Whether you love or loathe Tinder, there is no denying it has changed online dating forever.

As a result there is now no end of apps with the same aim of helping you fall in love and live happily ever after, or at the least find someone to hang out with next weekend.

Whether it's matching you on your favourite interests or finding someone who you share mutual friends with. Here, we take the biggest alternatives to Tinder and give them a spin to find out what (if anything) they do differently and what sets them apart.

Parship

The USP: The serious dating site for serious daters. This Hamburg-headquartered company leads with a couple of facts: a 38 percent success rate for premium Parship members and 23,000 new members each week. The idea is that Parship uses strictly objective, scientific processes to matchmake, which does rather click with the comedy German stereotype. Imagine Thomas Tuchel reading this bit of bumph from the website: "Sounds complicated. Mathematical. Psychological. But it is very simple. Parship searches – you find." Haunting.

Pros: There's an ID check feature which feels extremely sensible, and the emphasis on finding a match for you who does actually fit what you want and who you are is a good thing.

Cons: You register for free, but then there's a fair old monthly fee of £14.90 for the basic membership package – and it'll renew automatically, so you'd best not forget about it. There are a lot of extremely grumpy reviews from people struggling to make head or tail of the app. Plus, the pool of people in the UK isn't gigantic.

Verdict: Like a more intense reworking of OK Cupid, but without the charm or easy functionality for a casual user, this one feels like it's got some way to go before it goes overground.

Kippo

The USP: Liking the same things is the starting point of so many relationships, it does make a lot of sense to build a dating app around finding the fandoms and subcultures you're into already. Kippo doesn't style itself explicitly as a dating app, rather a place to find friends and hang out, but there's certainly a lot of sifting through profiles in hope of matching with people you fancy in the time-honoured manner. Fill out a form detailing which games you love plus the usual trad stuff about what you're looking for in a friend/partner, and on you go. It's the dating app for proud nerds and hardened gamers.

Pros: It's not just a case of sifting through pictures – there's the Kippoverse to wander around, looking something like a GameBoy era Pokémon universe. Play games, hang out with people, and audio chat with new mates. Depending on how much you liked Habbo Hotel, you might find the interface endearingly retro or maddeningly cutesy.

Cons: The clientele definitely skews younger, which might make you feel extremely 'How do you do fellow kids'. Suspicions that the Metaverse-lite interface is a bit too close to the thing Zuckerberg wants to boot you and your consciousness into will persist.

Verdict: For the shy dater, this is a godsend: there are so many icebreakers at hand to give you a simple in with whoever you're chatting to, plus the audio call functionality is both more intimate than just text and less open to abuse than video calling. You might not go out with someone just because they also like PUBG but it's a foot in a door.

The Sauce

The USP: The TikTokification of dating apps has already started, but The Sauce does away with stuffy, boomerish concepts like 'still images' entirely and instead has users approve or disapprove of each other by uploading videos of themselves. That, co-founder Sachin Kara says, means you can expect "Instagram stories, Reels, the odd TikTok and playful videos usually filmed by someone’s mate thrown into the mix, allowing members to get to know their match before they’ve even sent their first like".

Pros: Getting a read on someone's vibe is a lot easier with sound, movement and the sudden realisation that you were both in Rowan's arcade room the other Saturday night. Plus, you've got a lot more leeway to get creative and avoid the dreaded profile picture triumvirate of 'man holding fish', 'man with arm around four other men', and ''

Cons: Watching other people's Insta stories can be a bit tedious at the best of times. Also, might feel a bit like doing one of those excruciatingvideo pre-interviews for an internship. Let's keep those memories pushed deep, deep down.

Verdict: A lot livelier and more fun than your average app format, and it does make it easier to filter out anyone who's got a sideline in lame Olly Murs-lite pranks.

thesauceapp.co

Victoria

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The USP: Properly styled as 'Victoria the app', just in case you get it mixed up with 'Victoria the rail terminus' or 'Victoria the Beckham', this is less a straightforward dating app than a member's club with a bit where you can get your sauce on. The idea is to help people connect through curated experiences suggested according to your shared interests. It's also got a networking function for anyone looking for a partner in the boardroom rather than the bedroom.

Pros: There's an extremely no time-wasters vibe to the whole enterprise, and you're not likely to end up doing the same thing as you always do if you hit it off with someone on the app and meet up in real life. The app has a load of

Cons: It's a bit Soho House. If you've limited patience for hearing about your date's plans to push into SaaS marketing or minting some NFTs of some pieces from their flatmate's art show in Deptford, you might find it a little much.

Verdict: If you're comfortable with only dating within a very particular echelon of society, and aren't put off by the slightly wiffly 'Who is the Victoria member?' section on the website ("Driven — Members pursue their dreams and passions with intensity. They are pushed to excel, to do more, to be better in every facet of their career and personal life" etc), then jump in.

victoriatheapp.com

The Intro

The USP: The Intro positions itself as the dating app for the busy urban professional. It skips the bit where you spend three weeks running through the 'have you got any brothers or sisters' stage and skips straight to video calls, and it even does the scheduling for the pair of you too. It's a bit like having a PA whose only remit is to sort out facetime with hotties.

Pros: It's a lot more time efficient, person-focused and tactile than tapping out messages for however long, and you can get a proper vibe off someone before you go spending a whole evening of your precious, precious time with them.

