either message them (if the like is mutual) or the next time you bump into each other you’ll just “happen” to look hella fresh.
OkCupid Dating App
While swiping-based on looks alone is all good and dandy, if you’re a more serious online dater, you’d probably prefer to know a little more. OkCupid cuts out some of the brunt work with more in-depth profiles, so you can scratch the three-hour creep sesh, rest assured. Each profile includes a section stating dating preferences (even a casual hook up) and asks a series of questions users can answer. Based off the questions, a percentile score is created that reflects your “compatibility”. The only downfall is some users don’t answer every question, so we’d suggest using your compatibility score as a benchmark.
Coffee Meets Bagel
Coffee Meets Bagel is like having a long-term personal matchmaker at your fingertips. Each day at noon, the app sends you a potential match, and you either decide to pursue the love interest or pass. When you decline a match, you have the option to give a reason why, which lets the dating app make better match suggestions tailored to your interests in the future. The app is more suited to the romantic at heart than it is those just looking to get laid, so it’s perfect for those who already write “looking for a serious relationship only” in their profiles.
Hinge Dating App
Hinge is a New York City-based dating app that links to your Facebook like Tinder, but it only generates potential love interests who you have Facebook friends in common with. The idea is that you’ll meet less creeps if you happen to have friends in common with your matches. Hmmm, sure. Matches work the same way they do with Tinder too: if you both like each other, congrats, you’re a match — start talking…
Tastebuds Dating App
It’s always disappointing when you’re having a time with someone and then they turn on the screamo to set the mood (hello, you’re more of Beyonce type of girl. What is this noise?). Tastebuds addresses this concern by highlighting musical taste to ascertain compatibility. Similar to Tinder, flip through profiles, only they include clips from artists and favourite songs – you can even send a song or message to a user before you match. If music is a dealbreaker for you, than Tastebuds is probably a good fit.
Match.com Dating App
Match.com’s old mobile app used to be almost identical to the Match.com website in both look and practice. When updating the mobile dating app some years ago, Match.com decided to use something different than the algorithms it uses on the site to generate potential love interests for users accessing profiles on their mobile devices. The new Match.com app opens to a “Discover” page, which displays profiles based on location, your preferences, and history, plus you can flirt by sending hotties “cyber winks.”
Feeld (formerly 3nder) Dating App
Have you always wanted a threesome but have tended to be one or two people short? That’s what threesome hookup app Feeld is for. Users log into 3nder as either a couple or as a single person before waiting for the three’s company fun to begin! You’ve gotta sign in with Facebook, but for an extra $1.99, you can hide your Facebook friends and family to keep things on the down-low. That said, the app prides itself on helping to make unconventional romances more socially acceptable, so why not embrace your new lifestyle?
HowAboutWe Dating App
Matching with someone on a dating app is one thing, going on an ideal first date is another. Rather than leaving the first time you meet someone to chance, HowAboutWe has you describe the kind of first date you’d like to go on. Whether it’s coffee, food, or something totally whack (no judgements here), users can see this then message and act accordingly. Well then, how bout we go…
Do you agree with the list of the top 10 dating apps of 2016? Did we leave any of your favourite apps out? Or have you tried any of the next-wave of Tinder-inspired apps like Hinge, Coffee Meets Bagel, Bumble, or Feeld? Tweet us at @ViewtheVibe
