Who’s online: Singles who want a more curated, in-depth dating experience while staying inside the chill vibe of a hip, minimalistic app. The majority of users are female, and according to Medium, more of the site’s users engage daily than eharmony, Match, and Zoosk. It’s still a relatively small player in the scheme of things, but the focus on profile depth helps it give bigger competitors like Hinge a run for its money.
How it works: The now-successful Shark Tank bust is one of those rare dating apps that focuses on the woman’s experience (like Bumble, but no swiping). Every profile shown to men has already been okay-ed by the women, so the chance of getting unsolicited messages from creepy guys (or the worry of being seen like creepy guy) is significantly diminished.
Each day, men see 21 potential matches and women see five. These matches, called bagels, are curated by the platform’s algorithm based on account age, height, religion, ethnicity, and interests. CMB wants you to “spend your time on quality matches instead of swiping endlessly, and you’re only talking to people who you know also clicked on you.
Why it’s great for geeks: Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge are usually full of the same people, and you’re surely tired of combing through those people to try to find even a single thing in common quickly becomes a pain. Coffee Meets Bagel does the work for you by sending curated matches, and it won’t be anyone outside your network of friends and family on Facebook. The friend-of-a-friend thing may slow down the process, but it’s definitely worth not wasting time on randoms or fake profiles.
If there’s a match, CMB will set up both profiles in a private chat and will ask a “personalized icebreaker” question. Pressure to think of something witty to open with is totally minimized, and if the question is corny, at least it’s something to bond over.