eharmony review: free Basic membership, Premium, privacy and safety

What eharmony is

eharmony is a dating site and app run by eHarmony, Inc., a Delaware corporation named in both the US terms and the US privacy policy. Its FAQ calls it "a dating site and app that is designed to help you find real love based on compatibility." The Google Play description, repeated on the App Store listing, talks about "building a meaningful, lasting relationship."

The same listing calls it "the No.1 trusted dating app" that has "helped over 2 million couples find real love." Those are the app's own claims, and a store footnote bases the first on a 2022 survey of 1,300 respondents from the US, UK, Canada and Australia. The FAQ gives over 2 million successful relationships in over 125 countries since 2000. Both numbers count couples or relationships that eharmony reports, not members, and neither is verified. No account count, active-user figure, gender ratio or age split is published in the pages checked. Google Play shows 10M+ downloads for the Android app, which counts installs, not accounts.

Who eharmony is for

The listings describe a service for adults looking for a relationship. The closest fit is someone who wants a long-term partner and will start with the Compatibility Quiz, because the matching runs on its results. Section 1.2 of the US terms asks members to confirm they are single or, if legally married, separated: "If you are married and not separated, you may not register to use or use the Singles Service." Whether open or non-monogamous relationships are supported is not stated; the open relationship app picks cover that need.

The FAQ answers "Is eharmony LGBTQ friendly?" with "Yes ... real love is for everyone" and names a GLAAD partnership. The sign-up form lets members choose woman, man or nonbinary and say who they are looking for. The service is open to everyone and not built around one group, so anyone who wants an LGBTQ-focused app can compare the LGBTQ hookup and dating app list. The terms say the services are "intended for use in the United States, Australia, and Canada," with registration possible in certain other countries.

Dating or hookup

eharmony's own pages put relationships first. The US terms describe "a Service for single people seeking romantic relationships," the community guidelines ask members to use the service "to connect with other users for dating and romance," and no US term, store listing or FAQ page positions it for casual use.

Two details leave a little room. The FAQ declines to limit the service to serious relationships: "it's whatever you're looking for." The UK sign-up form has a "Casual" choice next to "Serious", though no US source describes casual dating as a product aim. Hookup use is not confirmed anywhere, and the community guidelines ban pornographic content and "content that simulates sexual acts." Readers searching for hookup apps or one night stand apps will find services positioned for that in the one night stand app list and the casual dating hub. How the category works is in how hookup apps work.

Matching and messaging

The Compatibility Quiz comes first. According to the US terms, its results are used to "automatically create your individual personality profile," which is matched to other members, and recommendations arrive with "your compatibility score." Members send Likes or Smiles, and a mutual Like is a Match. Icebreakers start a chat after a Match; the FAQ describes a choice among "five pairs of photos."

Messaging splits by membership. Basic members can send unlimited predefined communications such as a smile, but the terms give them "a limited ability to send and read personalized messages." The free dating page says Basic members can "send an initial message free of charge," and both store listings say "With Premium memberships you can now swap messages." Premium members can send and read unlimited messages with the number of matches their plan allows: all matches on Premium UNLIMITED, otherwise a monthly allowance of matches.

Video calling is not confirmed. The UK terms refer to "the video chat feature" and the community guidelines mention "video chat messages," but no US term, FAQ or store listing describes video calling. Voice messages, group chat, disappearing messages and couple profiles are not mentioned, and the terms ask members to "create only one unique profile." Other apps are under dating apps with video chat.

Search and filters

Premium members can "conduct searches for other users based on specific criteria," says section 2.2 of the US terms. The FAQ lists "Distance search" and an interests filter (Sports, Music, Outdoor Activity) as "only available to Premium members." Basic members have Member Preferences. The same feature on other apps is compared in dating apps with advanced filters.

Location

Matching is by compatible singles in your area, and Premium adds the distance search. The US privacy policy lists geolocation data as "zip codes" collected directly from members, plus IP addresses. GPS and live proximity are not mentioned, exact-distance display is not described, and no travel feature appears. For how other apps handle location, see location-based matching and travel mode.

