Reviews

Launched in London as 3nder in 2014, Feeld began as a dating platform for singles and couples looking for the illusive ménage à trois. The media quickly branded it “Tinder for threesomes,” and before long, the company found itself on the wrong end of a lawsuit served by Tinder itself.

Though that would be disastrous news for almost any other fledgling startup, 3nder bravely rebranded and came back better than ever. As Feeld, the app now calls itself “a space where you can find your people and experience what you really desire.” The focus is on community, and the app caters not just to those looking for group action in the sack, but to anyone kinky, open-minded, into polyamory, outside the gender-binary, or simply curious.

Feeld was recently re-released with a new design to enhance the mobile experience for iOS and Android users. This marks the first of many updates intended to bring Feeld back into the spotlight, including an account pairing option, a revamped navigation system, and a location changing feature.

We all have that friend: the one who keeps dating the wrong person, over and over again, and is completely oblivious to where they’re going wrong (even though it couldn’t be clearer to you). As you hear about failed date after failed date, it takes every ounce of restraint you have to stop from grabbing their phone and swiping for them.

Now you can do exactly that, thanks to an app called Wingman, and you won’t risk pissing your pals off in the process.

Wingman puts the decision-making power in the hands of your most trusted (and meddlesome) mates. To get started, download the app, invite the single friend most in need of your Cupid skills, and create a profile for them. Once they approve of what you've written, it goes public and you can begin browsing matches.

The concept of a blind date is nothing new, but you haven’t seen it quite like this before.

Taffy is a new app that attacks the problem of superficiality in dating by blurring a potential match’s photos until you’ve gotten to know each other better. Users initially see the hazy images with a catchy headline superimposed on top (something like “Looking for a guy with a sense of adventure,” suggests the app, though calling that “catchy” seems like a stretch). Only after initiating communication are the clear images revealed.

“Taffy is a new way to meet people that puts personality on the same level as physical attraction by putting conversation first,” explains the website. “Photos are blurry until you start chatting. The more you chat the more you see!”

The swipe has become the symbol of a generation. To the right, it’s shorthand for like, lust, and if you’re lucky, love. To the left, it signifies dislike, disgust, and disappointment. It seems shocking that a simple gesture has come to mean so much, but it was no accident.

Tinder’s creators worked tirelessly to create a fun physical mechanism for the app, tapping UX designer Loren Brichter (who created the familiar pull-to-refresh feature now used by most apps) to design their own iconic gesture. The groundbreaking swiping interface turned dating into a game - and an addictive one at that.

Sean Rad, one of Tinder’s two co-founders, once told TIME, “Nobody joins Tinder because they’re looking for something. They join because they want to have fun. It doesn’t even matter if you match because swiping is so fun.”

Tired of swiping right and exchanging flirty emojis, only to be ghosted before you’ve ever met in person?

Craig Cole was disillusioned with the lack of face-to-face meetings in online dating, so he created Doppler Social App to get singles out from behind their screens and on dates IRL.

“In my experience, once I swipe right and match with someone, I immediately either connect with them through the phone and it fizzles out over two weeks, or we continue talking and make plans to meet up that never come to fruition,” Cole wrote for Built In Los Angeles. “We spend so much time ‘talking’ over text and through apps, that we never actually make time to meet each other in person. We are constantly canceling plans and flaking out on our friends or potential dates. I was tired of the disconnect." 

Online dating has always held some risk, and in recent years, the challenge of protecting consumers from trolls and unwanted messages has increased. Many dating apps like Tinder are finding themselves at risk to hackers who are creating fake accounts and hacking other users - this in addition to increasing problems with lewd messages. A new dating app called Hily aims to change that trend.

Many dating apps are trying to put more safety measures in place to verify their users. According to an article in TechCrunch, cyber security researchers found that hackers could create a Chrome plugin so that a Tinder user could find the locations of Facebook friends who were also on Tinder (even though they didn’t disclose this information on their social media feeds), a scary thought for online daters who are trying to keep their personal information private.

The lack of security has been especially difficult for young women who use dating apps. More and more are reporting getting trolled or harassed by other users on online dating sites, or sent unwanted messages and photos. This is one of the reasons female-friendly apps like Bumble have become so popular – women have more control of their experience on the app. But verifying profiles has remained a challenge, as hackers have found ways around protections.