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Mike is a teaching assistant in New York City, and to supplement his income, he has a second job: He sells drugs. But Mike, who spoke on the condition that his last name not be published because he was discussing illegal behavior, isn’t your stereotypical street-corner dealer. When it comes to pushing his product, he said there’s an app for that: Grindr.

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“It gives me more clientele than I would normally get on the street,” Mike said of the popular gay dating app. He added that selling on Grindr is safer since he doesn’t have to worry about confrontations with other dealers “about who sells in what area.”

The rise of gay dating sites in the 1990s, such as early entrants Manhunt and Adam4Adam, provided gay men with new ways to connect. But over time, digital platforms geared toward LGBTQ men have also created a more convenient way for gay and bi men — a population that disproportionately uses illicit substances due to social stigma, discrimination and other minority stressors — to find drugs, and for drug dealers to find them.

“Today with Grindr, men can have sex and drugs delivered to their door instantly,” Phil McCabe, a social worker and president of the National Association of LGBT Addiction Professionals, told NBC News.

Grindr, by far the world’s most popular gay dating app with an estimated 3 million daily users, has previously taken steps to address the buying, selling and promoting of drugs on its platform. However, those who use the app say it is still home to a robust market for illicit substances.

“The issue with drugs has been a gay community plague since the ‘80s, but in the modern era, you don’t need a guy who knows a guy,” Derrick Anderson, a Grindr user from Chicago, said. “All you need to do is open up your app and look for that capital ‘T.’”

SECRET LANGUAGE

Those who are new to Grindr may be confused by all the seemingly random capital letter Ts and acronyms in Grindr profiles — that’s because some drug buyers, sellers and users on the app have their own language.

The terms “parTy and play” and the acronym “PNP,” which can be seen on Grindr and beyond, are used by some gay men to describe a sexual encounter while under the influence of drugs. The capital T refers to meth’s street name, “Tina.”

Some people on the app are explicit about their intentions with drugs, while others have covert ways to indicate whether they’re looking to buy, sell or just “parTy.”

Travis Scott, 22, a Grindr user in Toronto, said he gets a message “nearly every day from someone asking if I’m into ‘PNP.’”

“I didn’t even know what it stood for until I asked my roommate about it,” he said.

Beyond code words, there’s also a plethora of symbols and emojis that are used to indicate drugs. Grindr users discreetly reference crystal meth by putting a diamond emoji in their profile, and snowflake emojis are used to get the attention of those looking to purchase cocaine.

A ROBUST MARKET

While there is no data that quantifies drug activity on Grindr, a dozen people who use the app spoke to NBC News about its prevalence.

“I think it’s gotten worse in the past couple of years,” said McCabe, who in addition to being a social worker also uses the app. He recalled being messaged on Grindr by someone who was offering “parTy favors.”

“Now I know he wasn’t bringing red Solo cups. He was selling drugs,” McCabe added. “The apps are making it easier for people to find him.”

Ethan, 23, a Grindr user in Michigan who spoke on the condition that his last name not be used because he did not want to be associated with drug use, said there is nothing in his profile that implies he is interested in buying or using drugs, but nonetheless others “still message looking to sell.”

“It is definitively more prevalent than it used to be,” Ethan, who has been using the app on and off for two years, explained. “I’ve been offered meth and crack cocaine, which is absolutely insane to me.”

George, 30, a Grindr user in New York who asked that his last name not be published out of concern for his safety because there are drug dealers in his neighborhood, said over the past two years the increase in Grindr profiles that mention buying, selling or using drugs “has been exponential.”

“Drugs were always sprinkled throughout the app, but now it’s nothing like before,' he said. “Of course drug sales are happening on other dating apps, but at a fraction.'

Jermaine Jones, a substance abuse researcher in Columbia University’s psychiatry department, said the combination of gay men’s disproportionate drug use and Grindr’s reputation as a “parTy and play” platform led him to use the app to recruit participants for a methamphetamine addiction study.

“Meth has been much more prevalent among LGBT people,” Jones noted. “When I started this study, I thought Grindr might be a good option, and so far it has actually been very successful.”

Jones said approximately 300 men responded to the ad he and his fellow researchers posted to Grindr.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1.4 million people in the U.S. used methamphetamines in 2016, and gay men use the drug at double the rate of the general population.

“NO SUCH THING AS CENSORSHIP”

Despite the many gay dating apps through which he could potentially push his product, Mike, the New York drug dealer, said he exclusively uses Grindr.

