When you first hear of the dating app Grindr - what is the first thing that come to mind? Many who loved the app in the beginning have much different and stronger opinions on the app as to what it has become.
Lets take a deeper dive into this popular app for which used to be men only ( this now includes all genders in the community including bi, queer, trans, and women all under the gay umbrella). Right off the bat, we have to acknowledge that Grindr is the largest dating app in the world for men only which has been expanded to for women and trans in the queer community. It was originally deigned as a location only app - for those wanting to meet like minded individuals close by - but its claim to fame and skyrocket in popularity reached due to it becoming a hook up only app. Many would argue you can use the app for other types of relationships - such as friends, or dating, or even a real relationship. Is this accurate? Lets take a closer look to examine the app for all of its fans and detractors.
Lets not forget how popular it is - over 3 million users, something like 200 million messages are sent, and 27,000,000 million plus members - you will definitely meet up with someone on this app. For simplicity Grindr is great. Really, just get into the app, start swiping of who you like and voila, you will get a hit sooner rather than later. Remember, like many phone app sites, they do not have a website or PC use site. I always thought this was a shame, but there is a method to their madness. What that is, I do not know tough.
Sign Up Process
Quite simple an painless when compared to other apps. The key here is, you want the process as short as possible, and ad simple as possible. Grindr achieves this and more - so we have to review it here very high when compared to the others. In 10 minutes or less, you will be up and running on the site, and that is a good thing. I hate when the sign up process takes half an hour, with confusing questions, or lousy graphics, it makes one lose interest very quickly.
Anything Negative about Grindr. Well, due to its overwhelming success and user base there is bound to be some negative blowback from the site. If you do a Bing search there are a lot of issues users seem to have. Lets take a look at few of the issues that seem to be bothering users. Many complain they are not satisfied with their purchase claiming the high price does not give value. They mean that they could have been better off taking the free service, rather than signing up, because the extra features weren’t that extra worth it. Well, that is a personal choice, and the user will have to figure out if that applies to them on a case by case basis.
Some complain that the profiles are too full of scammers, or haters, or prostitutes. Some complain that too many straight men are on the site. Others complain that there are drug dealers on the site. Well, this is a problem facing popular straight dating apps as well - the proliferation of fake profiles and undesirable. How to get rid of this problem, is that each dating app takes their own policy and tries to figure out how to delete or at least lower the amount of these people. Grindr managements has stated its doing its best, and continually trying to improve the site - the user will simply have to see if the site is good for him or not, and then make that decision on his own terms.
Price of Grinder
Free version gets you what - you get to view a limited amount of profiles. The good thing is, unlike many other apps you can favourite as many people as you like - always a good thing. Another fantastic freebie with the app is the ability to send as many messages as you want - an unheard of feature in other dating apps. You can also create group chats, and you get 1 free tribe - meaning you get to join a particular interest group. Don’t forget the free version of the app is ad supported - although reviewers and users really don’t mention of the annoyance of ads - so the site must be doing that well - to be as least intrusive as can be.
To go up the food chain membership, and get those additional features, such as getting more than 100 matches (that is too small) then you will sign up for its 7 day free trial. Let’s not forget people what this also entails - it means the dreaded automatic renew membership. So make sure that if you are not happy with the app or service, that your turn this off, or notify the site that you are not extending your membership beyond this point. Otherwise you hard earned cash will be going free to the site. It always happens, so be careful.
Lets look at the costs shall we - for the XTRA package we get the standard 1 month, 3 month or 12 month variety. This will cost you anywhere form $20 to $100 dollars. You also have the upgrade package which they call the Unlimited. This is also in 1 month, 3 month, or 12 month packages. The rate here is form $40 to $240 dollars. Many users have complained that the price is a bit steep compared to others, but I would argue, since the install base is so high, your selection is that much greater and better. So, for that added luxury of choice, the price is not that bad.
In the end, yes, Grindr is primarily for hook ups, although they try as they may state its more than that. It may be is for some people, but based on all the reviews online, it seems its primary focus is here to stay - the hook up. That’s okay if that’s what your are looking for, then, it does a very good job of it. However, if you are looking for something more serious, most would argue, and I would agree, that there are better apps for for the more serious looking relationships.
Written by:
Jules Anderson