“Are you seeing anyone?”
Perhaps you heard that inquiry from a well-meaning aunt, cousin or yenta-of-some-relation over a recent holiday meal.
If the answer was “No, but I'm looking,” your phone is a good place to search.
Before a dating app can help you find the
right match, though, you have to find the right match in a dating app.
And there's a growing number of options to sort out.
To streamline your quest, we looked at six
popular apps and considered whether its users are typically looking for a
serious commitment, the time required to set up a profile, how long the
“courtship” period lasts before users meet and the number of daily
matches that are delivered.
OkCupid
OkCupid is one of the largest free online
dating sites, boasting more than 4 million active users. Created by a
group of Harvard mathematicians and launched in 2004, OkCupid matches
daters using a special algorithm generated by user activity and answers
to questions.
In 2009, the site launched OkTrends, a
data-driven blog that explores online dating trends based on what was
learned from millions of OkCupid user interactions (example: “How your
race affects the messages you get”). It has received more than 1 million
views. OkCupid was acquired for $50 million in 2011 by IAC, which
operates the dating site Match.com.
Rating: Goal 4, Preparation 3, Face-to-face 3, Matches 5
Grouper
It took moving to New York as a postgrad
for Michael Waxman to realize how easy he had it in college when it came
to finding dates and making friends. In 2011, he founded the group-date
app Grouper. Users sign up through Facebook and pick a trio of friends;
Grouper plans a meeting with a set of three other friends at a local
bar.
Each date costs $20 per person and includes
one round of drinks at the establishment, which is selected by Grouper.
Fun is the main priority, Waxman stresses. So daters looking for a
party atmosphere will be pleased. Those looking for a quieter,
one-on-one interaction might feel overwhelmed. The average age of
Groupers is 26, and nearly all have a bachelor's degree.
Rating: Goal 2, Preparation 1, Face-to-face 1, Matches 1
Tinder
Tinder, launched in 2012, is a free app
that searches for singles based on the user's location. Tinder is linked
to Facebook, so users can easily upload head shots from their account
and are able to see shared friends and interests. The premise is pretty
superficial: Users make snap judgments based on photos, swiping right to
approve a potential match and left to bypass one.
Notifications about matches aren't sent
unless both users approve of each other, so it's good for those with a
fear of rejection. The site has, on average, 5 million new matches and
400 million profile ratings per day. The biggest audience is 18- to
24-year-olds, co-founder Justin Mateen said. It's easy to download, and
there's no extensive profile required, which has made it popular among
college students — and, perhaps, those less interested in devoting time
to dating.
Rating: Goal 3, Preparation 1, Face-to-face 3, Matches 5
Coffee Meets Bagel
Coffee Meets Bagel's founders — sisters
Arum and Dawoon Kang, both 30, and Soo Kang, 33 — thought the online
dating market lacked something: products that really understand the way
women want to date. Women “hate wasting money or time on dating
products,” Dawoon said, “and ... we look for not necessarily marriage
but meaningful connections.”
The app's setup is simple: It uses Facebook
networks to match potential dates (friends-of-friends matches are 37
percent more likely to result in mutual interest than
nonfriends-of-friends matches). Users fill out a pretty bare-bones
profile, with some multiple-choice questions about religion, ethnicity
and age range, plus a few prompts, such as “I appreciate when a date is
... ” completed in 150 characters or fewer.
Then, every day at noon, users get a
“bagel,” or match. Coffee Meets Bagel also sets up a private line to
allow text messaging without revealing personal phone numbers. Matches
expire after 24 hours, so thumb-twiddlers need not apply. The site
launched last year with 200 of the Kangs' friends and grew through word
of mouth. It now has 150,000 users nationwide. That user base skews
smart, young and professional.
Rating: Goal 4, Preparation 2, Face-to-face 2, Matches 1
Grindr
Grindr, a free app designed exclusively
for single “gay, bisexual and curious” men, according to the site,
helped launch the geosocial dating app trend back in 2009. Grindr
locates potential matches based on geographic proximity; users judge
each other based primarily on head shots. The niche app tops 1.2 million
active users who exchange more than 30 million messages daily.
Rating: Goal 3, Preparation 1, Face-to-face 2, Matches 5
Hinge
Hinge aims to connect Facebook users to a
pool of their friends' friends. The app — available in New York, Boston,
Philadelphia and Washington — creates a profile by pulling names,
recent photos and “likes” from Facebook, to which users — mostly in
their late 20s and early 30s — can append self-selected “personality
tags.” Each day at noon, users receive a set of five to seven potential
matches (who each share a Facebook friend with the user), along with a
prompt to give a “heart” or an “X” to each match. Mutual hearts result
in an introduction e-mail from Hinge, complete with a location
suggestion for a first date.
Rating: Goal 3, Preparation 2, Face-to-face 3, Matches 2