“On Grindr, there’s no such thing as censorship,” he said. “I can post whatever I want.”

Based on his experience using the app to sell drugs for the past two years, Mike said “it doesn’t seem like Grindr’s policies enforce suspensions or permanent bans.”

“I had my profile flagged twice, but nothing ever happened,” he added. “I just received a warning that my account would be deleted, which never happened.”

NBC News spoke to several Grindr users who said they attempted to flag profiles of those selling or offering drugs, but to no avail.

“Grindr seems very unwilling to respond to any report requests for anything beyond underage users, whereas many of the apps will take action and remove users posting about drugs,” said Morgan Grafstein, 23, a Grindr user from Minneapolis.

“I will report users openly advertising drugs and recheck their profile 24 hours later and see no change,” he added.

Derrick Anderson, the Grindr user in Chicago, said the app’s administrators are not doing enough when it comes to policing drug activity.

“Reporting drug profiles never feels like it has an impact,” he said.

“GRINDR IS AN OPEN PLATFORM”

In late 2016, LGBTQ blog WEHOville reported that its two-month study of gay dating apps — including Scruff, Mister X and Surge — revealed “only Grindr allowed its users to openly include emojis and text in their profiles that indicated they were drug users or sellers.” A month after WEHOville’s report, Grindr appeared to have censored at least a few well-known drug emojis and words. Nearly two years later, however, the app’s drug market appears to be alive and well.

When asked about the continued use of Grindr for the buying and selling of drugs, a spokesperson for the company said, “Grindr prohibits the promotion of drug use in its user profiles and is committed to creating a safe environment through digital and human screening tools to help its users connect and thrive.”

“Grindr encourages users to report suspicious and threatening activities,” the spokesperson added. “While we are constantly improving upon this process, it is important to remember that Grindr is an open platform.”

The spokesperson did not respond to NBC News’ multiple requests for comment regarding specific actions Grindr has taken to reduce the sale and promotion of drugs on the app.

Under U.S. law, Grindr is not required to do anything when it comes to moderating drug-related content on its app. Like all websites and apps, the gay dating platform is protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. The legislation, passed in the early days of the internet, is known as one of the most important tech industry laws.

“Dating apps have no liability for any content that is posted on their platform by a third party,” Kai Falkenberg, a law professor at Columbia University, explained. “Any moderation that these sites are currently doing, they are doing it for the benefit of their business model but not out of any legal obligation.”

But while Grindr is not legally obligated to moderate drug content on its platform, some experts say it would be relatively easy to do so.

“If you know what the drugs are called, and you program words into the algorithm, like 'crystal meth' for example, it is very simple to detect those words,” David Fleet, a professor of computer science at the University of Toronto, told NBC News.

“It's very straightforward,” he added. “If the dating apps use modern machine-learning tools, not only can they censor pre-programmed words, but they could also detect other words that are essentially used as synonyms for various, more covert terms for drugs.”

While Grindr may not be policing drug activity on its app — real police are. There have been several examples in the past few years of men being arrested for selling illicit substances through the app.

One of those men is Harold Gondrez, 67, a bisexual man from Manhattan who was arrested in July 2016 after selling crystal meth to an undercover New York Police Department officer he met on Grindr.

“We talked and talked for several months,” Gondrez said, “and we built a friendship, or so I thought. At first I asked him if he was a cop, and of course he said no. Then two weeks after the last sale, a whole team of police officers came to my apartment to arrest me.”

Shortly after Gondrez was busted, a Virginia mayor abruptly resigned and pleaded guilty to offering meth to undercover cops he met on Grindr. And across the pond earlier this year, a U.K. man who was using Grindr to sell drugs was sentenced to nearly a decade in prison.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

McCabe, president of the National Association of LGBT Addiction Professionals, said despite having no legal obligation, Grindr has a moral obligation to fight drug sales on its platform.

He acknowledged that “censoring drug content on Grindr wouldn’t eradicate the problem” of substance abuse in the LGBTQ community. However, he said the app creates a unique problem for those trying stop using drugs.

“Grindr could be a trigger for someone struggling with sobriety, especially in the early stages of recovery,” he explained. “If that’s the case, they need to remove those apps from their phone and make a commitment that they won’t go on Grindr.”

While research is limited, a 2017 study in Thailand concluded that gay dating apps “significantly increased motivational substance use through messaging from their counterparts.”

