Police say thieves using Tinder & POF dating apps to target victims in robberies

Safety TipsA reminder to not be in a hurry to meet in person, and when you are ready, to meet in public, crowded places:

At least half a dozen armed robberies in Nebraska over the course of two weeks are linked to dating apps Tinder and Plenty of Fish.

Police say the suspects use the apps to lure men to secluded spots and rob them.

“Men aren’t taught to be as cautious and leery as women are,” said Ericka Souter, editor of Mom.Me.

There have been similar incidents in several other states.

Tinder says it’s supporting police in the investigation into these incidents, while Plenty of Fish is reminding users to never meet at a home, hotel, or secluded location.
(via ABC, “Police say thieves using dating apps to target victims in robberies“)

Member safety is a top priority on the Friends Match Me dating app, and that’s why we don’t do geolocating – when adding the app to your phone, you don’t give the location permission to keep pinging your phone for just where you’re at, unlike apps such as Tinder.  But, in any case, it is important for members to take safety measures and precautions.  You can check out our Safety Tips here.

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Why our dating site chooses Search Tools over App Algorithms

find the one who makes your heart smileThe goal on Friends Match Me is to find your match, your soulmate, your partner in life.  Just as important as profiles sharing info and not just photos, advanced search tools to filter out the kind of person you feel you would connect with are essential.  We take it a step further on Friends Match Me, and invite members to post a million words equivalent via videos too.  The way we think about it is: Who knows who is YOUR MATCH better than you?  We give you the tools to do it.  And if by chance you actually miss a type or person you would match with, hey you just might get messaged by them.  Free messaging on Friends Match Me, so emails can get sent and read both ways without any access issues!

Alternatives to this Friends Match Me direct approach to dating online take the power of choice away from you – the dater – and give it to the app algorithm.  Alternatives may hide profiles from you unnecessarily, show you “matches” that don’t match your preferences, and ultimately can cause you to miss out on finding that special match for you, sooner rather than later.

Once-free dating site Zoosk chooses one of these alternatives, “Behavioral Matchmaking”, i.e. showing you “matches” based on your activity on the dating site.  Friends Match Me does not go this route, unlike some other dating sites/apps, because this means that if you click on a profile to check it out, it means something that the app assumes for you; if you like a profile that you visit, it means something more that the app assumes for you… there is a lot of assuming here.  But isn’t it better if you just tell the app who you would like to meet, rather than it guess based on your clicks?

Tinder, popularly referred to as a “hookup” app, and Bumble, created by one of Tinder’s ex-employees, choose another alternative Friends Match Me passes on: Swiping through member profiles put in front of you, one by one.  Going through profiles filtered just by gender, age, and location can be tedious and futile, as not only is it ignoring important qualities that you may be looking for or would like to avoid, you may also be missing out on the profile of the person who is “the one” being displayed in front of you.  Like playing the slot machines in Vegas, it might be the next one, or the next one, …but you can’t just keep swiping and swiping.  Oh and also, not to mention that you are not getting a very full picture of the person with so little information on each profile swipe.  Plus, what if you accidently swipe no, or change your mind?  It can be hard to find that member profile again, even if you buy the premium version for access to that feature.  Perhaps even their profile updates to what you would say yes to and you won’t know that in this swiping game.  Furthermore, you might even miss your match because they are not located right in your city or near you – and even if you find them, if they don’t find you and you don’t get that mutual like, you can’t message them and they can’t message you.

Coffee Meets Bagel dating app opts for another alternative: limiting how many “matches” you get sent per day, or a set period of time.  Not only, do these type of dating apps not allow you to search through their members that may mutually match with you, but their app algorithm decides who and when and how many profiles to show you.

Choose the dating app that chooses you!  You can join the totally free dating site Friends Match Me online at www.friendsmatchme.com by clicking on the “Login with Facebook” button, or download the free dating app on Google Play or the App Store (just search for “friendsmatchme”).  You can use the same Friends Match Me account across all your devices.  We welcome your feedback!

Compare Friends Match Me to other dating apps: Bumble, Coffee Meets Bagel, eHarmony, Friends Match Me, Hinge, JDate, Match, OkCupid, Plenty Of Fish, Tinder, and Zoosk.

