Dating app glossary: terms used in hookup and dating apps

Dating app glossary: what people are looking for

Hookup

A hookup is a sexual meeting between adults with no promise of anything afterward. It can be a single night or a repeat arrangement, and the word says nothing about whether the two people already know each other. Apps that fit the label are collected under hookup apps, and the step-by-step mechanics are in how these apps work.

Casual dating

Casual dating is low-commitment dating where dates come first and nothing is promised. It sits between a hookup, where sex comes first, and a relationship, where both people expect to stay. What the two agree to inside it is theirs to settle. The casual dating app list covers apps whose own pages describe that kind of dating.

Friends with benefits (FWB)

FWB stands for friends with benefits: friends who have sex and are not a couple. The phrase has no fixed definition, and the details (how often, whether either sees other people, what happens if one wants more) are left to the pair. The longer explanation of what FWB means sets it against a hookup and against dating.

Relationship structures and interests

Ethical non-monogamy (ENM)

ENM is short for ethical non-monogamy, an umbrella term for relationships in which everyone involved knows about and agrees to more than one partner. Polyamory and open relationships are usually counted as forms of it. Feeld's about page uses the abbreviation itself, listing people "from ENM to relationship anarchy". The best apps for open relationships rank apps for this audience.

Polyamory

Polyamory means having, or being open to, more than one romantic relationship at the same time, with the knowledge of everyone involved. Feeld's Google Play description invites people to "link profiles with a partner to explore polyamory together."

Open relationship

An open relationship is a couple or partnership that agrees to allow sex or dating with other people. The rules differ from pair to pair. Couples who look for others together have their own section in couples dating apps compared.

Kink

Kink covers sexual interests outside what a person sees as conventional, with BDSM the best-known example. The range is wide, so a profile that mentions kink usually has to say which interests it means. Feeld's about page names BDSM among the identities it expects ("from celibacy to BDSM"), and the kink dating app picks rank apps for it.

Privacy and safety features

Incognito mode

Incognito mode limits who can see your profile inside an app. The wording and the plan differ. Tinder's Google Play listing describes the effect as "Only be seen by people you've already Liked" and does not say which plan includes it. Bumble lists Incognito Mode as a Bumble Premium feature, and Feeld puts it in Majestic Membership, where it hides your profile in the feed until you Like someone.

The mode controls visibility in the app. What the company keeps about the account is a separate matter, covered in the privacy on dating apps. The apps that offer incognito are listed under incognito mode across apps.

Private photos

Private photos are pictures that only chosen people can open. Feeld shows them only to your Connections, its word for mutual matches, and lists them under Majestic Membership. The Tinder and Bumble pages checked do not mention the feature. Dating apps with private photos tracks where else it exists.

Profile verification

Profile verification is a check that a profile belongs to the person in its photos. Strength varies. Tinder names Photo Verification in its Google Play listing. Bumble has two kinds: Photo Verification gives a grey badge and may use facial recognition, and ID Verification gives a blue badge and is run by an outside company, Veriff. Feeld calls photo verification optional, and in the UK and Australia it also asks for an age check by live selfie or mobile phone confirmation.

A badge shows a check was passed, and what the check involved depends on the app. The profile verification comparison lines the apps up, and fake accounts are covered in our scams guide.

Matching, location and paid add-ons

Location-based matching

Location-based matching sorts or limits profiles by how close people are, using the position of your phone. Feeld's App Store listing says you can connect with "people closest to you." Bumble's privacy policy says its location comes from the device when you allow it. The feature changes what you share with the company as well as who you see, and location-based matching apps are compared one by one.

Travel mode

Travel mode lets you look for people in a city you are not in, usually ahead of a trip. The name changes by app. Tinder's Google Play listing calls it Passport Mode, and Bumble lists Travel Mode as a paid Premium feature. Feeld does not use the name: its App Store listing says you can "explore 20+ of our most popular cities around the world," and the pages checked do not say which plan allows it. More are under dating apps with travel mode.

Paid add-ons like pings, boosts and super likes

Ping, Boost and Super Like are brand names for paid or capped extras on top of ordinary matching. In general use, a ping or super like marks a first contact as more deliberate, and a boost pushes a profile in front of more people for a while.

Feeld's Ping lets you message someone you like before a match. Majestic includes one free Ping a day, saved up to a maximum of two, and the App Store lists Pings as a separate purchase. Tinder's listings count weekly Super Likes and monthly Boosts among what a subscription adds, and its iOS listing also sells Boosts and Super Likes on their own. Bumble Boost is the odd one out: it is the name of a subscription tier, listed beside Bumble Premium and Premium+.

Price terms

Lowest listed price

A lowest listed price is the smallest figure among the subscription plans in an app's iPhone App Store listing for one country, with the period when the listing gives one. Add-ons bought one at a time are left out, and other plans can cost more. Feeld's lowest listed price is USD 29.99 for 30 days on the US App Store. Google Play and web prices are not covered, and the plan-by-plan figures sit on the what dating apps cost pages.

App Store storefront

A storefront is Apple's App Store for one country, with its own currency and price list. The same app can carry different numbers in different storefronts: Feeld's 30-day subscription is listed at USD 29.99 on the US App Store and GBP 17.99 on the UK App Store. The currencies differ, so the two figures cannot be compared directly. Each price in the reviews names its country and store for that reason, and apps by country shows how the picture changes from place to place.