“Persuasion through dating significantly influenced people toward accepting a substance use invitation, with a 77% invitation success rate,” the report states. “Substance use was also linked with unprotected sex, potentially enhancing the transmission of sexually transmitted infections.”

Smith Boonchutima, one of the study’s authors and a professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, said less frequent use of gay dating apps “resulted in less exposure to drugs.”

And while Grindr’s policy limits the app to those over 18, a study published earlier this year by the Journal of Adolescent Health found gay dating apps, like Grindr, are “not uncommon among” adolescent gay and bisexual teen males between the ages of 14 and 17.

Ethan said he fears the prevalence of drug promotion on Grindr and other gay dating apps has led to complacency within the LGBTQ community when it comes to illicit drug use — especially meth.

“Young adults use these more frequently and are being exposed to a heavy drug early on that it seems normal,” he said. “Obviously these drugs are addictive, so making it easy to get while downplaying the effects and consequences will ruin lives plain and simple.”

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The best dating apps continue to help people connect, whether it's throughout the coronavirus pandemic or during the holiday season. A series of updates adding new features — everything from video chatting to support for dating remotely — have kept the apps relevant.

After all, dating apps aren't just about romance (though that's the main appeal, honestly). A lot of people also turn to the best dating apps to help them find platonic friends. It makes sense, as these apps are geared toward finding people who have the same interests and complement your personality.

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Whether it's friendship or something more, the best dating apps are ready to help, augmenting the traditional (and frankly, a bit tired) concept of swiping left or right to find potential matches. But the dating apps on display here are taking it to the next level with video meetups and security checks have made the world of mobile dating apps even better than it was before.

If you find yourself looking for some companionship to start the new year, we can help you sort through a bunch of competing options to find the best dating apps that fit your particular needs.

What are the best dating apps?

When it comes to finding love in the mobile age, it's hard to topple Tinder, one of the biggest and best dating apps that also enjoys a wide reach. Tinder has a reputation for helping you find quick hook-ups, though it's also geared to finding more permanent partners and recent additions to the app have improved user safety while adding video features.

Other dating apps boast strengths of their own. Bumble gives the power to make new friends to its female members, while OKCupid offers several different tools for finding romance. Eharmony has its famous algorithm for pairing up people, while Hinge's ultimate goal is to get people to delete its app off their phones (presumably because you've found a lasting connection and not out of frustration). Even Facebook has gotten into the act, with a dating service tied to its massive social network.

Looking for a same-sex partner? Grindr was the pioneer in that space, while Her offers a dating app for lesbian and bisexual users.

Before diving in to find the right dating app to find the best possible mate, don't forget to consider privacy. Don't just skim past the privacy policies of any dating app you use, as those policies can outline exactly what a dating site does with your personal data. Also be aware that many dating apps — including several on this best dating apps list — are owned by the same company. The Match Group, for example, not only operates Match.com but also Tinder, OKCupid and PlentyOfFish.

The best dating apps right now

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1. Tinder (Android; iOS)

Tinder blazed the trail set by Grindr toward a world of swipe and scroll dating apps. On its face, Tinder encourages you to make shallow, snap judgments about potential partners. You create a simple profile with a handful of photos and a few sentences about yourself, then throw yourself at the Internet's mercy.

The app displays singles in your area. If you like one, swipe the photo to the right; otherwise, swipe to the left. If you both swipe right, you can send messages and set something up. (Interested in upping your Tinder game? We've got tips on how to use Tinder like a pro.) Upgrading to a paid Plus or Gold membership at Tinder gives you premium features like unlimited likes or rewinds that give would-be partners a second chance.

Tinder continues to tinker with its formula, rolling out a video feature that allows you to make in-app video calls to matches without exchanging personal details (a very important addition in the COVID-19 era). An even more significant change introduced a Safety Center feature that ties into Noonlight app and provides a panic button in case you wind up on a date where you feel unsafe. Later this year, Tinder plans to let you perform background checks of people, pulling data from public records. That feature's coming to other dating apps operated by Tinder owner Match Group, in fact.

Download Tinder: Android, iOS

2. Bumble (Android; iOS)

Apple recognized Bumble as one of the top iOS apps of the past year — Bumble's on Android, too — and it's easy to understand why. The app can help you line up dates or make new friends, with the power to connect in the hands of its women users.