Get app on Google Play Download app on the Apple store

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Plenty Of Fish (POF) dating site review: F rating on BBB

BBB, F Rating

Known as POF for short, Plenty Of Fish is a dating site that used to be totally free, much like OkCupid used to be totally free, and Zoosk used to be totally free, and Tinder used to be totally free.  Acquired by Match Group (which also owns OkCupid and Tinder) in 2015, Plenty Of Fish currently has an F rating on BBB:

PATTERN OF COMPLAINTS

As of June 13, 2017: BBB files indicate that this business has a pattern of complaints concerning the following issues: 

Problems with Product/Service:
-Consumers allege having their accounts hacked or being locked out of accounts with no ability to contact the company to resolve such issues.
-Consumers allege no longer being able to sign in to their accounts or finding their accounts deleted without notification.

Refund or Exchange Issues:
-Consumers allege being charged fees long after membership has been cancelled. Consumers also allege unauthorized charges for upgraded memberships randomly withdrawn from accounts.

Customer Service Issues:
-Consumers allege receiving notifications via email from the company without the ability to unsubscribe or stop contact. 
-Consumer allege their attempts to contact POF are unsuccessful and they have difficulty finding customer support in order to resolve their issues
(via BBB, Plentyoffish Media Inc)

Do you agree with the BBB?  Check out the BBB page for the company’s response and to read POF member complaints.

Feel free to share if you have any experience with the Plenty Of Fish dating site or apps.

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Automatic routine quality checks for fake dating profiles & spam activity

Posted on October 15, 2017 by admin

quality controlsQuality experiences for our members is very important to us at Friends Match Me.  We are not interested in bloating the member registration numbers with bots or fake profiles or give any illusion of increased activity because of spammy private messages.  No fake news here.  That is why we have automatic routine checks on Friends Match Me for fake dating profiles and spam activity, in addition to the report member and report message buttons.

We hope you enjoy your experience at Friends Match Me and we welcome your feedback!  If you feel your profile or messages have been wrongly tagged as spam, please email us about reviewing and reactivating your account.

You can join Friends Match Me by clicking on the “Login with Facebook” button at friendsmatchme.com, or download the app on Google Play or the App Store (just search for friendsmatchme”) and click the login button within the app after downloading.

Choose the dating app that chooses you!

 

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Approved ad types updated

Posted on October 14, 2017 by admin

Reviewing ads

We have recently reviewed and updated the approved types of ads that are displayed on Friends Match Me.  Friends Match Me is a 100% totally free dating site and includes all the important features (plus more!) you need to find and connect with your match:

-Private Messaging & Chat

-Advanced Search Tools

-View Profile Visitors / Who Favorited You

-Profile & Activity Privacy Controls

-Detailed Profiles, Photos, & Videos

and…

-Member Mutual Facebook Friends & Facebook Similar Likes

Friends Match Me is a totally free dating app so it’s funded through advertising.  We hope you enjoy your experience on Friends Match Me.  We welcome your feedback!

Compare Friends Match Me with other dating apps:

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OkCupid rolls out more changes, requires “like” before messaging, hides profiles

In August we discussed dating site OkCupid’s “upgrade” of removing the visitors feature both ways – you can no longer view visitors to your profile nor view profiles you have visited.  Much to the dislike of OKCupid members, OkCupid is back at the “upgrades”.

One of the major changes OkCupid has recently rolled out is restricting who you can message – if you want to message someone, you have to like them, or click on the “like” button.  Interestingly, on “free” dating site OkCupid, you have to pay to see who has liked you.  For now, you can still read/send messages for free.  This like-before-you-message update, coupled with the removal of the visitors feature, is pushing OkCupid members to either jump in or pass, no getting your toes wet.

Okcupid: like then message

Does it make sense?  Requiring a like before a member can message also is seemingly watering down the meaning of a like when it’s forced onto the user because they want to send a message.

It seems like OkCupid is trying to be more like Tinder and other swiping dating apps.  Besides connecting the liking feature to messaging, OkCupid has added a new feature, the Pass button.  Clicking on the pass button on a member profile will hide that member from your searches.  According to OkCupid member feedback, matches that you like and message also do not appear in your searches anymore.