Cons: There's a teeny whiff of the, "Hi, yah, buddy" Square Mile broseph about it. Just because you're spending 15 hours a day squeezing emerging markets and shifting units before Tokyo opens, it doesn't mean you should be spared the swipe-match-chat-ignore drudgery of most apps. It's the great leveller.

Verdict: A little bit Train Guy in the conception, but anything that whittles down the chances of anyone using the monkey hiding its eyes emoji to take the edge off whatever wildly overfamiliar opening line they've used 50 times that day is a good thing.

theintro.com

Jungle Dating

The USP: Throwing yourself into solo dates all the time can end up feeling quite lonely, especially if they're not tending to go quite how you'd like them to. So, Jungle is a platform for organising double dates for yourself and a mate.

Pros: Turning the dating game into a team pursuit makes it a lot more fun, and at the very least you and whichever mate you bring along will get some anecdotes out of the whole thing. Hopefully it's a dynamic which will make single women feel more comfortable, and there's also a lot more chance you're going to just make some new friends, which is always nice.

Cons: It only launched in July in London, so the pool is likely to be a little smaller than the other apps on this list. Also kind of depends on you having mates who are good crack, but not such great crack that your opposite numbers only fancy them and not you. And if you thought sorting out a time to go for brunch with one other person, try it with four diaries on the go.

Verdict: A nice idea, especially in a gigantic megacity that sees thousands of awkward two-drink Tuesday night dates every week. One to keep an eye on.

bit.ly/getjungle

Thursday

The USP: Many conversations you have on dating apps go absolutely nowhere. There are a number of reasons for this. Some nascent chats are simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of other romantic options that are available to the user at all times (why tolerate some less-than-stellar small talk when there are so many other people to talk to?) while longer conversations peter out over the course of weeks, as incessant back and forth robs both parties of their best material before they’ve even met up. Thursday attempts to solve this problem by only allowing users to match and talk on – you guessed it – Thursday. It builds anticipation, allows people to get straight to the point, and encourages the organising of actual dates.

Pros: While other apps can often function as a game at this point – something to swipe while you’re on the bus – Thursday is all about spontaneity and IRL encounters. It’s been a big thing in New York for a while, but has only recently launched in London.

Cons: Its strengths are also its drawbacks. Most people go on their dating apps on the weekend, specifically Sunday. A strict 24-hour period, on a working day no less, adds a sense of pressure to proceedings.

Verdict: An interesting concept.

getthursday.com

Feeld

The USP: Originally called 3nder, Feeld is sex-positive dating app for polyamorous couples who want to explore bringing a third into their bedroom, but it’s also a place where people can explore other kinks as well. That being said, it doesn’t allow nudity and takes great lengths to ensure users feels safe on the platform. The audience is mostly made up of young straight couples, but the app encourages everyone to join in and gender options are relatively vast for a dating app. Usefully, there’s a mode which allows you to stay invisible to any Facebook friends who might be using the app too (you have to sign in through the social media site in the first place, which it scrapes your personal information from.)

Pros: The platform creators care about the safety and privacy of their user base, and have created a respectful community as a result. The group chat feature is handy, obviously. Safer than many other options on the internet.

Cons: Fake profiles abound. At £14.99 a month it’s not exactly cheap, but you can get a better deal by going for a 90 day membership package. Some people might resent the need for Facebook verification.

Verdict: Of all the threesome apps on the market, this is the only one to break into the mainstream. It’s easy to see why.

feeld.co

MATCH

The USP: Match.com is Old Internet – it launched in 1995! Before Google! Before you even had a computer! – so we understand any scepticism you might have. What are we going to suggest next, an AOL chat room? Habbo Hotel? The dating world is about gimmicks and ever-advancing AI. Why would you look backwards when you could just download the trendy new app?

But Match.com has survived this long for a reason. It’s moved with the times from an algorithmic standpoint but remains extremely stripped-back and basic. The filters are extensive, and while the ‘like’ system is very similar to Tinder, the discover page allows a more curated window-shopping experience. The MatchPhone feature also provides you with a custom, totally anonymous phone line that allows you to chat without monitoring (you can block the caller if need be).

Pros: The phone app is simple, and the service has a wide database of users.

Cons:A one-month subscription is £29.99, which is pretty crazy. Three months works out at £19.99/m and six boils down to £9.99/m.

Verdict: VINTAGE FUN with a NEW AGE FEEL.

uk.match.com

Facebook Dating

The USP: It’s safe to say that Facebook Dating has arrived about a decade too late. People are probably far less keen to involve Zuckerberg and co in their love lives following the Cambridge Analytica privacy fall-out of 2018, and the site’s popularity amongst young people is dropping off. Still, it was always perfectly suited to hosting a dating app and now it's here, completely free, simple to set up and integrated with the rest of site’s myriad social features.

Pros:It’s easy to find others with similar interests through the group function, and there’s a ‘Secret Crush’ feature that allows you to select Facebook friends who you’re interested in (they won’t see if they don’t choose you too.)

Cons: It’s Facebook.

Verdict:Free and easy to use

facebook.com/dating

Hinge

The USP: "Designed to be deleted", as the company's motto goes.