Privacy and incognito

eharmony does not call anything incognito, but Data & Settings has the controls. A Profile Visibility slider makes your profile invisible to members you have not already contacted, a Visitors slider stops others seeing that you visited, and an "Online right now" toggle sets your status. Members already in contact with you, or who favorited you, can still see the profile. The FAQ on membership options lists "browse anonymously" under free Basic membership. No private-album feature is described. The privacy policy says profile photos are visible to matched subscribers and contact details are never shared with matches.

eHarmony, Inc. is the data controller. The US privacy policy (last revised July 14, 2026) lists name, email, date of birth, dating preferences, photos, quiz answers, device ID, IP address and zip codes. Sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ethnicity and political views are treated as sensitive and used only to provide the service. The policy says "We do not generally collect biometric information from users"; it is collected only in certain cases, with consent, for fraud prevention, age estimation and verification.

Advertising is the unclear part. The policy says eharmony "does not sell or share personal information of its users for cross contextual behavioral advertising," yet it also lists disclosure "With third parties such as advertising and marketing partners, including direct partners, and corporate sponsors." Whether that covers data from the apps is not confirmed. Basic member data is deleted after 2 years of inactivity. The dating app privacy guide and the discreet dating app picks cover the wider need.

Verification and safety

SMS verification is optional and gives a profile an "SMS Verified" badge; the phone number must come from the country of registration. The community guidelines, updated October 20, 2026, add age verification that "may include" a biometric face scan for age estimation or a government ID check. A public photo or ID badge is not described.

The FAQ says a Trust and Safety team works 7 days a week, and members can report and block others. The guidelines ban harassment, romance scams and pornographic content. General advice is in the safety guide and the page on dating app scams; other apps that check profiles are under profile verification.

Free version

The FAQ says "There is no time limit on being a Basic member." A Basic member can take the quiz, fill in a profile, see the Discover list, view member profiles, send and receive Likes and a first message, and see who visited the profile. Photos of others are generally blurred. Premium adds:

• unblurred photos of other members (primary or all photos, depending on the plan)
• unlimited messages with the matches the plan allows
• search by specific criteria
• regularly updated partner suggestions and access to the personality profile

Free trials of Premium are offered "from time to time," with no length or eligibility given. Free options in the same category are compared in free-tier dating apps.

Pricing

All prices here come from iPhone App Store listings checked on November 5, 2026. On the US App Store, Premium light is listed at USD 179.99, 219.99, 249.99 and 349.99, and no Premium plus row appears. No listing states a billing period, and the US terms say only that Premium is sold in 6, 12 and 24-month terms, so no price is called monthly or yearly.

Premium light is not the lowest price the US App Store lists. On the US App Store, five items named eHarmony Basic are listed between USD 59.99 and USD 179.99, yet the terms describe Basic membership as free, and the pages checked do not say what the paid items sell. eharmony shows no prices on its public pages; the free dating page says terms and pricing sit on the Subscription page, reached through Upgrade to Premium once logged in. The country breakdown is on the eharmony pricing page.

Cancelling and deleting

A web purchase is cancelled under Data & Settings, Manage profile, Amend Subscription. Apple subscriptions are cancelled under Settings, Apple ID, Subscriptions, and Google subscriptions under My subscriptions in the Google account. Cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the term to stop renewal; a web subscription then runs to the end of the paid term with no refund for unused days. The guide to cancelling a dating app subscription covers the general steps.

Members without a subscription delete the account under Data & Settings, Profile Status, with the permanent deletion link and the account password. Members with an active subscription must contact Customer Care to begin deletion, and the privacy policy says self-service deletion works on the website, not in the apps. The same topic for other apps is in how to delete a dating app account.

Platforms and age

eharmony has an iPhone app ("eharmony: dating & real love"), an Android app ("eharmony dating & real love") and a website where members can register, log in and manage the subscription. The App Store lists it in 23 of 45 storefronts checked and not in 22, among them Japan, South Korea, India, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey. No source read confirms a country where the service is unavailable, and the terms reserve the right to stop providing it "in any jurisdiction at any time." Browser-only options are collected under dating sites without an app.

US terms section 1.1 says "You must be at least 18 years old to register for the Services." The App Store shows 18+ and Google Play shows Mature 17+.

Pros and cons

Alternatives

Readers who want a head-to-head can start with the Match and eharmony comparison. The list of eharmony alternatives sorts other apps by need, and the best dating apps ranking covers the wider field.

eharmony review verdict