Women get to make the first move after two people mutually connect and are part of each other’s hive. From there, you've got just 24 hours to make some kind of contact or the connection disappears forever. For same-sex connections or friendships, either person has to make a move within 24 hours before that connection is gone, though you can get a 24-hour extension.

Just looking to widen your circle of friends, as opposed to a romantic relationship? Bumble has a BFF feature for people who are not looking for dates and a separate section for making business contacts. The Bumble Boost upgrade, which ranges from $2.99 to $8.99, makes it easier and faster to meet or date people.

Bumble added video a couple years ago, giving one of the best dating apps a leg up in the shelter-in-place era. A Night In addition added games starting with a trivia game to give you and your date something to do on your video chat.

Download Bumble: Android, iOS

3. OkCupid (Android; iOS)

OkCupid features a massive userbase and straightforward dating tools. But rather than rest on its laurels, OKC keeps refining and adding on features to its top dating app, such as a 'Flavors' system that allows users to quickly view evocative flavors of potential matches, such as Kinky Nerds, Beard Lovers, World Travelers, etc.

All this is in addition to OkCupid's messaging tools, personality quizzes, Instagram integration and other old favorites. A premium subscription adds other features, such as refined search tools and the ability to see users who have liked you.

Download OKCupid: Android, iOS

4. Match.com (Android; iOS)

Match.com offers its users a freemium dating experience on Android and iOS. Free users can set up online profiles, upload a few pictures of themselves and then engage in some online flirting with 'winks', and have new matches delivered to them daily. More comprehensive features, such as the ability to see who has checked out your profile and liked your pictures, can be unlocked by a Match.com subscription.

Match has continued to add on to its features, such as a Tinder-like Mixer, Android Wear and Apple Watch integration, and the addition of voice and video snippets to your profile. Vibe Check, launched in the spring, lets you enjoy video chats with your matches, while Match also lets you pay a little extra to have real-life dating coaches make matches for you.

Like Tinder, Match also added a safety feature that lets you alert friends if you're on a date and feel unsafe. You can even set your political views in Match, so you can better find a person whose outlook lines up with yours (or don't, if you believe that opposites attract).

Download Match.com: Android, iOS

5. Facebook (Android, iOS)

Facebook Dating, first unveiled back in 2018, launched in the U.S. last year after test runs in other countries. The service has since extended to Europe, including the U.K.

An opt-in part of the social network, Facebook Dating focuses on helping you find long-term relationships, not hook-ups. You access the Dating section from within Facebook's mobile app, setting up a Dating profile that's separate from your regular Facebook profile. From there, Facebook finds matches for you based on your preferences, interests and activities on the social networking site.

Facebook won't suggest matches among people you already know on Facebook, unless you use the service's Secret Crush feature in which you can select up to nine Facebook friends or Instagram followers you have an interest in. If they also express an interest in you via Secret Crush, Facebook will match you up.

You can add Instagram posts to your Facebook Dating profile as well as share Facebook and Instagram stories. Like other dating services, Facebook Dating is adding the ability to make video calls to your would-be sweetie, using the company's Messenger app.

Download Facebook: Android, iOS

6. Grindr (Android; iOS)

Grindr allows gay and bisexual men to meet up with like-minded men nearby. Profile creation is a fairly minimal experience, focusing on a profile pic, user name, and a few simple questions, and choosing a 'Tribe' that describes your type, and then you're up finding other users and chatting them up in minutes.

Grindr is free to use and advertisement-supported, but the premium version, Grindr Xtra, offers ad-free browsing in addition to other features like adding multiple Tribes and advanced search filters. One notable downside? Unlike other dating apps, push notifications for messages require Grindr Xtra.

Download Grindr: Android, iOS

7. eharmony (Android; iOS)

eharmony is a long-time player in the online dating game, and the first service to push an algorithmic system to try to make the best possible dating matches for its members. Once you create an account, users go through a 'Relationship Questionnaire' to create a personality profile that helps match you with other users that eharmony thinks you'll click with. Every day, the app will provide you with a selection of matches and your areas of compatibility; you'll have the option to connect if the interest is mutual.

Premium subscribers get expanded matching and discovery options, and other features like being able to see who has recently viewed your profile.

Download eharmony: Android, iOS

8. Coffee Meets Bagel (Android; iOS)

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Coffee Meets Bagel takes the opposite approach to many of the best dating apps, trying to focus on quality rather than quantity. Every day at noon, the app will send men a small selection of potential matches based on their profile and preferences, and women are then sent a number of matches who've shown interest in them, leaving the ladies the option of reciprocating the like. If the attraction is mutual, then the app will set you up with a 7-day chat window and icebreaker.