Pros: It delves deep into your preferences to make sure matches are as suitable as possible, and it easily has the most impressive (and sleek) profile experience. You can also send 'likes' in reference to specific elements of their profile, and send messages to mutual matches.

Cons: The sheer amount of profile questions and features creates a pressure to impress – but then, is that any different to other dating apps?

Verdict: A great experience from start to finish.

hinge.co

Badoo

The USP: With more than 400 million members, Badoo is one of the world's most popular dating apps and part of the same umbrella company as Bumble. Uniquely, it allows users to live stream to potential partners.

Pros: It's a non-swiping app and allows you a smaller pool of potential dates tailored to your taste.

Cons: It's doesn't have quite as many features as some competitors.

Verdict: If you've got very specific tastes Badoo might work for you but fancying someone because they look like a celebrity is so rarely how attraction works.

badoo.com

Guardian Soulmates

The USP: As one of the longest standing dating sites on the internet, The Guardian’s Soulmates service doesn’t need to prove its credentials. Perhaps that’s why it’s one of the only apps that requires a paid subscription to fully utilise (and at £35/month, it doesn’t come cheap.)

So what are you getting for that money? None of the bells and whistles that we’ve come to expect from modern dating apps, that’s for sure. This is a back-to-basics service that relies on its like-minded and loyal user base (more than 80 per cent of members read the Guardian, and unlike many dating apps men only slightly outnumber women). It also offers regular singles events for users, a regularly updated Soulmates blog and a highly refined search function.

Pros: A strong reputation and compatible crowd

Cons: Not as innovative or packed with features as newer dating apps.

Verdict: Worth the money if sitting in the pub on a Sunday quietly reading The Observer is one of your kinks.

soulmates.theguardian.com

Coffee Meets Bagel

The USP: Their mantra and methodology is explained thus: "Each day at noon, guys will receive up to 21 quality matches – known as 'Bagels'. They are given the option to either LIKE or PASS. Then, Coffee Meets Bagel will curate the best potential matches for women among the men who expressed interest."

Pros: A more curated selection than just endlessly swiping through everyone.

Cons: The app requires you to give over control over to someone else to decide for you.

Verdict: CMB only lets you see people who have liked you, so no torturing yourself about 'the one that got away'. Think of it as a time-effective dating app.

coffeemeetsbagel.com

Down

The USP: Gives you the chance to tell your friends (rather than strangers) that you want to sleep with them.

Pros: There is a strange thrill in being able to 'swipe' that acquaintance you've always fancied, asking them for a date (up) or telling them you want to sleep with them (down). Until you realise how pathetic it is.

Cons: It pulls in every single woman who happens to be your friend on Facebook, even if they haven't joined Down yet (your cowardly come on will be waiting for them if they ever do), making it rather pointless.

Verdict: The more you think about it, the less sense Down makes. Isn't the whole point of internet dating that you can meet someone new? This hook-up app for friends (and friends of friends) is the equivalent of passing 'I Like You' notes in class.

downapp.com

Happn

The USP: Hook up with the people you walk past on the street.

Pros: Once you get over the slight stalker complex Happn instils on you by showing women who walked past your front door an hour ago, matching with users within a 250-metre radius is actually quite handy. Chances are you live or work in the same area, so arranging a date becomes a lot simpler.

Cons: If the date goes horribly, there are no assurances you won't bump into her when you're buying milk a few days later. Also, spend too much time on it and you start getting paranoid you're seeing 'someone you liked on Happn' every time you sit in your local cafe.

Verdict: One of the most effective – and convenient – dating apps out there. Until it isn't.

happn.com/en

HER

The USP: A progressive dating app designed for queer, bisexual and lesbian women that boasts a worldwide membership of 4 million, the free version of the app allows users to view mutually matched profiles and chat, while the premium option lets you view the photos and names of those who like you, and gives you unlimited swipes. The gender options are also very inclusive, including female, non-binary, agender, gender fluid and intersex.

Pros: The app notifies users about LGBTQ+ events that are happening in the local area.

Cons: It only lets you sign up through your Facebook or Instagram account, which many are loath to do (but it only uses your first name).

Verdict: The most popular lesbian dating app in the world for a reason.

OKCupid

The USP: Endless personality quiz questions that give you a match percentage with would-be partners.

Pros: You can weed out people with traits or points of view you find simply unacceptable. Racists, bigots and Mumford & Sons fans, then.

Cons: Too many basic functions are restricted to paid membership.

Verdict: Worth a shot, if only to kill time answering bizarre questions about yourself.

okcupid.com

Plenty Of Fish

The USP: It's a huge ocean, with more members than any of the others (around 70 million).

Pros: Unlike most of the other apps, doing the basics on PoF – looking at profiles, sending and reading messages – is absolutely free.

Cons: A high number of sexually frustrated virgin-trolls means a lot of women find using it a harrowing experience, which understandably makes them cagey when you, a normal man, comes along. It's disheartening how many women have to resort to 'please no sex pests' appendices on their profile information.

Verdict: Easy to navigate, simple and free to use, void of distracting gimmicks. And unlike Tinder, users tend to write a bit about themselves, meaning you have more to go on (and sell yourself with) than just your five least-worst selfies.

uk.pof.com

Grindr

The USP: It really works. If you happen to be gay, bisexual or curious.