Back to features removed: OKCupid members can no longer remove their answers to questions on their profile – they can just update answers on a delay.  So, if you click the wrong radio button in the multiple choice answer, you currently have to wait about 1 day to update it.  According to feedback on the App Store for the OkCupid app, the questions/answers feature is actually removed in its entirety, so maybe it is set to be removed from all platforms on a roll-out:

Used to like it…
by Sheashea825

So basically you took everything that made this app unique, and threw it out the window. The whole bs about getting rid of visitors boosting messaging is bogus. Even as a female, I’ve receive at least 75% less messaging. Plus, you don’t know when people even like you. And now you can’t even send messages unless you like them first even though they can’t see it anyway. This is rather pointless. Obviously if they are messaging, they like the person. Back to the visitor thing, the only successful date I went on, was with someone whom were we flirted literally by visiting. You have ruined this app. It was working fine before you made horrible changes. But you know thanks for being all inclusive. Another thing I miss is being able to see people’s answers to the questions. It was nice because then we could see what kind of person they really were based on their answer and what they said about it. So thanks for ruining that too. Tell me when you go back to being fun again or point me to another app that’s like what you used to be.
(via App Store)

Other OKCupid members/ex-members have openly expressed their growing dislike to the dating site changes:

Ex-OKCupid memberDan J expressed his dislike of all the OKCupid dating app changes a couple days ago in his October 11 android app review:

This app just went from the best to worst when it removed the ability to see people you have ever interacted with. It actually works better now if you never rate anyone. A left swipe and a hide are now identical options, so if you left swipe someone who had a blank profile and they later fill it out, you will never know. So the best way to use this app is to now not use it at all. Solid decision.

With similar sentiments, Adam F. in his review also October 11:

I’ve been providing helpful feedback and rather than fix anything it keeps getting worse. You don’t even detail the updates anymore under “what’s new” because you know it’s becoming outright horrible. I just canceled my subscription renewal because obviously nobody cares about this project anymore
(Google Play Store)

Russel B. posted just yesterday on Google Play:

This was my favorite dating app but the latest update has ruined it. You can’t message somone now unless you like them and after you do that you never see their profile again. I hope whoever approved this feature gets the boot…. Idiot!

And just today from Daryl S. on Google Play:

The latest changes have ruined what made it special. Most of your matches are hidden from you now and the only way to see them is to swipe left or right endlessly through terrible matches that you can’t hide anymore. It used to be so easy to see and connect with great matches. Now it’s tedious AF.

Nick C. wrote one October 11 on Google Play:

Ruined the app. Was literally my favorite dating app for the versatility and ability to be able to find new people without HAVING to match with them… How ridiculous is it that literally everyone I’ve liked in the past is just gone now so I have no way to interact with them anymore.. you guys are gonna tank yourselves. I will be cancelling my account and I know many others who are doing the same. Went from first to worst in a single day.
(Google Play Store)

And Wesley R. wrote today on Google Play:

OMG are you even serious with this last update taking away all matches, last logged in etc if I don’t t reset all preferences! Every update gets worse and worse, taking away even more features that made me use this app in the 1st place. Okcupid really want to become unpopular and go out of business!

Thomas P. wrote today:

Used to love this app, but the newest version has rendered it completely useless. You no longer see people you’ve liked or interacted with in your matches. Totally pointless.

Kim H. wrote today:

This app just gets increasingly worse by every update! You can’t see visitors, and now you have to like to message?! Get a grip okcupid, you used to be cool!

Another recent review on the App Store for the latest OkCupid app upgrade takes the humorous approach to make a point about the enormous amount of ads popping up with each action:

Single Ads in your neighbourhood!
by Roiceradical

Are you attracted to constant unskippable Ads? Having a hard time swiping through all those pesky humans on other dating apps? Well OKC has a fix for that. Why have the freedom to send a message when you could be watching an Ad. With OKCs new algorithm, you’re guaranteed to match with an unskippable Ad after every 6 swipes, message, or even the second you open the app. You’ll never be alone, as OKC will always be there to sell your data to Ad companies. At OKComputer you’re always watched.

