Valentine’s Day 2024: The ultimate guide to dating apps in India

People have called everything from driving to origami ‘easy’ at some point, but there’s a good reason nobody has dared to call dating an easy affair in today’s world. With meeting new people in libraries and parks quickly becoming a thing of the past, dating apps came in to save the day for those who had access to technology.

Skip to today and there are so many dating apps, that what should have been the answer to dating in the digital life, has become yet another choice to confuse those looking for a partner.

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Worry not, though, we understand that people on dating apps have different goals in mind, and the good news is, there are apps for pretty much everyone out there. Ahead of Valentine’s Day 2024, here’s a quick look at the seven most popular ones dating apps you can install on your smartphones right away.

Tinder

The posterboy of dating apps for many, Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps. The app’s premise is simple – add in basic details, throw in a few photos and you can start swiping left and right (quite literally) on everyone in your area. You choose elements like the city and the radius, and the app’s algorithms do the rest.

Based on a matching system, like most other dating apps, Tinder will connect you with people you’ve ‘liked’ who have also liked you back, resulting in what’s called a match. Those who match can then exchange messages and take things forward, or simply unmatch any profiles they’ve already matched with.

Bumble

How Bumble works is very similar to the basic principles of most dating apps – you swipe left or right on other profiles and land on a match when you like someone who also likes you. However, being a woman-first platform, Bumble allows only the ladies in a match to message first, and allows them 24 hours to do so.

This allows women on the platform effectively a second chance (and some more time) to decide if they want to pursue actually conversing with a match. Further, Bumble also integrates a number of profiles ‘interests’ that also play a role in your matching, showing you more profiles that you share similar interests with.

Hinge

Hinge works a little differently than most other dating apps, in how it approaches the idea of dating. With a clear focus on meeting long-term partners and getting off the app, Hinge has a stronger emphasis on personality traits and the human angle. This means you get to also filter profiles on the basis of elements like ethnicity.

Once you have your filters set in place, Hinge will send recommended profiles to you, complete with an in-depth look at all details. instead of a simple left or right swipe, you can like or unlike profiles along with a single one-way comment that can help you score some extra brownie points. Only after a match, will users get to have a two-way communication.

OkCupid

OkCupid is the dating app to try if the usual filters of gender and sexual orientation don’t describe your interests in the best possible ways. With over 60 combinations of gender identities and sexual orientations, OkCupid is inclusive to homosexual and pansexual users, among other groups.

Besides this distinction, OkCupid is a relatively easy-to-use dating app, which works on similar principles as many others on this list. Users can like or dislike other profiles and those who match can take things further via messaging.

Grindr

Grindr is the app to be on, if what you’re looking for is a homosexual relationship. Whether it’s short-term company or a lasting bond you’re looking for, Grindr makes things easier for members of the LGBTQ community to find interesting people at home, during travels or pretty much anywhere else.

Happn

If the left and right swipe-oriented, or personality-oriented dating apps aren’t cutting it for you, you can try Happn. This is a location-based dating app, that will introduce you to profiles who also frequent areas that you do. This means you will be shown profiles who also regularly visit your favourite café or mall, even if they don’t live close-by to you.

This fresh angle allows you to meet people outside your typical radius, but enables meeting profiles with more possible similarities in interests. The users who visit the same malls, theatres and restaurants as you are more likely to share common interests with you, and Hinge puts that in focus.

3Fun

If the name doesn’t give it away already, 3Fun is an app for helping singles and couples find individuals or groups to try new things with. The app allows for this unique approach via couple accounts (single account for a couple), while also maintaining multiple security standards like verified photos and the ability to hide elements like distance and profile.

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These are some of the most popular dating apps you can try out ahead of this Valentine’s Day 2024. For more information, you can find all these apps on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, and read the app description for information on how these apps work. Good luck!