Illustration by Anna Sica
Bumble (Free) Created by the disillusioned co-founder of Tinder, Bumble uses the same basic concept as its forebear but with one major difference: only women can initiate a chat. If you’re a girl, this could help eliminate some strange messages (check out @tindernightmares on Instagram). There’s an extra motivation here too. If you don’t initiate a chat within 24 hours of a match, your opportunity disappears forever. Hinge (Free) If the idea of meeting a complete stranger is intimidating, Hinge gives you an easy out, only matching you with friends of your Facebook friends. Hinge shows you fewer potential matches per day than Tinder, but with the major perk that your mutual friend can vouch for your match (or not), and you know that you’ll have at least one common interest to talk about. Hinge links to your Facebook account and gives you the option to share some basic details about yourself, like your employer, school, height, and hometown. happn (Free) The most location-based app of the bunch, happn only shows you users who are within 250 meters of you in real time. If you both like each other, you can initiate a chat. The happn app also links to Facebook, which allows it to provide some basic info in your
profile. Knowing exactly how close someone is to you can be a pro or a con depending on how you look at it, but your specific location is kept private. SCORE (Free) Only two apps on this list involve compatibility testing: SCORE and OkCupid. Score matches you up with people who have some common interests based on info from your Facebook profile. Next, this game-like dating app sends you both matching questionnaires; if your answers indicate compatibility, you can chat and see more of each other’s profile, including profile pictures. SCORE forces you to invest some time and effort before finding a match. Ironically, a person looking only to score probably isn’t using this app. Tindog (Free) You guessed it—this app is the Tinder for dogs. Ok, so it’s not a dating app for people, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t find singles who are ready to mingle at the dog park. If you’re looking for a pal for your pooch, this app is your new best friend. If you both swipe right, it’s a match! Anna Sica is an editor for Smilebooth and a freelance tattoo artist. She graduated with a BFA from Maharishi University of Management where she studied analog photography. She loves all things creative, from writing to building terrariums. She recently spent a few years in New York City, but grew up in Fairfield, IA, where she currently resides. You can reach her at anna.sica@gmail.com
iPhone L if e
S pring 2 0 1 6
79