In all seriousness, this app is really bad. You are hit with an ad after everything you do. They removed the only features that separated the app from other dating apps. Half the time profiles are fake, or just plain empty. The algorithm is a complete joke, and even if you find someone cool, have fun trying to enjoy a natural conversation through the constant stream of unskippable ads.

Ads are a part of free services, however it seems like OkCupid is currently going overboard on the ads for profit.  Friends Match Me, the totally free dating site, also runs ads, however on our apps the ads display at intervals, not constantly.

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Tawkify matchmaking dating site reviews – no photos, no profiles

A few days ago we did a blog post on eHarmony seeming to be the only dating site that blocks member photos until you pay.  The matchmaking dating site – or rather dating service – Tawkify takes this even a step further – no member photos or profile information until you meet your arranged date in person.  This is unlike old school matchmaking, which is done by people who actually know you, care about you, don’t do it for any monetary profit, and match you with people they actually know through some connection.

Blind date, matchmakers dating site Tawkify

According to the Tawkify website FAQ, they currently have “about 100K people” in their database – a number they say is growing.  Perhaps their no photos/no profile information rule aids in satisfying their member package minimum date quotas with their limited database, as they provide no option for members to veto the match based on the person’s info before meeting.  According to the feedback from many Tawkify customers and even Tawkify matchmakers, matches are not always following the paying customer’s specifications or expectations:

What people working at Tawkify, via Glassdoor say:

Clients are setup for failure since so many of them are not what the opposite sex wants

Advice to Management

Be more honest with clients and matchamackrs in training
-Former Contractor – Matchmaker in San Francisco, CA

—

..The sales team intentionally misrepresents our services and success rates in order to sell more packages. It falls to matchmakers to handle these out-of-whack expectations…
-Current Freelancer – Anonymous Freelancer

—

Pay is strictly commission based, and fairly feeble. There are bonus incentives, but I’m not certain anyone is earning them. It ties into your client load, which is restricted until your clients have completed their package. This creates a culture for matchmakers to exclusively SATISFY A QUOTA instead of working to find appropriately screened, solid matches for people…
-Former Employee – Matchmaker in New York, NY

—

All based on sales and numbers. There’s a disconnect between what the service actually is and the clients expect. …
-Former Employee – Matchmaker in Brooklyn, NY

Not so good… Tawkify customer feedback matches with what Tawkify’s employees have complained about, regarding the discrepancies between clients’ expectations and what is actually delivered:

Rafael J., in the last week
Mostly Tawkify “talks” through their unlimited bloggers. It takes 3 days to receive a new password, and rarely respond to emails. Tawkify very quick to take your $. NEVER was contacted regarding a match. Tawkify wouldn’t respond to a request to remove my information from their system. The idea is good but they do not do what they promise.
—
Laura P., 3 momths ago
Local Guide · 33 reviews · 20 photos
Not worth it. One date over 6 month period. Top dollar charge and honestly I could and have met better people on Tinder. Don’t waste your$$$ or your time. Fully frustrating and almost impossible to get a refund

-via Google Reviews

So how much does Tawkify cost?  Apparently $1500 minimum for a 3 months packages/3 dates if you want to be a member and have a matchmaker set you up, according to many of the verified customer reviews.  And $3500 for 12 dates.  The Tawkify website itself does not advertise the costs, and just states “Our clever technology helps us provide full-service matchmaking for a fraction of the traditional cost! Our pricing is based on several factors, with options ranging from $99 to $6k per year.”  The $99 is if you would like to just be in their database, with no guarantees of any dates.  There is actually a Facebook promotion advertisement going on right now, offering to add you to the database of potential daters free (the $99 value).  It seems Tawkify can make use a larger database of potential daters as many of their matchmakers have resorted to free dating sites to recruit people to date their members at no cost to them.

