At home or on vacation, why wait for Cupid to shoot the arrow, when you can launch an app? Let’s make a date with Tinder, Badoo & Co… they are the new mobile chats, where you can post selfies and instant texts. Here are 5 apps to download now if you’re looking for love dating.
TINDER, the fastest
It is the mother of geo-social apps: it tracks down in real time available people around you according to distance filters (up to 40 miles), sexual tastes and age (from 18 to 50 years old). Its popularity is such that it boasts dedicated blogs, parodies and even viral short films (like the short by filmmaker Rolf Glumsoe Nielson).
How it works
Registration is immediate, via Facebook. A few seconds and the “radar” starts: a roundup of available types and online nearby magically appears on the display. Do I like it? Swipe right. Don’t like it? Swipe left, the smiley disappears, next. And if he reciprocates the preference, the “match” is done. You chat. But immediately the program offers you to go on searching: it is an unstoppable scrolling.
Tricks for use
Change environment. Instead of on the couch, open the app when you are in interesting places like a concert or an exhibition. You might get more surprises that way. And upload as many as six photos as you can. The research is clear: more photos, more connections. Don’t use group pictures, though. It seems that most men spend 1-2 seconds at most to browse a profile. And they won’t spend them sharpening their eyes to recognize you among old high school friends.
when to use
You want to meet quickly. You love to bypass boring digital preamble. You’re looking for insta-gratification: every time you launch this app, it’s like counting how many people like you when you walk into a room.
Ladies, the power is all in your hands – a bit like Take Me Out, but the virtual version where you have 24 hours to respond.
Originally founded by women for women, Bumble challenges the antiquated (and often sexist) rules of dating – there’s need to wait for the fella to make the first move. And it’s not just for finding your future husband or wife (fortunately Bumble now caters to same-sex and heterosexual couples) as the app has now added new features Bumble Bizz and Bumble BFF, to help you find new colleagues and friends too.
Interesting ? Well, their 22 million users worldwide certainly think so.
The app’s recent ban on any form of body shaming - any language that can been deemed as racist, fat-phobic, ableist, colourist, homophobic or transphobic - makes it a super user friendly dating experience for all.
BADOO the most social
Platform for singles with multilingual app and interface. It’s a sort of Facebook for dating (whose graphics are similar), where you can contact interesting “faces” and get noticed.
How it works
Sign up through Facebook or any other account with the possibility of being localized. The app is free, but includes paid services, such as access to the most popular profiles and the ability to check who has added you to their favorites. On the other hand, it discourages compulsives and “techno-molests”: you’re allowed to send a maximum of 20 messages per day and only two to the same user, if he doesn’t respond.
Tricks for use
Update your Facebook account to reflect your real personality. The system hooks into this network to identify hobbies, interests and activities in common at a glance. In short, discourage your friends from including you in the Sunday tricotage group if you aim for adventurous types.
When to use
You want to increase your network of potential friends or suitors, but you are also a bit suspicious. The program, in fact, allows you to be contacted only by “certified” users (that is, who have signed up with real data and contacts).
OKCUPID, the most psychological
Mobile app linked to the online dating network of the same name that pairs partners with a matchmaking system. How it works The first step is to fill out a long questionnaire. Then begins your adventure in the world of dating 2.0 with notifications, messages and a jungle of possible candidates. A mathematical calculation will indicate for each candidate the compatibility from 0 to 100 percent.
Tricks for use
First: don’t neglect the initial profiling form, it’s anything but trivial. It’s as funny as a quiz, useful to introduce yourself in an original way, essential to look at desirable profiles. And, miracles of software, the more you complete it, or update it, the more you will appear at the top of searches. Second, don’t overlook the fact that the algorithm doesn’t flutter. The Jared Leto look is fine, but if the affinity rate is very low, it is likely that the chosen one will disregard some criterion you indicated as crucial. Women be warned…
When to use
You are looking for a serious approach, not a hasty one. And even in virtual acquaintances you want to go beyond the surface of the display.
The latest in the network of social apps: the rib of the well-known professional network LinkedIn that chooses and selects suitors in your work network. When you say join the useful to the pleasant…
How it works
Partly free, partly paid (for premium services), it’s a sort of Tinder with curriculum. You browse the profiles: if you don’t like him, “pass” over, otherwise give an “I like”. The program uses data from LinkedIn, professional networking, to present and connect potential partners chosen by job sector, geographic proximity, skills, age, abilities and stated goals.
Tips for use
Don’t be too blinkered in your posted images. If the handsome web manager you’ve made contact with doesn’t reciprocate your interest, you can always hope that he’ll become your next boss.
When to use
WHen you too, like Facebook manager-guru Sheryl Sandberg, believe that “the most important career decision in a woman’s life is deciding on her life partner”.