Best Dating Apps for iPhone and Android

Finding your next hook up or long-term relationship or anything in between has never been easier with the wide variety of dating apps available on the iOS and Android marketplaces. For better or for worse we are turning to technology to help us make our connections in the real world. Let’s take a look at some of the best dating apps available for iPhone and Android today.

Tinder

Tagline: Find out who likes you nearby.

Tinder is one of the best dating apps currently available due to its immense popularity with both iPhone and Android users. Much of the appeal comes from the simplicity of the app. It is easy to set up and has a fluid user experience.

A photo of a potential match in your geographic area is displayed. By dragging the photo to the right of your screen, you can “LIKE” them. By dragging left, you will “NOPE” them. You are only permitted to begin a conversation with someone once both people have “liked” each other.

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Grindr

Grindr may be the most revolutionary piece of technology and one of the best dating apps the gay community has encountered thus far. It has been described by some as a gay man’s wet dream. A tool that enables the user to view and locate the profiles of other gay individuals in the immediate vicinity.

The app has been recently updated to include the new “tribes” feature which allows it’s users to associate and identify themselves within various sub-communities of gay culture. For example, user’s are now allowed to identify as a “bear”, “daddy”, or “jock” to name a few. This will allow users to locate potential relationships according to these respective niches.

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Grouper

It’s like going to a bar. But way better.

Grouper is the dating app for people who aren’t comfortable with meeting people in a 1-on-1 setting.

Each date requires you to pick two wingmen/wingwomen with you on the date so the date is actually a 3-on-3. Also, unlike other dating apps, the Grouper team will match your date by hand and select the venue where your date will be held.

Grouper does require a fee of $20 per person for each date to pay for the first round of drinks. It “ensures that everyone shows up”. In order to use grouper, you must be located in one of the cities it operates.

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HowAboutWe

Tagline: The Offline Dating Site

Another innovative app that takes a unique approach is HowAboutWe. It markets itself as “the only app that guarantees you’ll go on real dates, in the real world.” How does it accomplish this?

What makes this one of the best dating apps currently out there is the feature that allows users to post their own unique date ideas. Other users get to view your date idea and profile and connect with the ones that they like. This process attempts to solve the issue most dating app users find when they meet new people online. You may connect with someone and exchange a few messages, but most of the time nothing ever comes of it.

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Coffee Meets Bagel

Tagline: Quality Dating Made Easy

Coffee Meets Bagel, a website that has now expanded to a dating app, connects you to a friend of a friend (found through your Facebook network) every day.

It has a concept similar to Tinder in that only matches that like each other will be allowed to message each other. Unlike Tinder, you only get sent one match every day and you have a time limit to accept or decline them. Why only one match per day? To keep you focused and engaged on your potential matches.

 

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OkCupid Dating

The OkCupid Dating app brings the features of the popular dating site to your phone.

The mobile app version of the site allows members to cash in on the geo-dating craze that all the current apps are taking advantage of. The app also borrows a little bit from HowAboutWe concept and allows you to “broadcast” that you currently have free time and lets post date suggestions to potential matches.

 

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Down

Tagline: The anonymous, simple, fun way to find friends who are down for the night.

Most dating apps with access to your Facebook friends list will make a point to avoid matching you with your current connections. Formerly known as Bang With Friends, Down takes the opposite approach and flirts with the prospect of hooking up with your facebook crashes.

Let’s face it. You’ve added more of a few of your “friends” with the hope of scoring some news feed eye candy. Bang With Friends lets you take it a step further and tag your friends who you want to get cozy with. Your friends won’t know they’ve been tagged by you unless they too have the Bang With Friends App and have tagged you as well. All in all, it seems like a long shot, but since your selection is kept private, it appears that there is little harm in trying.

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Pure

Tagline: Quick and safe way to find sex right now.

For those with no time to beat around the bush, Pure is less of a dating app and more of a minimalist sex app, which appears to be a mashup of Tinder and Snapchat. Users will be able to set their sexual preference, and matches will be coordinated based on geographic location, whether both matches accept each other and whether the user will be able to “host” or “travel”  for the hookup. Conversations and photos related to your matches are deleted after an hour.

Users of Pure will be validated or banned from the service with a mandatory user feedback system that asks members to report on their matches. Using misleading photos, violating the terms of the agreement or not showing up to the hookup can result in being kicked off of the service.

Pure is still awaiting approval from the iTunes store, but you can apply for a membership on their website.

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