How are the dating apps in 2025

[CornbreadFed]

My SO was watching some movie about the founder of bumble and it sparked curiosity. I haven’t been on the apps in 3 years, so tell me lol.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

The same as they always are. The people who know how to adapt do well, the ones who don't cry and complain.

 

[BPH]

I gotchu...

Results will definitely vary, but this has been my experience as a pretty good-looking guy in Delaware swiping on girls as far north as Philly.

Tinder: Used to be my preferred app, now it's pretty terrible. The good thing about Tinder is that most people on there understand the stigma around it as the "hookup app", and treat matches on that app in a similar fashion. However, a significant portion of the active accounts are bots or fake. "New here" with no bio, no verification, and within 5 miles is a pretty common sight these days. One of the guys I was working with in my coaching got excited by some of his matches before I took a look and showed him that they were fake. Before writing this up, I decided to do some swiping on each app, and on Tinder I saw the same girl twice with 2 different names, and a handful of others I'd seen over the years that had the same pictures as they did then, but hadn't aged. You have to sort through a lot of garbage to get to the attractive girls who are real, and still on this app - and then they have to like you too.

Bumble: I'd now place Bumble in the middle. I've had fewer results on Bumble than on Tinder, but at least I can be pretty sure that my matches on there are real women. Their gimmick used to be that women had to message first, but now they've introduced "Opening Move" where they can set a question prompt to automatically send to their matches, so the guy is still on the hook for sending the first message. I find that destroys the whole premise of the app, but even before its introduction, I've had several matches never message first, or only message AFTER I used my daily 24-hour extension on them. There's also a new "Discover" feature, which shows a handful of "desirable" profiles in your area, and lets you decide whether you want to like them or not. Overall, not very good, but definitely better than Tinder now.

Hinge: I used to dislike this app because it was (and still is) more relationship-oriented than the other apps. Hinge definitely doesn't have the quantity of Tinder or Bumble, but it definitely has the quality. The women you'll match with on Hinge are frequently more attractive, more likely to be real, and less likely to ghost than on the other apps. There is a "Standouts" feature, which shows you the most desirable profiles in your area that refreshes daily. There are often some pretty good-looking girls on there, but the one time I went to New York for my birthday with my brother, they were all absolute DIMES - so depending on where you live, you may have a lot of really good options. You get 1 rose per week for free, which you can basically use when you like somebody to let them know you REALLY like them (since a "right swipe" informs them you liked them on the app, regardless). Usually, you'd use this rose on somebody in the "Standouts" because you may not see them in your standard swiping feed. Unfortunately, Hinge has the smallest user base, and I believe it also allows you the fewest free likes per day compared to the other apps.

There are some more obscure ones like Feeld and 3Fun, but in the short time I've used them, I've come to the conclusion that the women on these apps are the ones who can't get laid on the big 3, and therefore, are not worth your time and effort.

Most of these apps monetize by allowing you unlimited likes (since each has a limit to how many profiles you can like per day, for free), boosting your profile, and allowing you to "super like" (since Hinge is the only one that shows a like before a potential match, by default), and being able to see the profiles that have liked you so you can decide whether to like them back.

Overall, none of them are that great for the average guy. I consider myself quite attractive, and have done pretty well on the apps - I'd say maybe 1/3 of my lays have come from conversations and dates that started on one of the apps...maybe 1/4.

Use Hinge if you want to go on dates with attractive women who are probably real, but may be looking for something serious.

Use Bumble if you want to maybe date, maybe bang decent-looking women who are also probably real, but may never message you.

Use Tinder if you bought Tinder Gold for a week and just want to swipe right on every profile, then filter out the real matches from the fake ones later.

 

[Bokanovsky]

It's incredible. You are missing out big time.

 

[Jesse Pinkman]

Pro photos done and everything but Tinder and Bumble are crap for me.

Hinge I have had 20 matches in a month since I got back on it, all of them hot.

But the secret is trying to get into an app like Raya or a more high-end type of an app. My friends on these are the ones that regularly get dates.

 

[BillyPilgrim]

Pro photos done and everything but Tinder and Bumble are crap for me.

Hinge I have had 20 matches in a month since I got back on it, all of them hot.

But the secret is trying to get into an app like Raya or a more high-end type of an app. My friends on these are the ones that regularly get dates.

Try the Hazmat suit Jesse

 

[tksniper]

I use AI to add in 6 pack abs (I have like a 4 pack) and some nice looking tattoos and I’ve been getting a lot of positive reactions. I already work out everyday and have a bunch of tattoos so AI just enhanced it. I wouldn’t recommend using AI to create a completely different image of yourself. Google Gemini has AI picture enhancers. It’s a useful tool for online gaming.

 

[Hoodie]

I use AI to add in 6 pack abs (I have like a 4 pack) and some nice looking tattoos and I’ve been getting a lot of positive reactions. I already work out everyday and have a bunch of tattoos so AI just enhanced it. I wouldn’t recommend using AI to create a completely different image of yourself. Google Gemini has AI picture enhancers. It’s a useful tool for online gaming.

Imagine their disappointment when they see you only have 4 abs...

 

[Bigpapa]

Pro photos done and everything but Tinder and Bumble are crap for me.

Hinge I have had 20 matches in a month since I got back on it, all of them hot.

But the secret is trying to get into an app like Raya or a more high-end type of an app. My friends on these are the ones that regularly get dates.

What is the catch with raya?

never heard of it before

 

[BillyPilgrim]

Imagine their disappointment when they see you only have 4 abs...

Regardless if this is in jest or not, the idea is to amplify their interest in between when they see the profile pic and when they see that in person, so that "cracks in the veneer" so to speak are readily overlooked.

 

[Manure Spherian]

Two friends met second wives on Bumble. My brother gets constant dates from apps.

 

[Solomon]

I think it's easier and harder then ever. The apps are tougher to get matches due to the alorgitiim and most apps are dead compared to a few years ago when post-covid you had tons of chicks, however once you get a match it's easy to meet up and even get laid if you know how to escalate/vet and Game properly.

 

[tksniper]

I think it depends on the city. In Atlantic City, Pittsburgh, NYC, and Boston, I’ve had women send me videos of themselves naked and masturbating. In Philadelphia I get women with 5 kids looking for “the one.”

 

[Solomon]

I think it depends on the city. In Atlantic City, Pittsburgh, NYC, and Boston, I’ve had women send me videos of themselves naked and masturbating. In Philadelphia I get women with 5 kids looking for “the one.”

Yup I remember when you had to be a boyfriend at the least to get nudes, now women are sending all types of stuff it's wild
You would think that with tech out people would be more cautious but it's not just younger women, older women are just as freaky sometimes