More Tawkify customer feedback regarding matches not fitting in with the customer’s specifications, with a $1500 price tag and no refund:

Daniela C.
The service sucked

I worked with Hanna on behalf of Tawkify here in Colorado, although she is a lovely woman, she has no grasp of my physical taste in men and quite frankly, she shouldn’t be a match maker. I sent her numerous pictures of what kind of men I am atracted to, but Low and behold , every single match was not my type. One of the matches was flat out rude and I felt awful after our date :(
To make it right hanna matched me up with someone else that was equally unattractive and unavailable. (Super busy with his band)
All of the guys had weird staying away things (unavailable) and were guys I would never even strike a convo with (not my physical type).
This service was the biggest waist of $1,500.00 dollars. I could have gone to Vegas and had a blast with my friends.
***do not recomend***

Another recent customer review:

Chris

the most expensive blind date…

…the most expensive blind date you will ever have they arrange dates with people … you’ll never see their profile you won’t know anything about them and you’re expected to go meet them This company is a complete absolute total fraud . I signed up for six dates after considerable phone calls I got one date . Their staff are incompetent. under no circumstances whatsoever do business with these people

Tawkify negative feedback on their recruiting of “matches” for its members from free dating sites:

 Verified order, Ditica C.
The minimum
…The service promises “a minimum of one date per month” and that’s exactly what they provide–the minimum. No “above and beyond” here.

The website claims:
“We’ll start scanning the universe for potentially compatible candidates from within our exclusive “Romance Rolodex,” and beyond… our famous “Love Hunter” recruiters hit the ground running to find ideal matches…All matches are handpicked and personally screened – and subject to final approval by E. Jean herself and matchmaking team leaders.”After talking to one of my dates, it turns out she found him on OkCupid. 
For the length of my contract I spent most of the time try to track Monique down. She’s promise to contact me on Tuesday and I’d never hear from her, sometimes for over a week. Once she was in Vegas. Good for her!
She and I finally met face to face after my second failed date and I bought her lunch. (Usually I buy MY clients lunch.)
There were many scheduling issues with my third date but when we met he seemed to know nothing about some of the options I’d offered, and had information about me incorrect. The date had some potential but he received a phone call that his daughter was ill (prior to our meeting) and had to cut it short. Monique did nothing to salvage this and even lied to me about it.
Overall, not acceptable for $1500. That’s right–$1500 for three dates.
I’ve had better dates and longer lasting relationships from Tinder, and that’s free.

Another bad experience from a customer:

Dyan K.

I would give this company a Zero if I …

I would give this company a Zero if I could! Do not waste your time or money!!! To say I am disappointed is an understatement.First, I would like to say I signed up for this because I am an attorney and I didn’t have time to waste… However, taking into account that I have now gone on countless dates with guys that I had zero interest in, saving time was the least of my problems with this program. Second, I am a 33 year old female, and I have never had poor dating experiences until I went on dates with this system. I had gotten out of a relationship that I was in for 6 months, and I wanted to try something new… this was the worst service I have ever used! You are better off on Bumble.. even Tinder! I was promised that this service had quality guys… that is far from what I encountered.Let’s start with what I was looking for – I am outgoing, and I wanted someone outgoing as well, someone fun, your typical guys guy that could hold a conversation.What I got was tech guys who couldn’t hold a conversation, transplants from California that had no intention of staying in New York, and the last one looked as though he was 45 years old (no thank you). I could go on and on – I am picky but not that picky – this service is absolutely horrendous. I agree with prior comments- they do not look to set you up rather they are looking to set up clients, and they are not good at matching, nor does it appear that they truly are looking at what you are asking for. Further, despite reiterating what I was looking for, the dates kept going down hill. I can only assume there is a major algorithm problem.I cannot for the life of me see this company lasting- and under no circumstances would I ever recommend this company to anyone I know – it was THAT bad.

This verified customer who paid for the $99 database add only, talks about Tawkify’s  “5 minute background check” and the matchmakers just trying to set up dates, not real  matches:

K., Verified order
I have to say I have been very …

I have to say I have been very disappointed with this service. I have gone on two dates so far that were set up by two different matchmakers which were both awful. They are not very attentive and are clearly only interested in “selling” you on their clients rather than actually trying to find a good match. One of my matchmakers closed the feedback review within 24 hours (you are supposed to have 48 hours to respond) and simply wrote that my date had a fantastic time, that I was a catch and that she wanted to set me up on two more dates. Clearly she was not interested in hearing any actual feedback about the client or in helping him find a more compatible match/give him advice for conducting himself in a better manner for future dates.Their screening is at a very superficial level and is very similar to what you could get on dating apps (I was asked hardly any questions and our entire conversation was 5 minutes max). They don’t tell you anywhere on the website before signing up that they have a policy of no pictures which is a mistake and results in a lot of wasted time across all parties. While I understand their main focus is to cater specifically to the clients, they need to do a better job of screening/getting to know both parties to gauge the level of interest/compatibility which ultimately would be in the best interest of the client. Thankfully I only signed up to be a part of the database and only spent $100. I would NOT recommend spending money on this service as it is a complete waste of time.

