Online Dating Apps For Teens
Meeting and chatting to others online is a normal part of life for most teenagers, but using online dating services could put them at risk. Here, NCA-CEOP tells parents what they should know
Mylol is currently the #1 teen dating site in the US, Australia, UK and Canada. We are proud to have a teen dating mobile app. Join now and meet thousands of teenagers like you! There are now online dating apps for teens. It’s important to know where your teen is spending time online. This isn’t just to look out for cyber bullying and know the type of sites they’re visiting, but also to watch out for online predators and the dangers of the internet. Bumble One of the most popular online dating app for teens, Bumble app comes with all the features that you expect on a dating app. The UI is all yellow, which gives the entire app a different feel. Skout is both a social networking site and dating app. It launched in 2007, and became popular due to the fact that it is a dating app with the youngest user base. Anyone 13 years or older can join, making it one of the best options for teens of all ages.
Understanding why
So much of a teenager’s social life happens online and many feel really comfortable using the internet to meet people. The opportunity to meet and flirt with people outside their immediate social circle can be hugely exciting to a young person, particularly at a time where they are exploring their understanding of sex and relationships. It’s also not as awkward to flirt with people online as it is in school corridors!
Meet teens near you with Spotafriend, a tinder alternative for people ages 13-19. Get pictures of other teens around you, and swipe right to accept. If you both accept, you can chat privately through the app. Get Spotafriend on the App Store or Google Play.
Should I be worried?
The majority of online dating apps and websites are designed for adults, but even those which are for teens can present risks to young people if they choose to use them. As popular as online dating has become, it’s not a good idea for young people and isn’t a safe way for children to explore relationships.
Some people who want to harm children use the internet to look for young people to target, and they use sites and apps where they know young people go to look for love, to flirt or to make friends. They may try to trick a young person into believing that they are trustworthy, that they are a friend or they may even pretend that they are the same age.
Many popular dating apps allow the user to share their location or chat to people in their area – this increases the potential for a ‘real-life’ meeting. The ability to make contact with strangers located nearby is exciting, but young people should never be encouraged to meet up with anybody they’ve only ever met online.
Talk, and listen, to your child
If you find out that your child has been using online dating services, remain calm and try not to get angry with them. Talk to them about what drew them to online dating, what services they’re using and how they’ve been using them. Understanding and listening to their perspective might help you express your concerns.
If your child continues dating online, it’s important to have ongoing conversations with them about their use of dating sites to ensure they aren’t exposing themselves to harm.
Make sure they know how to spot the warning signs by discussing this age-appropriate advice with them:
Flattery
Who doesn’t enjoy being made to feel special or given lots of attention? We know this is a tactic that many offenders use to gain the trust of a young person quickly.
‘Remind your child that they should never do anything that makes them feel uncomfortable’
It’s much harder for your child to think critically about someone if they’re inundated with ‘likes’ or compliments about how sexy or talented they are. Offenders use this as a way to exert control over a child, often becoming very nasty if a child doesn’t do what they say.
Online Dating Apps For Teens Without
Remind your child that they should never do anything that makes them feel uncomfortable. If they are being made to feel this way, they should tell you.
Make sure they know it’s important not to trust everything you hear online, no matter how nice or flattering it sounds!
Let’s talk about sex
Ask your child about their online dating profile. What kind of first impression does it give? Is it age-appropriate? At NCA-CEOP, we’ve been told by offenders that another tactic they use is to look for young people who use a sexy username, post sexy pictures or talk about sex online. Young people might do these things because they’re naturally curious about sex and relationships, but it can make offenders think they’ll be open to sexual behaviour and could put them at risk.
Nude selfies
Make sure your child knows it’s never a good idea to send these sort of pictures or videos. If you do find out your child has shared something, try not to panic. Watch these short films created by NCA-CEOP which will help you understand why they might have done it, how to talk to them about it and where to get help should you need it.
Keep private stuff private
Dating sites encourage users to share their personal information, but it isn’t a good idea for your child to do so. They should keep their other social media profiles and usernames private, and shouldn’t give out their phone number or location. Ask your child always to think about why someone would need their information before deciding whether to share it.
Real-life romance
Teen dating can be tricky, but remind your child that they are much better off looking for love in the real world. It might not always seem like it but there are lots of opportunities for young people to meet someone in school, through a sports club, hobby or youth group. This is much safer and it’s a better way to build a friendship and possibly a relationship over time.
Good to remember…
Sexual communication with a child is a criminal offence. Make sure your child knows that adults who want to talk about sex are doing something wrong and should be reported.
