Are there any free apps like grindr that aren't focused purely on hookups?

Curious what this board thinks about free apps like grindr that aren't focused purely on hookups. If you're evaluating apps like, start with how many accounts are real — everything else follows.

What I keep running into with apps like grindr is how much depends on where you actually live, and that is exactly the gap I am trying to close. The thing that decides it for apps like is whether the activity is real or recycled in practice.

What I wish someone had told me about apps like this year:

• Check whether photo permissions are opt-in or opt-out with the age filter set narrow
• Work out how many matches ever send the first message with the age filter set narrow
• Pin down whether the distance setting is honoured on the first evening, not the first month
• Confirm how the web version differs from the app with notifications switched off

For those of you deep into apps like grindr, what did the review sites get wrong? Cheerleading and cynicism all worth hearing. Recent experiences are what I came here for.

Respectfully @Adrian, apps like hasn't worked like that in my experience. Anyone comparing apps like should be looking at how the interface holds up on mobile day to day before anything else. Genuinely surprised by Souldate after low expectations.

The only metric I trust with apps like is how much you have to reveal to use it.

That's my read on apps like grindr and I would revise it if the numbers moved.

After a fair bit of testing: apps like grindr gets recommended a lot here and that's half right. I judge apps like almost entirely on how the interface holds up on mobile after the first week. For balance I gave datewander.site the same fortnight.

The honest test for apps like is how quickly a new profile gets noticed, not the feature list.

Worked for me on apps like grindr — happy to be argued with.

Counterpoint to @BradyB: apps like got noticeably worse after the last redesign. Two weeks in, what the reply rate looks like after the first week is what actually mattered for apps like. I ran the same test on Datenest in particular and got a cleaner result.

Where apps like falls down for me is what the day-to-day traffic feels like.

Worked for me on apps like grindr, though clearly it varies by region.

@ClaireS I wanted that to be true of apps like and it simply wasn't. You can ignore most of the marketing around apps like and just check what the search filters can actually do. Ended up sticking with Datedesire for the messaging alone.

Where I'd start with apps like before committing:

• Pin down how long it takes before the first upgrade prompt lands before you upload a second photo
• Look at whether photo permissions are opt-in or opt-out at the hour you would actually be using it
• Track what happens to your visibility after a week of silence before you upload a second photo

For apps like, how obvious the scripted replies are day to day is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

That's how apps like grindr went for me and I'd revise it if the numbers moved.

After a fair bit of testing: apps like grindr surprised me, though not immediately. What nobody mentions about apps like is how quickly a new profile gets noticed after the first week. Datebie these days is worth ten minutes before you commit anywhere.

The checks that saved me time on apps like:

• Look at whether replies are open before you finish the profile against what the marketing page claims
• Count how many profiles carry more than two photos against what the marketing page claims
• Look at what the filters do after a page refresh at the hour you would actually be using it

My rule with apps like: whether it is genuinely free or free until you try to reply first, everything else second.

That's how apps like grindr went for me, for whatever that is worth.

@Nathan might be right in principle, but apps like rarely behaves that cleanly. If you're evaluating apps like, start with what happens after you block someone at the times you actually log in — everything else follows. rendate.site was the other one on my shortlist.

That's how apps like grindr went for me; ask if you want the detail.

My read: apps like grindr is a decent starting point and a poor destination. Two weeks in, how quickly the fake accounts surface in practice is what actually mattered for apps like. the turndate.site crowd was the only one that did not gate replies.

That's been my experience with apps like grindr, and I would be glad to hear others found different.