6 Unconventional Dating Apps That Aren't Tinder or Bumble

For singles looking to meet new people amid the pandemic, online dating apps may be of interest. With lockdown measures in place around the world, making real-life connections with others isn't always possible. Naturally, using dating apps and going on virtual dates have become the new normal way for many hoping to find potential romance.

If you're starting to find the features on Tinder or Bumble repetitive, we've gathered six unconventional dating apps guaranteed to mix things up in your love life. From platforms like Chorus, designed to have friends swipe for friends, to Hinge, an app that desires to be deleted after you've found a compatible match, read on to discover our top picks.

For more app recommendations, here are the best ones to help strengthen a long-distance relationship.

Chorus

If you're tired of swiping left and right for yourself, consider trying out Chorus, a matchmaking app designed to have friends swipe for friends. Founded by Emily J. Smith, the platform hopes to make the online dating experience feel human again. One of the app's features, Dating Roulette, aims to bring back the feeling of serendipity. All you have to do is change your status to "active," and the app will notify you when it finds someone who matches your preferences. Afterward, you will be paired with them to go on a five-minute video chat -- the 2021 version of speed dating.

Download: Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Hinge

Founded by Justin McLeod in 2012, Hinge is a unique dating app that desires to be deleted after you've found your match. The platform encourages users to introduce themselves to other online daters through three self-selected personal prompts, allowing users to focus more on each other's interests rather than their images. Unlike other apps, you can message anyone you find interesting without being a match.

Download: Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

HER

HER is the world’s largest dating app for lesbian, bisexual and queer women. Created by Robyn Exton, the app is a safe space where you can make romantic or platonic connections, or even just keep yourself up to date with the latest LGBTQ+ news. HER also puts safety first and has a team of moderators who work around the clock to ensure that the platform is safe, allowing you to feel more confident when you want to set up a date -- even if it's virtual for now. Read our interview with Exton to learn more about the app.

Download: Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

NUiT

NUiT is for all the avid astrology fans out there. If you're looking to meet someone who matches your cosmic personality traits, the app has developed a one-of-a-kind algorithm based on the Natal Chart Synastry. By entering your specific birth details, you can have a better understanding of yourself and will be connected with other like-minded individuals. Prior to matching, you will be presented with compatibility scores and insights of another user's profile, which suggests whether you and someone you're interested in are meant for each other or not.

Download: Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

S’More

If there's a dating app equivalent to Netflix's Love Is Blind, this would be it. Instead of matching you with someone based on their physical appearance, S'More helps people connect on a more personal level. With this unconventional app, users won't be able to see the face of their match until they start an actual conversation through direct messages or video chats, which are blurred for the first two minutes to add a bit of excitement to the experience. The more you talk, the more images on the profile will start to un-blur.

Download: Apple App Store.

XO

Designed to help users engage in quality conversations, XO is a dating app that features fun icebreaker games to ease that initial awkward tension. Committed to changing the experience of online dating, the platform allows users to participate in creative activities including word searches, topic rankings, drawings, quizzes and more to help people build deeper connections.

Download: Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

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