New apps are popping up everywhere that let people swipe through each other’s profiles in an effort to make new friends and gain new followers on social media.
Obviously, there’s a little more to it than that, so let’s check out
why this app is getting so popular with young people, so much so they’re using to for teen dating.
First Impressions
Making a profile on Skout takes time at all thanks to the ‘connect to Facebook’ option provided for people who don’t have time to spend 40 minutes creating a stellar profile. This feature also really helps prevent weirdos from trying to connect with underage girls by using Facebook to verify age – like Tinder.
However, unlike Tinder, Skout offers a cool feature that lets you live stream yourself and your friends out to the world. If you’ve been sharing every waking moment of your life with everyone you know just isn’t enough, then I suggest you check out Skout. You can even live stream out to people who aren’t your friends.
Skout is a free app, but if you don’t buy the membership, you’ll constantly be closing pop up ads located on your screen. Scrolling becomes a thing of legend when every 3 inches you scroll contains an ad that auto-opens no matter what.
Something else that hit me right off the bat was the way this app seems to copy Facebook’s entire design plan.
Imagine what Facebook would look like if it’s entire design team was comprised of one monkey with a learning disability. That’s Skout.
Features
Like many other social media platforms, Skout lets it’s users scroll through a newsfeed containing pictures, videos, blog posts, and anything else under the sun. It gives off a relaxed vibe that goes well with the innocent tone Skout provides. Besides the pop-up ads, the newsfeed system seems to be a home run. You can post a status or video for all Skout users near your location.
Skout also has a feature called ‘Shake’ that makes it possible for you to match up with a stranger near you who’s in the mood for a friendly conversation. As for how to activate it? You guessed it. You just shake your device, and the matching begins.
When activated, a feature called ‘Buzz’ lets users who are interested in meeting up in person do exactly that. Be careful though because people who are interested in meeting up in real life can sometimes not be what they seem. Watch out for kidnappers when using this feature.
There’s one more important feature included with a Skout account that is honestly pretty annoying. The ‘Chat’ feature. It lets other people in your area send you messages even if you haven’t accepted their friend request. I don’t know why they would include this feature, but that’s kind of how I feel about every feature.
Pricing and Membership Details
So as it turns out, the best features are only accessible for full-fledged members. The premium subscription service is payable through a few different methods.
You could still be feeling skeptical about taking the dive, so you can buy the one-month subscription for $9.99.
There are also options for getting a three-month membership for $24.99 or a twelve-month subscription for a kinky $69.99.
The free version isn’t terrible, but it’s certainly not great. The overwhelming amount of pop up ads on the app make traversing through the profiles a hassle, but not impossible.
If you’ve got money to spend, you might want to try out the one-month subscription for $9.99 before you fully commit to the full year. Plus, if you meet your soulmate on here, you won’t need to keep meeting up with strangers… hopefully.
Pros
One of my favorite parts about Skout has to be how easy it is to use. The page layout can be a little cluttered sometimes, but it’s easy to traverse once you use it for a few minutes. I think this is partially due to how similar Skout’s design is to Facebook.
A community is important on any social media app, and Skout recognizes that. Almost every person I’ve interacted with on Skout has been friendly and conscious of their behavior – for the most part. Occasionally you’ll run into some asshole or weirdo, but even if you do, it’s easy to report someone to the moderators.
Speaking of moderators, Skout has to have an A1 team of people ready to crack down on any kind of misconduct at a moment’s notice. Due to the nature of the app and some of its more risky features, it’s important to have a quick response to any sketchy behavior – and Skout knows that. They include a list of safety tips for users to follow on their website too.
The app itself is full of original ideas that combine all the best parts of a standard social media platform and all the best parts of a ‘meet and fuck’ platform. If you ask me, it’s a pretty genius idea – points for creativity.
Cons
Ads. So many fucking ads that it’ll make you feel like you’re reading off a tabloid website. The most annoying part about the ads is the way they’re placed in the center of the screen. You’ll constantly be clicking on ads accidentally – and paying the price.
I’m not sure if this is a pro or a con, but Skout isn’t branded as a dating app. It’s more of a friendship app. I know that sounds weird, but there is definitely some potential to score some cute girl in your bed. No promises
though.
Sometimes your inbox can get a little too flooded by people nearby who want to chat. It’s a problem when you open the app and find nothing but messages from randoms near you. I know that’s how the app works, but there should be some kind of spam folder or something.
Conclusion
Skout is a creative new way for people in any city to meet up and build new friendships – sounds great right?
Well, unfortunately, it’s not all it’s cracked up to me.
While it’s relatively easy to use and technically ‘free,’ some things are holding it back.
If you want to fully experience Skout for what it is, and maybe even hooking up with someone near you, then you’ll have to commit your bank account to some abuse. In my opinion, all of the best social media apps are free.
I guess you could say it’s free but the free version is almost a chore to use because of all the ads.
I’m giving Skout 3/5 stars. It’s a fun time while it lasts, but it can get dull after a while, and I don’t know if it’s worth the hefty expense since there are other apps like this out there – like Yellow. There is a lot of potential here though, so hopefully in a year or so this app will be among the greats on the app store.