Pros: Easy and efficient to use, you can find a hook-up within minutes.

Cons: It is notoriously 'glitchy', with messages disappearing and some functions not working properly.

Verdict: The app that started it all, Grindr has been helping men who like men improve their sex lives since 2009. Whether they are honest about it or not, every heterosexual internet dating app out there aspires to be the 'Grindr for straight people'. Has is happened yet? Not even close.

Grindr

Lumen

The USP: Dating for over-50s.

Pros: Most (if not all) dating apps provide age boundaries, but Lumen is the first dedicated service for people over the age of 50, with a verification system that keeps bots and scammers at bay.

Cons: Not a lot of search filter options. All opening messages must feature more than 50 characters, which means you can't rely on the tried-and-tested "Wazzzuuuppp?!?!"

Verdict: Asimple interface, strong security focus and growing community means that Lumen's future is bright for this mature dating app.

Inner Circle

The USP: Members are vetted, and they also run IRL singles events.

Pros: The screening process ensures out-and-out perverts are banished, which means everyone wins (except the perverts). The fun and well-organised events means membership feels a bit more like a club, and less like pin-balling around a vast galaxy of random singletons.

Cons: After sending someone a message, you're notified when they're checking your profile, which means you can actually see yourself being rejected in real time. But hey, that's life.

Verdict: Pulling together the best elements of other older dating apps, Inner Circle is the best all-rounder out there with the highest quantity of people you'd actually like to meet. £5 a week for the advanced user options is just too much, though.

theinnercircle.co

Bumble

The USP: Like Tinder, except once you match, only the ladies can make the first move and say hello.

Pros: It means women have an extra barrier against the 'hey hun wanna fuk??' brigade, which is good for all concerned. It also means if she's got in touch with you, you definitely weren't an 'accidental swipe', meaning you'll be leaving less of those unanswered hellos that slowly chip away at your soul.

Cons: None, really. Though one minor gripe is that Bumble's algorithm clearly pulls ten of the highest rated profiles to the top of your feed every time you log in. Parading the hottest – and least obtainable – women in front of your face every time you log in feels a little bit manipulative.

Verdict: A dating app where women need not fear to tread, and where the sting of rejection is largely removed for you. Win-win.

bumble.com

Luxy

The USP: Connect with verified millionaires.

Pros: The site boasts a large portfolio of high earners and offers 24/7 customer service for their members.

Cons: Sadly, you also need to be a millionaire. People tend to upload shots of their huge houses.

Verdict: Aside the obviously Dickensian classism all over the site, it also has an understandably odd mixture of trust fund brats and retired divorcees. Luxy does however offer high security to protect your privacy and weeds out people looking for a sugar daddy or mumma.

onluxy.com

Muddy Matches

The USP: It's a dating service for countryside lovers, rather than people who don't bathe.

Pros: You don't actually have to live in the countryside. You just need to be into the rural scene. Rambling, jodhpurs, chortling, wax gilets, shovelling poo. All that good stuff.

Cons: Full membership (which allows you to send messages) comes in at £94/year.

Verdict: No other app can guarantee you a weekly polo tutorial. For that, it's worth the yearly fee.

Tastebuds

The USP: Fall in love with someone who shares your music taste.

Pros: A nice way to connect with people on something you're passionate about, or it can be used to find friends to visit gigs with.

Cons: Just because you both like Kings of Leon doesn't really mean you're made for each other.

Verdict: A nice concept and considering music is a personal passion that connect a lot of people, Tastebuds actually has more of a USP than most niche interest apps. However the same warnings apply – you may be looking for your dream girl who loves Ok Computer, but you're going to end up with a page of middle-aged Radiohead loving blokes like yourself.

tastebuds.fm

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Let’s face it, online dating is a bit of a minefield, no matter whether you’re newly single, prefer to meet someone in a bar rather than them sliding into your DMs, on the search for a short-term romance or a long-term relationship. Throw a global pandemic like Coronavirus into the equation and dating in recent years hasn't been a piece of cake.

There’s a lot of choice when it comes to navigating the dating app pool and, as we all know, finding romance is a bit more complicated than a simple swiping right (or left) of the thumb on Tinder. Now you have to construct witty profiles on Hinge or make the first move on the app Pickable. There’s one for country-lovers, one for creatives and there’s even exclusive apps for A-listers (which prove more difficult to get on that finding love itself). But not all apps are exclusive to romantic matches with platforms like Bumble having a business buddy and BFF networking feature to boot.

For the sceptical among you, statistically speaking, dating apps have been found to work. According to Bumble, over two thirds of respondents use apps to find a steady relationship, and it's guaranteed that if you’re a millennial, half of your friends have most likely met their partners via apps.

Dating apps are a bit of a necessary evil, for those of you who struggle to find the time to meet someone IRL. Like most things in life, it’s not one-size-fits-all. Tinder might be a bit old school, but thankfully, there’s plenty more fish in the sea when it comes to dating apps (and love, we hope).

Here are the best dating apps in 2022 you need to download:

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With over 10 million daily active users, Tinder is one of the most popular and successful dating apps. It’s all about first impressions because people have no choice but to judge you by your photos and the limited information you provide on your bio. Undeniably, Tinder is driven by appearances - as superficial, it may sound.