If you’re worried about someone your child is in contact with online, it’s important to report these concerns to NCA-EOP. Make sure your child also knows how and when to report – you can find more information on this here.
Further reading
The advice published on Parent Info is provided by independent experts in their field and not necessarily the views of Parent Zone or NCA-CEOP.
Updated: May 2018
Though there are several applications for teens available today, only Bumble continues to thrive and attract more users to its platform, serving as a great adult and teen dating alternative to Tinder. It is easy to use, has a dedicated privacy feature as well as detailed user identification to avoid fake profiles.
The concept of an Online dating app started a few years ago and was an instant hit given that it could connect people from around the world with each other. In this day and age, dating apps have become even more important.
Well, that’s where apps like Tinder come into the equation. If you have ever been into dating apps, the chances are that you have used this at least one time. It is one of the most popular among teen dating apps and has helped a lot of people connect. But what if Tinder just doesn’t work for you?
Well, thanks to the vast amount of developers out there, we now have a variety of dating apps designed for everyone – from teens to adults. We’re going to look at some of these apps today in the hope that you find what works for you best. Be advised that these apps have age limits.
Best Teen Dating Appsin 2020
1. Bumble
One of the most popular online dating app for teens, Bumble app comes with all the features that you expect on a dating app. The UI is all yellow, which gives the entire app a different feel compared to the others. It comes with a unique feature set, designed to keep you away from annoying fake profiles. It also has a nice chat functionality that’s unlike any other dating apps for teenagers.
Bumble uses user verification to ensure that there are no fake profiles. There’s also a concept of swipe right that most people are accustomed to by now. If you’re looking to meet people it is imperative to make sure that it’s a real person and not a fake identity.
Apps For Teens To Date
The concept of hives and bees is used here, and the women are supposed to take the initiative to match with connections. When matched, the men have 24 hours to respond to their message. The user will receive their potential matches and they have a certain period of time to respond before the connection expires.
Bumble is rated for users above the age of 18.
Download it now: here
2. SKOUT
This teen dating app is out of Beta and works very well for local discovery. Users simply have to find the people near you and even look at the global feed to get a good idea of what’s going on in the world.
Skout lets you see who is broadcasting live (if they have the setting turned on), and create a live broadcast of your own for your friends to see. The app basically works on the concept of in-app currency, which will have to be used to unlock certain features. The app also comes with chat features built-in, making this a pretty decent teens’ chatting app.
The discovery feature works pretty great, and we like that there’s a social media angle to this app as well. It is also one of the most popular dating app out there. Skout is a free download and comes with ads. You can remove ads and unlock some additional features with an in-app purchase.
Skout is rated for users above the age of 18.
Download it now: here
Dating Apps For Kids
3. Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB)
The app is designed for adults and teens who don’t just want flings but a real thing to happen. CMB helps you get to know the person better and report or unmatch them if you find them to be spamming you or promoting abuse or simply if you don’t like them.
You will find people based on your location, and each afternoon the app will find potential matches for you or bagels as they’re known within the application.
If you think that CMB is slow-paced, it is so by design. It saves you the trouble of having to endlessly swipe through your matches, sticking to a more practical approach. You may end up making new friends in the process as well. Though an unconventional app for teens, we put this among the best dating app out there.
Coffee Meets Bagel is rated for users above the age of 18.
Download it now: here
4. Happn
Happn is completely different from others as it matches you with those you have crossed paths with. You can talk to folks from all walks of life as long as you have crossed paths with them. If they like you too, you can begin the conversation in a chat.
This concept makes Happn incredibly unique among the sea of dating apps out there. This is perhaps why happn has been rated as the Editor’s Choice app on the Play Store.
But like most other dating apps, not everything comes for free here. This is one of the best apps for dating given that it lets you meet new people whom you have encountered recently. It’s a free download and comes with ads and in-app purchases.
Happn is rated for users above the age of 18.
Download it now: here
5. Hinge
Hinge isn’t necessarily a new application, but it is, at least at the time of this writing, probably the best. Hinge allows you to fill out a pretty detailed profile in order to create some good potential conversation starters.
On Hinge, you don’t swipe left or right, you can choose to “like” different aspects of someone’s profile, whether it be a picture, a conversation starter, or so on. This aspect makes it an excellent application for adults as well as teens.
One of the things that makes Hinge different is that their goal is to match you up with someone and get you into a relationship. Either that or a good chat or some friends of your age that you can meet. This app is designed for teens and adult users.
Hinge is rated for users above the age of 18.