Best Dating App for Women Over 40

Ready to go mobile with the best dating app to find “The One”? These dating apps are becoming surprisingly popular and are worth trying even if you’re dating over 40 or 50.

What is a Dating App?

In case you are unfamiliar with the term, a dating app is an application on your smart phone. There are apps for GPS, finding a good public restroom (I’m not kidding : – ) or choosing a good restaurant. This is the digital age, and the process of looking for love is keeping up with the times!

Advantages of Dating Apps

If you don’t want to write a lengthy profile, or have a lot of back and forth emailing, mobile dating apps might be just the thing for you. These days, it’s pretty hard to meet men without turning to the web. If you’re tired of the online dating scene however, why not check out the apps?

Margot Says, Join Them All!

These apps are all free, so according to my dating coaching client Margot, 47, don’t worry about which is the best dating app.  Join them all! Currently she’s on all of the four apps described below and enjoying the exchanges. This weekend alone, Margot has three dates already scheduled. She’s got a big smile on her face.

Swipe Right with Tinder

Tinder is the biggest and most popular dating app right now by a wide margin. Originally considered nothing more than a pickup app, Tinder has shifted from hook-ups to true dating. Many of my clients who are dating over 40 are using the app and meeting real men who want a relationship.

Like many dating apps, Tinder connects with Facebook to show you photos of singles. You will still need to have a profile on Tinder so interested prospects can learn more about you. Some singles like Tinder better because you get to the meeting faster than a lot of emailing back and forth online. You still message through the app but often people set up dates more quickly.

How Tinder Works
After downloading the app to your smart phone, complete the profile, and set preferences for age and gender,  you’ll be able to look at photos of single men. If you find an attractive guy, you swipe right on the screen or left if he’s unappealing. If the same man swipes right for you, you’ll receive a message to connect through the app.

Coffee Meets Bagel

This site also leverages Facebook, connecting you to friends of friends. The app will show you how many mutual friends you have and feels safer if you’re a bit nervous, since you’ll be meeting friends of people you know. The app has been all over the media and was seen on Shark Tank, The Today Show, New York Times, Marie Claire, Washington Post, and The New Yorker among others.

The Coffee Meets Bagel app matches with you with people who seem compatible, and shows you one match daily at noon. Their philosophy is that one quality match is better than all that swiping based merely on attraction. Then you get 24 hours to like your match or pass and if your match also likes you, you’re notified so you can connect.

Bumble Around Town

Created by past Tinder employees, Bumble puts the single gal in charge. Pretty much everything is like Tinder, with one big exception: Only women can initiate the first message, so you don’t get unwanted messages from men. If you don’t start a conversation, the match disappears within the 24 hour window. This app does give a bit more detail, like what college you attended and type of job, which may be helpful and you can post up to six photos.

Dates Hinge on the App

This is another dating app that works through Facebook. People seem to really like this app for a few reasons. First you are limited to 13 matches a day so no endless swiping. Second, like Coffee meets Bagel, your matches come from within your own network of FB friends and their friends. Third, the profile provides more information such as age range, distance, religion, education, and ethnicity. Plus, you can upload as many as 16 pictures to capture you in a variety of looks, poses, and activities.

In an article on CNN Money, Hinge is said to list users’ relationship status as noted in Facebook to dissuade cheaters from participating. The app reports that only 3.6% of participants are involved so the number seems low anyway, especially when compared to Tinder’s reported 42% cheaters. (Not sure how they go that number – don’t believe everything you read…except here of course.)

Why Not Try It?

As your dating coach, my wish for you is that you get into action about dating. Wanting to find love is not enough. You have to DO SOMETHING to meet men and date them in order to enter a relationship. If you’re a bit nervous, be sure to meet in public places like coffee shops and book stores and don’t let anyone into your car or home and you’ll be just fine. Happy swiping!

If you want help with online dating, your profile or choosing the best dating app, give me a call at 203-877-3777.

Single for too long, Ronnie wanted to find love. She put her skills from personal development and her spiritual path to work, dating 30 men in 15 months to meet her adorable husband Paul. Discovering the keys to manifesting and midlife dating, she founded It’s Never Too Late to help smart, successful women find love or live an empowered and magical life. Ronnie Ann Ryan, MBA, CCC, is a Certified Coach who has helped 1,000s of midlife women with her Love & Magical Life Coach services. She’s the host of the Breathe Love & Magic podcast and has been featured on NBC, ABC, & Fox News, NPR, BBC, eHarmony, MSN.com, and Connecticut Magazine among others. Also, Ronnie is the author of 6 books which are available on Amazon.