It is worth noting that Tinder is different for men and women. An interesting Tinder experiment conducted by the Youtube channel ‘whatever’ clearly illustrates this gender disparity.  They created two profiles using photos of attractive male and female models. Further, their information was identical regarding age, location and number of pictures. After 1,000 swipes, they discovered that a female profile matched 70% of the time, while a male profile only received 27% of matches. Additionally, the female profile received almost 400 messages in a short period while the male profile only received 28 messages in his inbox.

While the tinder game is different for men and women, the fundamentals of a good tinder profile are the same. Here they are:

1. Use a simple bio

A few words are fine - Words that display who you really are. Don’t try to go overboard with your quirkiness and don’t try to be funny. Most importantly, be yourself and do not leave this section blank.

2. Show your personality through pictures  

Choose three to six photos that clearly represent your personality and everyday lifestyle. Make sure there is a mix of head shots, body shots and if you are adventurous, include an active photo - But in all, do not include selfies. Research shows that outdoorsy photos get 19% more swipes, and selfies get 8% fewer swipes. Mainly, you want to highlight your best features. Remember, you main Tinder profile picture can make all the difference.

3. Have good-quality photos

Avoid any blurry, poorly cropped, highly edited photos and heavily filtered photos. You should show what you really look like. Making it highly edited and heavily filtered will make it look like you are hiding something and insecure.

4. Avoid too many group photos

Your prospective matches are not going to waste time analysing ten different images, trying to decipher which one out of the group photo is you. In saying this, avoid photos involving you with your ex partners or people from the opposite sex. In general. In fact, 96% of these photos receive a negative reaction. Although having group photos show you are social, you don’t want your potential match to play ‘Where’s Wally?’, now do you?

5. Smile

According to OkCupid data, women who flirt directly into the camera receive the most messages. On the other hand, men that look away and not smiling receive more attention. Maybe it's because it gives a sense of mysteriousness about them. But don’t go deleting all your non-smiling pictures. Choosing what photo you want as your main is an important choice. Smiling is attractive for both genders and will make you look for genuine and inviting.

6. Highlight your best features

Let’s be honest - This is Tinder. If you have a good body, don’t be afraid to accentuate it - don’t make it too obvious though! In saying this, it is best for someone to take it for you. However, as aforementioned, have a mix of photos and not just photos of your body. Although these photos will get you messages, it may not potentially lead to an ‘actual conversation’, well not in comparison with other photos anyways. This is why you should display photos that represent you to receive more meaningful messages.

7. Get Feedback

Get your friends to choose their favourite photos and rank them from best to worse. Once you find some consistency, you would be able to have an idea on what kind of photos you want to display.

8. Use a professional

Most of the time, an iPhone just isn’t going to cut it. So unless your bestie or roommate has a DSLR camera and some time to lend you, getting an affordable professional is a good idea. A professional will direct your shoot to ensure that all of the above eight points are covered, as well as ensuring that all of the technical details like lighting are met. You can book a Snappr shoot from $59. Book here.

If you have spent any time on dating apps or have friends, colleagues or family members who use dating apps you should be familiar with one of the biggest frustrations: lack of likes and matches.

This is mostly an issue with men on dating apps due to gender ratios on most apps but it also has to do with photos, timing, writing skills, appearance, first impressions and more. All too often, frustration kicks in and many people resort to temporary, ineffective tactics like boosts with no luck.

Below are some tips to get more quality likes and matches on dating apps like Bumble and Hinge. There are no quick, easy hacks. These tips require patience, focused effort, lifestyle changes and more. For tips on making a good Hinge profile, read this. For help with making a good Bumble profile, read this. These steps are crucial to signal intent, effort and conversation starters.

Why Am I Not Getting Any Likes On Dating Apps: No Likes On Tinder, No Likes On Bumble

Chances are there are some self-sabotaging items on your dating profile whether it’s an unflattering photo, not enough photos, no full body photos, inconsistent looks on photos, lack of smiles, lazy bio / answers to prompts, no close-up photos or perhaps it’s a wrong app choice or lack of effort on your end (not sending out likes or not sending comments along with likes on apps like Hinge).

One should follow the follow the golden rule of dating apps: you are only as attractive as your worst photo. Don’t surround yourself with cheerleaders all the time (those that tell you want you want to hear and lack the ability to be brutally honest with you).

Get unbiased feedback on your appearance, grooming habits, wardrobe, facial expressions, app choice, dating app strategy and timing. You could be on an app meant for younger folks, you could lack realistic expectations or you could not be receive likes because you have not been proactive with sending likes and messages.

No Likes On Hinge: Why Am I Not Getting Likes On Hinge?

Hinge requires users to have better profiles, different photos than Tinder. The Hinge algorithm is very sensitive and if you don’t put in effort, you can easily get shown bad profiles. In addition to the above items, there are several more items one should pay attention to in order to have better success on the app.

Using captions when appropriate (custom not cannned ones), using thoughtful prompts with details and sending comments with likes will increase your chances of getting a response by 3x.

Sending likes and comments at appropriate times, paying attention to photo order and making sure your worst photo is good enough is key (golden rule of dating apps: you are only as attractive as your worst photo).

How Many Likes On Hinge? How Many Likes Per Day On Hinge?