A redesign of the dating app puts a greater emphasis on user profiles, giving you the ability to comment on profiles and photos in hopes of fostering more connections between Coffee Meets Bagel users.

Download Coffee Meets Bagel: Android, iOS

9. Her (Android; iOS)

Her is a dating and social network app designed with lesbian, bisexual and queer users in mind. You sign up with Facebook or Instagram accounts, and then view a stream of activity from other verified Her users both in your area and globally. You can Like photos of other users, and if the interest is mutual, the app will link you up to chat.

Of course, it's also more than just meeting prospective dates, with the app offering social features, news and articles about LGBTQ issues, events, questions and more. While the app is free to use and sign up for, a premium subscription adds extra features.

Download Her: Android, iOS

10. Hinge (Android; iOS: $10.99/month)

Refusing to follow the trail blazed by swipe-driven apps like Tinder, dating app Hinge puts its focus on relationships and interesting conversations. In fact, the service's explicitly stated goal is to get you to the point where you've deleted the app altogether — presumably because you've found love and not because you've had it with the app.

Hinge turns its nose up at swipes for a more detailed profile that you fill in with pictures and stories. Users can then choose to like and comment on something in that profile, and that serves as a mutual conversation starter. Each day, you can check out new recommendations, as well as see people who have liked something in your profile.

Hinge responded quickly to our shelter-in-place situation imposed by the coronavirus pandemic by rolling out Date From Home features. Other changes include teaming up with the likes of Chipotle and Uber Eats to encourage users to have socially distanced dinner dates. And a redesign last year introduced Standouts feature that highlights people who are more likely to be your type, along with topics that Hinge thinks will spark a conversation with your would-be match.

Download Hinge: Android, iOS

11. Snack (iOS)

Imagine TikTok, but for dating, and you've got a pretty good sense of what Snack has to offer. This dating app puts an emphasis on short videos. You sort through a feed of introductory videos to see if anyone sparks your interest, favoriting the ones of people you'd like to get to know. Should they favorite your video, you'll be able to DM each other.

The emphasis on videos makes Snack a good dating app option for our socially distant times, though the focus is clearly on the under-30 crowd. Snack is only available on the iPhone at the moment, though you can sign up to be notified when an Android version drops.

Download Snack: iOS

12. XO (Android, iOS)

XO wants to put some of the fun back into dating by using games to help break the ice. Quizzes, drawing games and other party activities let you share a laugh with somebody new and maybe forge a connection that leads to a relationship.

You find matches by filling out a profile and meeting up with someone who has similar likes. Or you can try one of XO's other, more random pairings. Blind Date puts you in touch with someone to play a game and exchange messages before you see their profiles, while Random puts you in touch with someone from anywhere in the world.

People who are serious about finding a significant other right now may want to some of the other best dating apps, but XO seems like a fun, casual way to make new friends — and maybe that friendship blossoms into something more.

Download XO: Android, iOS

13. Kippo (Android, iOS)

Of course, there's more than one way to game online, and Kippo looks to attract online gamers in search of a little companionship. The app lets you customize your own profile — the more unique, the better — in which you can show off the things you're truly passionate about. The app then tries to find matches based on the games you like.

Once you find a match, you're ready to DM and chat, though the free tier of Kippo has some limitation on just how many profiles you can swipe each day and how many messages you can send. Joining a paid Kippo Infinity tier for $10 a month removes those restrictions.

Kippo says it verifies that everyone using its service is a real person, and there's moderation to keep out any bad actors.

Download Kippo: Android, iOS

15. Thursday (Android, iOS)

If you're getting a little tired of using dating apps all the time, the developers behind Thursday have heard your complaints. They've built an app you're only supposed to use one day a week — Thursday, naturally — to meet new people

Every Thursday, the app reveals people around you that want to go on a date that specific evening. The idea is to do away with the seemingly endless online flirtations and get straight to finding out if you've met your match.

Thursday is live in New York and London at this point, and the app is currently free to use, though a $14.99 'Black Card' membership boosts your presence and gives you an unlimited number of likes to find would-be matches.

