Is every single decent dating app owned by Match Group? The answer is shockingly a resounding no.
Many are seeking alternatives to the Match Group’s dating apps we know and love because being banned from either of them gets you banned everywhere.
I did some digging, though, and I found many dating apps you can use that offer a fun experience and multiple quality matches.
Match Group: The godfather of online dating.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt personally victimized by Match Group!
As you already know, getting banned on ONE Match Group server gets you banned across all servers due to how tightly knit they are.
The only solution is, unless you want to quit online dating for life, to set out on a journey for a dating app that has no affiliation with Match Group.
In no particular order, the (objectively) best ones are:
1. Bumble, owned by Bumble Inc.
* Alternative to Hinge, Tinder, and Match.
Whitney Wolfe Herd was sick of society pushing this narrative of women not being able to make the first move, hence this app came to be.
On Bumble, the woman has had the opportunity to text first in case of a match…until recently.
Now they can ask questions on their profiles which male users can answer in DMs.
Additionally, there are well over 20 million users each month (data shows), so you definitely don’t have to worry about not finding matches.
You can create your Bumble account by using our Dating Zest Bumblefone phone service without using your phone number.
Being one of the most popular dating apps on Earth, Bumble welcomes all, and contrary to popular belief, it is not owned by Match Group.
2. Grindr, owned by San Vicente Acquisition LLC.
* Alternative to Archer and Tinder.
Many of you know this as the world’s leading LBTQ+ dating app, and so it is with its 10+ million monthly users (source: Statista).
Gay individuals have a hard time navigating the world of online dating, as we know; part of the reason (until recently) was a lack of inclusivity.
Using DatingZest Grindr phone service to bypass Grindr phone number verification,
It’s worth noting that this platform in particular is mainly targeted towards gay and bisexual men, so the female base user may be more scarce!
3. Coffee Meets Bagel, owned by the Kang sisters.
* Alternative to Hinge, Match, and OurTime.
Brought to life by sisters Arum Kang, Dawoon Kang, and Soo Kand, CMB (not operated by Match Group) is the perfect alternative to apps used for serious relationships.
How it works is that you and your match can talk after you’ve both liked one another—pretty standard dating app stuff.
With around 300K visitors a month (the majority being men, as seen on Similarweb), this platform is very much popping!
4. Zoosk, owned by Spark Networks.
* Alternative to Tinder, Match, Hinge, and OkCupid.
Another very well-known name, and this time we have a platform that, according to them, over 40 million people trust with their love lives.
It has a little bit of everything for everybody: long-term and casual relationships.
It’s like if Tinder and Hinge had a baby, but that baby grew up learning from their parents' mistakes!
5. Ashley Madison, owned by Ruby.
* A completely unique experience.
Oh boy. There is not one dating app from Match Group alternative to Ashley Madison. It’s truly…peculiar.
Its whole premise is to give people who are thinking of cheating on their s.o that little push. Life is too short not to try out thrilling experiences, they imply.
And this marketing is clearly working since in 2020 alone, there were 70 million members in total globally using their services.
6. Badoo, owned by Bumble Inc.
* Alternative to OkCupid.
Badoo is Bumble’s more introverted sibling—it is what I like to call a “social media and dating app hybrid”.
Over 40 million use it annually (data compiled by Business of Apps), as popularity is slowly dwindling.
Make no mistakes, though: this app is quite popular despite not being owned by Match Group.
It is used for a variety of things, from serious dating to more casual relationships, all the way down to social networking.
7. Eharmony, owned by NuCom Group.
* Alternative to Hinge, Match, and Plenty of Fish.
This one’s a blast from the past—Eharmony was first launched in 2000, and its site reaches around 10 million clicks each month (data by WiFiTalents).
It mostly helps people in finding long-term relationships with the help of…science?
Yes, Eharmony says it uses scientific research to pair matches, which is why they claim love is found every 14 minutes on the site.
8. Facebook Dating, owned by Meta.
* Alternative to Tinder and OkCupid.
What would an online platform list be without mentioning Mark Zuckerberg? Silly, that’s what.