You have a finite number of likes on Hinge (8 to be exact) with likes resetting daily at 4am local time. It’s important to be realistic and have self-awareness when sending likes. Proper etiquette suggests sending comments with likes.

But beyond that, you have to be strategic when it comes to filters i.e. age, distance, religion, politics, education lifestyle). Sure you can swipe outside your league but the more you do so or for people with different values, the fewer likes you will get in return.

How To Stand Out, Get Attention On Dating Apps Like Bumble, How To Get Noticed On Hinge

There are a variety of ways you can improve your chances for success on dating apps and I have outlined a many ways below. Focusing merely on one or two different methods is not enough.

Dating apps are competitive and with endless profiles a few swipes away you need to put your best foot forward with your app choice, profile, bio, photos, prompts, answers and messages.

Limited Time Special On Dating Profile Critiques!

Why Am I Not Getting Any Matches On Tinder, Bumble & Hinge?

There is a lot of bad dating advice out there. Some people get bad advice from pop culture articles, crowdsourced answers from Reddit etc. but most sources of these advice columns are people who struggle with dating themselves.

Most folks are not familiar with some or most apps, do not constantly research apps on the market nor do they talk to folks who use apps regularly both those who struggle and those who have had much success. Each app draws in different types of people – you can’t use the same photos, strategy on one app and expect to do well across other apps.

Additionally, some apps are more competitive than others. Bumble has better gender ratios than Bumble but guys can’t message first. Tinder has no height filter so you are able to avoid that hurdle in other dating apps like Hinge, Bumble.

On apps like Bumble, a guy needs a great profile and photos (more so than Hinge) because they are unable to send the first message to women.

On apps like Hinge, it’s all about strategy  (age difference, radius, timing, like vs comment approach). Knowing the optimal strategy on Hinge can make all the difference in who is shown to you (and when) vs being seen by more people you are interested in.

New Profiles, Front-loaded Matches, New User Boosts: Regression To The Mean

Most people get a good amount of matches when they start dating apps and after a few days, usually the number dies down. Most people can’t comprehend lead scoring when it comes to date leads.

Over time, fewer and fewer people will match with you because the app is looking to get your hooked early and then monetize your account down the road. Additionally, once people see your profile and provide feedback early on, there is a regression to the mean on how others perceive you.

When this happens you have to work on yourself offline and online to get more matches (photos, bios, prompts, filters, messages etc.). If you try to game the system and reset your account, you will likely get banned.

Dating apps are pretty sophisticated when it comes to catching people who try to create new accounts to get more matches (it’s more than just emails and phone numbers). I am familiar with the ways apps can detect such behavior but I will not reveal it publicly to alert creeps, reward bad behavior nor people trying to game the system.

Don’t try it or else risk getting banned and self-sabotaging your dating life.

Average Number Of Likes, Matches On Hinge, Bumble. How Many Matches Is Normal? How Many Likes A Day Do You Get?

The average number of matches will vary by user. Typically you will get the most number of likes and matches within the first 2-3 weeks and then slowly or abruptly tail off. If you are attractive, a good height, have realistic expectations and are in a good area and appropriate age range, you should expect 3-5 likes/matches a day after the initial surge.

Over time, you likes will likely come from new users on the platform as existing users will have already seen your profile.

Don’t worry so much about the volume early on, focus on the quality of profiles, conversations and dates. Likes/matches mean nothing. The biggest factor in your dating profile that will determine where a person looks at your entire profile or not is your first photo, main photo. If it’s not good, people will skip your profile. Make sure to avoid these photos in your profiles and particularly in your main profile photo on dating apps.

Dating Profile Tips: Appearance, Lifestyle & Emotional Availability 

Before you start to analyze ways to improve your profile you have to look at yourself and see if you are ready, is online dating for you and ways to improve your yourself offline. Better photos, bios, app choices and messages certainly can help but offline efforts have more of an impact on your dating life than all those items listed.

Everyone can stand to improve their appearance whether is exercising, eating better, updating their bland, outdated, juvenile wardrobe, optimizing colors and styles to complement your skin tone, hair and body type, getting a new haircut or utilizing proper grooming techniques.

As people get older, some get too comfortable with their job, lifestyle, environment etc. and don’t make an effort to dress up, look good, or get fit. Online dating is competitive, there will always be someone younger, more attractive, more fit, better dressed etc. It is crucial to be ambitious, always work on yourself to put the best you possible.

Given the competition and readily available options comes with some warning. Online dating is rather anonymous in the sense that people choose to divulge only part of their lives. Using dating apps does not give a complete glimpse into someone’s life, character, intent and ambitions. Ability to read people, using good judgement, asking questions, being patient, not making excuses and having thick skin are all skills needed to be successful online.

Being physically ready is just one part of the equation when it comes to getting ready to use a dating app. Being emotionally available is also an important aspect to dating. That means being in a good place to put baggage behind you, not being defensive, and not talking bad about exes.

No one is ever in a perfect place but everyone should aim to work on themselves continually. Being recently divorced may hinder ability to be vulnerable or willing to take chances. Being hurt from past relationships might require additional time to heal. Years of struggle and frustration with dating might make you too jaded to give people a chance and a clean slate.