Download Thursday: Android, iOS

15. Once (Android, iOS)

Once wants to slow down those frantic swipes as you try to find your ideal match. Instead of an unending string of photos to sort through, Once pairs you up with one potential partner a day, and you've got 24 hours to make a connection. You can keep chatting after that if both of you like another, but the idea is to focus on just one person at a time, so you can see if a more lasting connection is possible.

Matches are created with Once algorithm, which draws on your profile and your past behavior to find an ideal match. You can use Once for free, but paid memberships speed up the searching process and give you more matches per day if you prefer.

Download Once: Android, iOS

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16. Happn (Android, iOS)

Happn is all about the people whose paths you might have crossed who you might find interesting and might also be doing the same things you are. A location-based dating service, Happn shows you the profiles of other Happn users you've crossed paths with, along with time and location. You can like any of the profiles that show up, and if the feeling is mutual, the app gives you the option to connect. Paid options offer the ability to “Say Hi” to other profiles, which includes a notification, as well as the ability to see profiles which have liked you.

Download Happn: Android, iOS

17. SwoonMe (Android, iOS: Free)

Let's face it — even the best dating apps are heavily skewed toward swiping through photos to find a match. But SwoonMe wants you to look beyond the surface when you're trying to meet someone new, whether it's for friendship or a more serious relationship.

To that end, the SwoonMe app does away with photos in exchange for avatars — the photo you upload to the dating app is converted into a cartoon version of yourself. Instead, you search for a would-be significant audio by listening to short audio clips the person has recorded. If you like what you hear, you can further communicate through audio messages, eventually reaching the point where you can reveal your true picture.

It's a different take on dating than some of the other apps here, and as a fairly new service, SwoonMe isn't as polished as some of its more well-established competitors. But it's worth checking out if you find other dating apps to be overly superficial.

Download SwoonMe: Android, iOS

18. Plenty of Fish Dating (Android; iOS)

Plenty of Fish Dating lacks the depth of features found in some other apps, but it makes up for in breadth. This free dating app is one of the largest and most popular in the world, boasting more than 70 million members spanning the whole English-speaking world.

Users set up a simple profile, including age, education and profession, then search through potential matches and message them. Plenty of Fish keeps adding small tweaks to its app, including Chat Heads for Android users, VoIP calling for premium users and Instagram image uploads. You'll also find a free livestream feature that encourages dating over video.

Download POF Dating: Android, iOS

19. Badoo (Android; iOS)

A standout in a rich field of dating apps, Badoo features 370 million-plus users from more than 190 different countries, all sharing their profiles and photos as they search for matches. The app uses a lot of varied means to find interesting matches, from a Tinder-like swiping system to viewing the profiles of nearby users.

Badoo puts a premium on making sure that its users are actual verified people, instead of 'catfish'-style scams, with verification methods based on uploaded photos, connected social media accounts and phone verification. While the app is free to use, you can also buy premium credits for $2.99 to increase visibility or subscribe to gain 'Super Powers,' which provide expanded features.

Download Badoo: Android, iOS

20. Clover Dating App (Android; iOS)

A little bit of Tinder and a little bit of OkCupid, Clover takes a grab bag approach with a variety of ways to find and meet potential matches, from Tinder-like swiping to questionnaires, date planners, and detailed profiles with lists of interests.

Clover avoids the one-trick pony trap of more focused dating app experiences, so if you ever get bored of the swiping style, you can always try participating in live mixers, check out the 20 Questions game, or even experiment with Clover's 'on demand dating.' As with other apps, Clover has premium tiers that can improve visibility and add or improve existing features.

Download Clover: Android, iOS

How to find the best dating app

You're going to have the biggest success finding romance through a dating app if you first settle on what exactly you're looking for. If casual flings and hook-ups are your focus, shy away from apps designed to help you find long-term relationships. Similarly, if you're tired of one-night stands, dating apps that put a greater emphasis on swiping than on matching up compatible people are more likely to frustrate you.

Speaking of frustrations, nothing's more irritating than using a dating app filled with fake profiles. Pay attention to what dating services do to make sure that you're only being paired up with people who are taking things seriously (or at least as seriously as you are.) It's also a good idea to pay attention to what services are doing to protect the privacy of their users.

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Since many cities still have a limit on just how many people can gather in public places, it would be good to consider apps that offer some form of video chat, so that your love life doesn't get put on hold during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

As best you can pay attention to security measures and how much of your data gets shared. Dating sites can suffer security breaches, just like any service, so use good password practices and don't re-use login info you've tied to other accounts.