On a serious note though, I was surprised to see just how adequate of an online dating platform Facebook Dating is when I tried it.
You activate your FB Dating account by going to your Account’s Menu and scrolling down to the Dating tab—not everyone has it.
It is merely an extension of Facebook, but it functions the same as a regular dating app without being part of Match Group: swiping, matching, and talking.
9. Elite Singles, owned by Spark Networks.
* Alternative to The League.
Elite Singles is a dating platform for people who are considered the cream of the crop—the educated and ambitious.
Sounds awfully elitist? Well, it is, making it the perfect The League dupe.
12.5 million people use it to find their equals, but first, an elaborate questionnaire must be filled out that ES then uses to recommend matches.
10. Feeld, owned by Feeld Ltd.
* A completely unique experience.
Think of Tinder, but crank up the sexy factor up to 100 and you get Feeld, a “dating” app conceptualized by Ana Kirova and Dimo Trifonov.
Its goal is to give open-minded people an opportunity to explore their wildest desires (in a sexual sense).
And I have to say that there’s nothing in the market like this; millions of others seem to agree with me too, taking into account Feeld’s major growth in the past years.
Honorable Mentions:
Below you’ll find a list of dating apps that have been rising in popularity and slowly making their way to mainstream media.
– Christian Mingle, by Spark Networks.
* Alternative to Upwards.
Christian Mingle joins Christian singles together whose values align for long-lasting love!
– Boo, by Boo Enterprises Inc.
* Alternative to OkCupid (and a personal favorite).
Don’t let that cute little ghost fool you because this app is nothing like Snapchat.
Also not owned by Match Group, Boo matches people based on their personality types.
– Happn, by FTW & Co.
* Alternative to Tinder (kinda?).
Happn is another unique concept of an app, as it’s used to meet people we see on a day-to-day basis.
You think that barista who works at the coffee shop near your house is cute? Let Happn introduce you two and make a connection happen.
– HER, with Robyn Exton as the CEO.
* A completely unique experience.
This dating app aims to help queer women and non-binary and trans people make connections, sexual or romantic.
– WooPlus, founded by Neil Raman.
* A completely unique experience.
Yeah, some dating apps let you filter weight appearance, but WooPlus is exclusively used to help plus-sized hotties find love, free of judgment!
– Black Gentry, by Zeel Tech LLC.
* Alternative to BLK.
Black Gentry is a fairly new dating app that, unlike BLK, isn’t owned by Match Group although the premises might be similar: a platform for ambitious black singles to meet and date.
– TanTan, by Momo.
* Alternative to Yuzu.
Yuzu is an Asian dating Match Group app, and the perfect alternative would be Momo’s TanTan app.
How to get unbanned from Match Group apps (Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and so on)?
I bet you’re here because you got banned on Tinder (as one does), which has resulted in a perma-ban across Match Group Ville.
Do not panic. Difficult as it may be, it’s not impossible to lift a ban issued by Match Group on dating apps.
The answer is DatingZest.
– Restart your phone on your Settings.
This is necessary to prevent Match Group from recognizing your device ID and IP Address.
After doing so, open a new App Store or Google Play account and connect to a different internet connection.
– Retrieve your DatingZest phone number.
DatingZest is a service that offers phone numbers people can use to get unbanned on dating apps.
These phone numbers are unique and NOT public, which helps in proving their authenticity while signing up for a dating account.
Pick the dating app you want to get unbanned on (you will see the list on the Shop) and purchase your # for only $9.95!
– Sign up for the dating app of your choice with the Dating Zest #.
Use your number to sign up on the dating app.
Then go back to the DatingZest page where you were redirected to in order to copy your code and then paste it whenever needed.
– Go by a different name and different photos.
Most dating apps retain data, so you’d only wound up getting banned again if you skip this step.
- Use different photos, name, bio, and no social media handles. Everything about your new profile has to be different.
* Another thing you can do is file a complaint with BBB to Match Group, which may be a rocky road.
Have fun swiping!
Liam.
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