Dating App Choice: Tinder vs Bumble vs Hinge vs Coffee Meets Bagel vs Match.com vs OkCupid

Not all apps are the same. Apps favor some people more than others depending on age, location, gender, ethnicity, height etc. Using the app that your friend recommends or has the most users is not always the recommended choice of action. Understanding who you are and what you are looking to attract are important to figure out which app is best for you.

Apps like Tinder are known for more casual hookups but in some locations it is the only option in town. Apps like Hinge and Bumble are popular for young professionals but may not be the best option for those in remote suburbs and rural areas. Apps like CMB have a greater Southeast Asian profiles while Okcupid is geared toward more alternative lifestyles, quirky personalities etc.

Age, Location, Filters, Preferences, Deal-Breakers & Swiping Outside Your League

Even if you manage to select the best app for your lifestyle and demographics, you can still have a hard time getting matches.

Using too narrow filters can limit the number of profiles you seek. Having an unrealistic view about whom you can attract relative to your age is also a common mistake people make. Focusing on people too young for you is something I see often on people’s profiles all the time.

Dating apps provide an array of preferences, filters and deal-breakers to help you narrow your search but it is a know fact people are more picky on dating apps than they would be offline. With that in mind, it is important to be honest with yourself when deciding what is a preference vs what is a deal-breaker for you.

Adding 1 year to the top end of your desired age range or subtracting 1 inch from your minimum height requirement or lowering the number of advanced degrees someone can make your life much easier if you let it.

While I don’t believe in swiping outside your league is a rigid or perfect rule it should serve as a guideline for navigating dating apps. If guys focus on girls who are only 1 inch below their height and above, they might be in for a rude awakening. Similarly, if guys in their 50s only target women in their 20s and 30s, dating apps might be a significant challenge for such men.

Online Dating Tips: Good Online Dating App Profile Photos

Dating photos are arguably the biggest factor in online dating success and experience (aside from offline factors). Many people are too shy or embarrassed to admit they are on dating apps and because of that rarely seek out help on how to improve their profiles and photos. 

Professional dating photos are not needed for success (I myself would argue they are likely to hurt you because most photographers butcher the photos making them seem fake, retouched and deceiving). Good solid photos with smiles, comfort in your own skin, approachability and uniqueness are the simple ways you can improve your photos.

Using too few photos, too many photos, lack of smiles, using dark, distant, blurry photos, relying on outdated photos that no longer reflect your appearance or cropping people out are all obvious red flags when it comes to dating apps. Bumble suggests using at least 3 photos, I recommend using 4-6 photos (remember, you are only as attractive as your worst photo, choose wisely).

You may be scouring all the dating apps out there only to end up with zero matches. Zilch. Nothing. No, nothing is wrong with you. Let’s get that out of the way first. Before you blame the algorithm, there is another possibility why the dating apps never seem to work for you. There could be something wrong with the way your profile looks. 

© iStock

Take it from a woman who has used dating apps and been a subject to cringeworthy profiles a lot of times. I don’t wish that for you so let’s fix your dating problem by fixing  your dating profile. Here are 5 reasons that are keeping you from getting a match on a dating app and how you can fix it.   

© iStock

1. You have a boring bio or you’re trying too hard

© Twitter

An uninteresting bio is as off-putting to women as one that seems like you are trying too hard. Even if your profile picture is killer, your bio can mess it up for you. When a girl comes across your profile, she doesn’t want to read quotes that she can find on Google or worse, behind a truck. Avoid things like ‘My motto is live, laugh and love’. Keep your bio short, crisp and original or make something up that is funny but tells something about you.   

2. Your pictures are making her roll her eyes

© iStock

I’ll let you in on a secret. A girl can tell a lot about a guy and his personality just by looking at the pictures he puts. Nothing makes her swipe left faster than a shirtless selfie or a childhood photo of you (that belongs in your family photo album). Gym photos are complete no-no, even if you have a smokin’ body. It doesn’t hurt to be subtle about your hotness, especially on a dating app. Instead, put aesthetic SOLO photos of you, maybe some travel pictures or just you in your element that don’t come off as trying too hard.  

3. Your profile Is incomplete

© Instagram/Bumble India

Putting only a couple photos when you can add five or six and missing out on information about you like passions and interests or things that could give her a sneak peak on what she’s swiping right to, is the most common mistake guys make. In other words, it is the first step to a lifetime of singlehood. An half-assy profile would make her think you don’t use the app much, aren’t active or uninterested and rest assured, she won’t bother. 

4. You are sticking to the cliches 

© Instagram

For Hinge and Bumble users, you have a great opportunity to get creative with questions. However, guys often stick to the cliches like ‘unpopular opinion: pineapple on pizza’ or ‘together we could: Netflix & Chill’. Also, steer clear of vague answers like ‘I know best places in town for: Brunch’. Be witty, random and specific to make your profile as personal as you can. That, my friend, is what will pique her interest in knowing more about you. 

5. You have a snobbish or negative profile

© iStock

Women like men who are chill, sweet and positive. I mean, we need someone to deal with our random mood swings, not walk away and tell us off. A lot of guys try to play hard or seem cool by choosing prompts like ‘don’t swipe right if…’ or ‘You should *not* go out with me if’ and answering them with even snobbing things. You are only making her run, instead of drawing her into having a conversation with you.    

© Instagram/Tinder India

Remember that on most dating apps, men outnumber women and the chances of you standing out in her ‘new matches’ section is all that matters. Good luck!

