If you are single and own a smartphone, you have probably downloaded at least one dating app.
However, if you are a woman, you might have been quickly turned off after getting one too many messages from potential matches who clearly only wanted one thing. Before long, you blocked people from texting you, or even resorted to changing your number.
Then, there's this whole idea of sharing your current location with the population of users, which can make you feel a bit paranoid or uncomfortable when you aren't looking to meet up at that exact moment.
Maybe you just haven't found the dating app that's right for you.
You can still find other singles who are nearby without having to reveal your exact location or information, thanks to the dating app Tingle.
Just launched about a week ago in the U.S. after seeing success in Canada and the UK, Tingle allows singles to "meet" matches and then message, call and even video chat with them directly in the app. That means you no longer have to give away your digits before your first real date.
Similar to how Tinder works, users swipe up to like and swipe down to dislike profiles. Profiles include the user's name, age, how near they are to you and a quote. The user can also swipe left or right to browse more photos.
If you think this app sounds a lot like Tinder, you should know that Tingle actually predates the popular dating app by two years. However, the app's founder Ian Bell revealed that there is "definitely some inspiration here, and it goes deeper than the name."
"We chose the name because a good date, or the anticipation of one, evokes a unique sensation some people call a tingle, or others would call butterflies in their stomach," Bell told Tech Times. "Tingle is designed to deliver that feeling and is easier to type into your smartphone than butterfliesinmystomach.com."
In fact, besides the similar name and swiping feature, Tingle couldn't be more different.
Adding an extra feeling of security, this dating app has a unique feature called Radar, which detects matches who are near each other and sends an alert to both users without revealing their precise location.
Once two people are matched, they can immediately start chatting in the inbox. Users can share personal stories without fearing their secrets will get out thanks the app's disposable messaging.
Loving how your conversations are going? You can then audio or video chat with your match in real-time.
"There are two ways to look at this, depending upon the situation: if there's someone you're not sure about, a phone call or video chat will allow you to quickly ascertain who they really are and avoid meeting them offline altogether; but on the more positive side, if there's someone you're quite interested in, you can build a stronger bond prior to meeting using voice/video and you'll be past all the awkward stuff when you do meet," Bell said.
If, over time, you realize that this isn't really working out, you no longer have to worry about a person trying to continue contacting you, since your personal info like your phone number was never shared with them.
Tingle also has a "Teleport" feature that allows the user to virtually visit other cities to find potential matches. This could be a great way to meet new people in a place at which you are about to spend your summer vacation.
To teleport in the app, users simply click on the airplane icon, toggle the feature on and enter in the place they are visiting. They will then be shown matches in that area.
Bell, who is said to have gone on 300 first dates before finding his wife, released that the dating system wasn't working and set out on a mission to fix it.
"Dating sites and apps deliver cold information, and are a chore to use," he said. "Telephone dating (chat lines) used to be quite fun to use, but of course you haven't got a clue what the person you're talking to looks like. So in designing Tingle, I really wanted to combine the fun, immediacy and intimacy of the chat lines from the old days with the visual reference points of dating sites and the efficiency of apps."
Tingle provides that sense of safety while still putting yourself out there in the modern dating market.
Tingle is available to download for free for iOS and Android.
Photo: Christian Hornick | Flickr