And another verified customer that also discusses the marketing aspect of Tawkify taking center role:

SA, Verified order
All marketing, no follow through – increasingly disappointing

Started off with some good matches, but the trajectory has been very poor, after 7 matches don’t think my preferences are understood at all, and I’m just given a date to check the box. Matchmakers seem to circulate a finite number of guys between various female clients. Customer success has been entirely inaccessible I’ve been trying to reach them for 14 days now – emailed my sales contact, and when I hadn’t heard back 7 days later, called Customer Service who said they’d have Customer Success reach out to me, but a week later no word.

This customer paid $3500 for the 12 dates package, but was very unhappy after her first 6 dates that did not follow her match specifications (she received a refund for 6 of the unused dates after a response from Tawkify for her comment, but not for her 6 poorly matched dates):

Margaret
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AND TIME!

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AND TIME! This is a gamble and a crapshoot. I was very clear about what I wanted: ethnic and diverse, and I got caucasian and conservative for almost all of the dates. I also wanted to meet someone located in my city but 5 out of 6 of my dates lived out of town. Why did I stick with it for for so long? Well, I was told dating is a numbers game, but after paying $3500 for 12 dates, which averages $300 per date, I decided I couldn’t afford this game of chance. They are offering no refund or credit for the experience that was clearly not what I paid for or asked for. This has been a failure as an experience with what I have seen as a disorganized company staffed with young women who seem to have little experience or qualifications to be matchmakers.

This review from SF had a smiliar experience: matches that did not fit her criteria or she did not fit theirs, and were set up with her from a free dating site, no photos exchanged or telephone conversation beforehand that would tell her it would be no match very quickly and with much less expense:

Disappointing.

…Tawkify says (and this was also explained by the rep before I gave them my credit card number): they have an 80% success rate for clients who use the service 6-12 months. They have a database of 60K carefully selected potential matches. They provide “curated” dates. They promise feedback from the match after every date. I figured why not try it, and bought a 3-month (3 match) package for about $1500. That’s $500 per date.

…

Let me say that “curated” dates is far from accurate. Basically, the matchmaker picks a place in the city (in my case, restaurant, wine bar, and pizza place) and makes the reservation. You get a cutesy worded text about the place. That’s it.

First date: The guy told me in the first 5 minutes that he was on a free online dating site when contacted by Tawkify. He asked me “Did you actually pay for this?” Yeah. He also was not compatible with me in a few major ways, ways in which I was crystal clear about what I wanted in a match. For example, I am highly educated with a well-established career and high income. This guy lives with 3 roommates due to his finances and hates his job and has no idea what he wants to do instead. He was also so disengaged in the Tawkify process that he never responded to the request for feedback. So I never got feedback from this date. For $500 bucks, I expect all elements I was promised. And I can find my own dates on free sites–I don’t need to pay a matchmaker for this. I explained this to my matchmaker who defended Tawkify’s method of recruiting from online dating sites.

Second date: At a wine bar I could not find. My ONE location request to my matchmaker was to please pick places that are easily accessible because navigating in my city is tricky and I am new to the area. Without the date’s number I had no way to let him know I was lost and I was 20 minutes late. I hate being late and this was a pretty stressful start to a date: go to a place you can’t find to meet a guy you can’t contact. This match was from another free dating site. was nice and educated with a good job, but it was immediately clear he wasn’t attracted to me. We had one glass of wine (and took it upon himself to tell the waitress we were not getting any food) and that was it. Granted, chemistry can be elusive but because this guy didn’t see a picture of me first (Tawkify doesn’t show you each others’ pictures) I spent $500 for a glass of wine.

