When it comes to casual dating and sex, the gays have that shit on lock. Straight people are known for having to perform too many social niceties before getting down to it, and lesbians have a serious problem with U-hauling as soon as a girl expresses any interest in them. The gays on the other and have no qualms about hooking up.
When it comes to serious dating though, the gays do have a bit of a problem… however, that’s a topic for a different article. Right now I want to talk about Gaydar, a new-ish dating app on the scene that doesn’t bill itself quite as salaciously as Grindr, but definitely has plenty of people who are looking for no strings attached fun
So how does this dating app stack up against the likes of Scruff and Tinder? Let’s dive in!
First Impressions
My first impressions are that this looks a whole lot like Grindr and a lot of other dating apps that use that grid format for discovering new people. To be completely honest, nothing seems really fresh about their mobile app. They do, however, step up the game with their desktop app. You don’t have to be mobile to use Gaydar! You can be on your laptop too!
This is great for people who want to keep their phone free of dating related stuff – this might be for a multitude of reasons: anything from being in the closet or using a company phone could be the reason they want to use their laptop for dating. I also like being able to message on a computer, because let’s be honest typing on a tiny iPhone screen gets exhausting after a while.
Features:
I’m a huge fan of this dating app being multiplatform friendly. This is a feature that Tinder is just now implementing on their own site, so in that regard, Gaydar is definitely ahead of the curve. They also have topic and location-based chat rooms! This is great for people who don’t know how to start a conversation.
Messaging one-on-one can be really intimidating so having the option to join a room is great for those who don’t know how to start a conversation privately properly. This also allows for you to make a little community for yourself. You don’t have to match with anyone yet, and you can take your time to get to know someone in those chat rooms.
Pricing and membership details
What I like about their upgrades is that they’re fairly cheap at 3 British pounds (which is around 4 American dollars). This is great because most dating apps – even when you’re buying 6 or 12 months at a time – are usually around 8-10 dollars a month. However, Gaydar is giving you a pretty big discount that isn’t afforded to users by most apps.
With the upgrade, you gain access to more specific filtering and searching tools – which can help if you’re looking for something very specific. In addition to an ad-free experience, you can also browse in incognito mode, which allows you to stay hidden from those who might be trolling for people who are online. This can help if you’re trying to fly under the radar. You will also gain access to unlimited profile views and the ability to see who’s been creeping your profile!
Pros
Cheap membership!: One thing that I really like about this site is that they’re not paywalling stuff that’s stupid. It’s not like they’re going to charge you to swipe back or to block unlimited people. They’re giving you some pretty nice perks. Obviously, it’s annoying when an app paywalls anything, but honestly, they’re a business so you can’t expect to have everything handed to you for free!
Their membership also isn’t super expensive, which is what you see a lot with sites like Tinder or Bumble. They’re charging you out the ass for things that shouldn’t really matter. At about 4 dollars a month at it’s cheapest that’s not a bad deal. That’s much more affordable than something like 8 or 10 dollars per month (and for what? a SuperLike?).
Desktop App!: Honestly, I think that desktop compatible apps are important. Sure, everything is done on phones nowadays… except for a lot of things. Think about where you work: aren’t you on the computer most of the time? Sure, you can get in trouble for being on a dating app on company time, but it might be easier to do than trying to secretly use your phone the whole time
It also makes the app more accessible. Typing and searching on a bigger screen (like a laptop or a tablet) makes life easier. Plus, it’s easier to type, which helps when you’re trying to get super sexy messages out to super sexy men. Honestly, I like being able to go back and forth from my laptop to my phone. I think that this is a pretty valuable feature.
Community!: You don’t see a lot of dating apps supplying their users with chat rooms! And honestly, I think that this is a great way to keep people from being silent or making awkward conversation with one another. It’s much easier to chat in a group setting, and it’s much less intimidating. I really enjoy that this is a part of their app.
Think about it: you can join a location-based or topic centered chat with a bunch of other people who have that thing in common. It makes conversation so much easier. Once you’ve made a connection, you can easily move it to a private conversation. It’s not a difficult concept to grasp. It can definitely solve the problem of not talking that a lot of dating apps have.
Cons
It’s nothing we haven’t seen before: The one thing that erks mea bout this app is that it’s not something entirely unique. I’m tired of seeing apps that look the same. And while I think that this app is a little better than the likes of Tinder and Grindr, it uses the same format of so many dating apps that have come before it and I dont know, I think that it’s annoying.
But then again if that layout is something that they’ve found works – which it must since so many apps are built that way – then I guess I can’t blame them for not fixing what isn’t broken.
Conclusion
To be completely honest, I think that Grindr is going to have some serious competition with this app out on the market. I think that this has a lot of what Grindr lacks and totally has room to grow in the gay dating space.
4/5 Stars.