23 Dating Apps You Will Actually Want To Use In 2024, From Bumble To HER

Dubbed as the ‘anti-ghosting dating app’, Elate was launched in response to research that showed ghosting is the number one thing people hate about dating apps. It allows you to connect with three people in the hope of building strong and genuine connections, rather than amassing a list of potential matches you never speak to. If somebody you’re speaking to has moved on to somebody else, Elate will send you a friendly message letting you know, meaning you’ll hopefully never be in doubt.

There's nothing worse than being in the gym and seeing someone that you like but feeling like you can't approach them. Insert Fitfck (pronounced 'fit eff-see-kay'), the new dating app that introduces you to other avid gym-goers, both virtually through the app and in real life through fitness-based events all over the UK. Now, finding a gym partner has never been easier.

Lex pulls on the history of queer personal ads and, as such, uses the tagline ‘text first, selfies second.’ Users get a 34-character heading and a 300-character body, with the option to link to an Instagram profile. The entire thing is based on the Instagram account @personals, which posts text-based, user-submitted modern-day personal ads to its feed.

As its name suggests, #Open is an app built on the concept of non-monogamous dating. For anybody who’s into polyamory, ENM or who just prefers to approach their love life with an #Open mindset, this app’s for you. The paid version of the app allows users to see who likes you first, gives you 15 Sparks a month to send to the ones who really catch your eye, and allows you to swipe using power grid access, where you can view multiple likes at a time. Oh, and they also host IRL community meet-ups, meaning you can meet your potential future lovers in-person too.

Meet the BeReal of the dating world. Designed to recreate the feeling of seeing somebody for the first time, Raw enables users to take ‘unfiltered’ pictures to connect with potential matches. It will be these ‘Raw-thentic’ images that people swipe on, rather than a curated selection of other photographs you may have spent time gathering and honing.

‘We’ve had enough of fakes, filters, and ghosting. That’s why we brought back what matters most in dating: love. Rather than relying on carefully curated and potentially misleading photos, we ask users to post daily back and front camera photos,’ says Raw co-founder Marina Anderson.

Launched in October 2022, Tinder Uni has arrived to transform the dating scene on campus. The app is different to Tinder insofar as it only enables current students to access the feature by verifying members through a user's university email address. '2022 is a record year for students going to university and with nearly three quarters of 18-25 year olds saying that they’re ready to mingle, it makes Tinder Uni the must-have partner this semester,' says Laura Wilkinson-Rea, Senior Director of Comms, UK at Tinder.

Before you eye roll at its name, hear us out for a second. TapDat unapologetically launched earlier this year as a pro sex hook-up app focussing on honesty, communication and consent. 'TapDat is on a mission to break down barriers, remove stigmas and make casual sex safer than ever,' reads its press release.

TapDat is free to use and works to provide users a safe space to connect with like-minded people who are looking to enjoy themselves.

When you sign up, you're shown a grid of people to connect with and can choose to view their profile to find out more about them, from their age, body type, and relationship status to kinks, interests, and even information on when they last tested for sexually transmitted infections.

S’more, which stands for ‘something more’, centres around meaningful dating and combating a superficial approach to finding a relationship. Users only get to see a blurred version of a potential match's profile pictures - that is until they start chatting. The more time you spend messaging each other, the clearer the person's photos become. It's emphasises forming emotional connections.

Discussing with a potential partner whether or not you want children, might not be your first subject of choice on a first date. However, the Kindred app is on a mission to break down children chat taboos.

The app connects ike-minded singles who either don’t want or can’t have children.

Eleanor Brook-Hatch, communications director and co-founder of Kindred, says: 'We all want to find a partner who’s on the same page about the big stuff. Many apps claim to have great algorithms or search filters but you can rarely filter for people who don’t want kids or have to pay to do so. That’s not the case on Kindred.

'Everyone on the app is looking to meet and date fellow singles for a kid-free relationship.'

A go-to since the 1990s, Match.com is a trusted favourite, and while it was around during the internet's dial-up days, it has moved progressively into today's age. It continues to be attractive to people of all ages. The app, with it's focus on commitment initial attraction and chemistry, features signature elements such as an in-depth quiz and web-based version of software.

Available to download from the App Store and Google Play, the Thursday app had over 110,000 users signed up in London and New York prior to its launch in 2021 due to simple yet effective dating ethos.

The founders of Thursday believe that the world is spending far much time on dating apps and created an alternative that invites users to match, flirt and date all on one day - you guessed it, Thursday. Messages and matches disappear at midnight on Thursday night so if you want a date then spontaneity is key here.

An online equivalent of a member's club, Victoria the App is the place to be if you want to make meaningful connections with fellow creatives.

With a networking and/or dating feature, Victoria helps users navigate new relationships and friendships (romantic and not), and will even invite you to in-person panel discussions at the likes of London’s uber chic member’s club, Home Grown, or DJ sets at Notting Hill hub, Laylow.

Think of Victoria as the digital version of Soho House.

Do you pride yourself on being incredibly witty or refuse to believe that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit? If so, you will love this app.

Hinge is the Instagram of dating apps. Seriously, it’s a millennial’s dream. Some people say it hides in Tinder’s shadow, but if you want a bit more accountability then this app is perfect as in their latest survey, Hinge found they are setting up a date every three seconds.

It's not just based on pictures either – profiles are made up of questions and quotes. You can learn a lot about someone from their answers, whether it’s their favourite Friends line or their pet peeve. The catch is, there is a lot of pressure to come across effortlessly funny. But we believe in you.

Have you been trying to pluck up the courage to chat up the guy or girl you used to see every morning on your commute? Well, now there's no need as this app will do the hard work for you.

Using your location, the app will match you with people who are also on the app in close proximity on a daily basis, whether it's that person you just so happen to squat next to daily in the gym (when we're allowed to return to fitness studios, that is), or brush hands reaching for the same acai bowl at Pret A Manger (oh, how we miss Pret!).

It also calculates how many times you and your love interest cross paths, so you know it's 100 per cent (ish) destiny if you end up together.

Amy Schumer met her husband on it and sources reveal Matthew Perry even had a profile. This app is the Tinder for the super rich and famous.

Raya is a membership-based app for those who know, and if you don’t, you can’t ask. You can’t even screen shot a picture inside the app without getting told off by its creators.

Basically, Raya laughs in the face of exclusivity and only eight per cent of applicants are accepted. Sounds like an irresistible challenge right? We’re imagining a lot of unrequited swipes here, but they do say love is a battlefield.