Nailing the perfect online dating profile isn't always easy—and it can be frustrating when you put the time in and still feel like you're not getting enough likes or right-swipes.

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Luckily, dating apps collect data, which can help you figure out how to rig the system and get way more matches. Here are eight ways to get more eyes on you instantly, based on information provided by OkCupid:

1. Make sure you're making eye contact in your main profile photo.

While that candid shot of you laughing with your friends is beautiful and can be a part of your profile, your first photo should show your eyes focused out at potential dates.

"We found that pictures on your profile of you looking directly at the camera ultimately perform better," says Melissa Hobley, chief marketing officer at OkCupid.

And it makes sense: Strong eye contact is scientifically proven to make you more memorable, according to a 2012 study on eye contact and facial recognition. Using this science to your advantage is the subtlest way to make a lasting impression.

2. No. Sunglasses.

It's obviously fine to wear shades in a group pic at the beach, but your first photo or two should show your whole face, according to OkCupid's data team. The stats found that profiles with sunglasses in the first image get about 20 percent fewer likes than those without sunglasses.

3. Use photos to show off your personality.

Your selfies may be fierce, but TBH, a profile full of your best angles won't say much about you other than you're feelin' yourself.

“Don't include only one photo–upload a variety for the best response," Hobley says. "Be sure to show a well-rounded version of yourself [and] try to show off your family, your friends, your hobbies."

4. Throw in more recent photos of yourself.

OkCupid's team found that regularly adding new photos doubles profile likes, and it makes sense. For one thing, if you have totally different hair in the Instagram you linked out to, it can come off like you never check your app.

Also, on the off-chance that someone's seen your profile before and swiped left based on one photo, adding new pics gives you a second shot at that first digital impression.

5. Actually write something in your profile.

Sure, it can be both annoying and a little daunting to craft a few sentences about yourself. Where do you even begin?

But honestly, as long as you're sticking to things about yourself (and not a judgy list of the types of people you won't date), text is better than no text.

"We can’t stress this enough but fill out your entire profile!" Hobley says. "Fuller profiles show up more to other users and therefore increase the odds of getting a match," Hobley says. Additionally, OkCupid researchers found that captioning photos increases your chances for a like by 30 percent.

The last thing you want to do is look like a spam bot or someone who can barely make the effort to write a few sentences about themselves. PLUS, the more things you have as conversation-starters on your profile, the easier it is for someone to talk to you first.

6. Mention your favorite band.

OkCupid found that movies, books, and sports are among the interests people write about most frequently on their profiles—but music tops the list.

"We recommend letting people know who your favorite artist is,” Hobley says. And it doesn't have to be a list of musicians–song lyrics and memorable concerts are also great convo-starters.

If you're on an app that lets you link out to your Spotify, take advantage of it to immediately excite potential partners—you have something in common! Anything else that might make someone say "OMG ME TOO!"—like favorite foods, hobbies, travel destinations—should be in there, too, since learning someone loves something as much as you do is the most natural way to trigger a conversation starter.

7. Keep your profile up-to-date with cultural references.

"If your favorite show a year ago isn’t your favorite today–keep it fresh!” Hobley says. Dated references like Breaking Bad or Lemonade could make it look like you haven't seen or heard anything new—or used the app—in ages.

You don't have to go overboard and stress yourself out with being #relevant, but if you happen to love Crazy Rich Asians and want to gush over it with someone, bring it up!

8. Definitely, definitely proofread.

You don't need a college thesis-level essay, but you do want to make sure your "you're" is the right one.

According to OkCupid's data, over 75 percent of people say they are less likely to respond to someone who has grammar or spelling mistakes in their profile. When you fail to do a quick scan of your short profile, it could seem like you don't care enough to make even the tiniest of efforts. Would you trust someone with a typo-laden bio to thoughtfully plan a date or engage in a stimulating conversation? Nope. It's the bare minimum you can do to make yourself look great on an app, and it makes all the difference.

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Let’s face it, online dating is a bit of a minefield, no matter whether you’re newly single, prefer to meet someone in a bar rather than them sliding into your DMs, on the search for a short-term romance or a long-term relationship. Throw a global pandemic like Coronavirus into the equation and dating in recent years hasn't been a piece of cake.

There’s a lot of choice when it comes to navigating the dating app pool and, as we all know, finding romance is a bit more complicated than a simple swiping right (or left) of the thumb on Tinder. Now you have to construct witty profiles on Hinge or make the first move on the app Pickable. There’s one for country-lovers, one for creatives and there’s even exclusive apps for A-listers (which prove more difficult to get on that finding love itself). But not all apps are exclusive to romantic matches with platforms like Bumble having a business buddy and BFF networking feature to boot.

For the sceptical among you, statistically speaking, dating apps have been found to work. According to Bumble, over two thirds of respondents use apps to find a steady relationship, and it's guaranteed that if you’re a millennial, half of your friends have most likely met their partners via apps.

Dating apps are a bit of a necessary evil, for those of you who struggle to find the time to meet someone IRL. Like most things in life, it’s not one-size-fits-all. Tinder might be a bit old school, but thankfully, there’s plenty more fish in the sea when it comes to dating apps (and love, we hope).

Here are the best dating apps in 2022 you need to download:

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