Third date: The guy was awful. I am in mental health and he–seriously without exaggeration–is on the autistic spectrum. And mean. He is a dentist and openly mocked his patients at dinner. He did not make eye contact and did not respond to social cues. I would have nixed him in a 5-minute phone conversation. The date was excruciating and I couldn’t wait for it to end.

Now here is where it gets even better. After this third date (and the end of my package), I expressed my disappointment to matchmaker who replied: “I am sorry you have looked upon this experience so negatively.” So now it’s my fault that I can’t see their service in a positive light. I find this pretty insulting. I then communicated via phone with someone in customer service and detailed the above to her. I requested that since I did not receive feedback from date 1, I did not get all elements promised to me and I wanted to be compensated by one more match with a different matchmaker. She told me she would review my concerns with the Tawkify team. I clearly communicated to her that I would not be spending any more money on Tawkify. She emailed me several days later saying they were unwilling to give me one additional match and instead offered me a discount of 13% if I bought another Tawkify package. She also threw in that she “would be sad to see any negativity” on social media from my reviews of the service. So now I’m again being “negative.”

The thing is, I’m nice, sweet, cute, and easily approachable. I’m also really reasonable and tried my best to work with Tawify and be patient. At no point was my communication ever not clear and calm. So not only did I spend a lot of money for a terrible service, Tawkify employees labeled me negative, twice and seemed to blame me for the terrible experience. Yuck.

You can find more Tawkify negative reviews online with similar sentiments: expensive, not carefully curated matches or dates as promised, and some negative experiences that could have been easily avoided if photos and telephone numbers were exchanged before the date, so each side knew more of the other and approved of the match to go on the date.  Morever, dates found from free dating sites that did not pay for the services had less investment in the process, and more importantly, weren’t carefully chosen as a match.  To be fair, there are also positive reviews you can find on these links.

What do you think?  Would you go out on a blind date with someone you don’t know anything about, and don’t have any mutual friends with either?

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eHarmony free communication weekend, but photos blocked until you pay

no photosThe paid dating site eHarmony is advertising their free communication weekend again.  They even state in their TV commercial that no credit card is needed to sign up and email other members.  However, one thing is still not free in the “free communication weekend” – members who do not pay on eHarmony still cannot view other members’ photos.  EHarmony did not mention this fact on their TV advertisement.  False advertising by omission?  Perhaps misleading, but the keyword is that they did not say “free weekend”, but “free communication weekend”.

A recent verified reviewer on Consumer Affairs wrote about eHarmony blocking photos from non-paying members, as well as her disappointment in the quality of men she encountered:

Ella of San Leandro, CAVerified Reviewer

Original review: Aug. 20, 2017

As soon as you sign up, you have to pay to see even the pictures of the matches. Such a money scam and my first question from a member who I couldn’t even see was “Do you believe in pre-marital sex?” One might as well join Craigslist for free and get the same men. I’ve never seen a dating site with all grayed out photos until you pay. eHarmony needs to go away…

Another verified member and verified buyer wrote about their huge disappointment about not knowing whether the other members on eHarmony have received their emails or not – because non-paying members not only cannot send emails, they cannot read emails either:

B. K. of Virginia Beach, VAVerified ReviewerVerified Buyer

Original review: Jan. 29, 2017

Not good! You are very smart for reading reviews before joining – I didn’t! With all the emails eHarmony sent me, I thought it would be a busy site and I liked the feel of the extra security. There is no way to see if members are active or if your messages are just going to cyberspace! It is a huge disappointment especially with the competition being free! I think I will try my luck elsewhere but it’s only after I paid. Would never recommend to my friends!

We hope you try Friends Match Me.  It is the totally free dating app!  You can compare dating apps on the market in this YouTube video:

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JDate dating website search tool still buggy, false matches

JDate’s jdate site redesignwebsite is still buggy, since their website redesign, or “upgrade”.  Functionality is very poor as they seemingly have concentrated more on making the look of the site more like the dating websites that are big on photos, not profile content.

The major issue of the new JDate is that their search tool does not work.  It’s very easy to pinpoint the issue and to fix it: the search algorithm accepts empty profile fields as a match.  So you may get more member “match” search results, but the quality of these matches are very low.  It is kind of like padding the search results.  Member profiles with empty profiles are encouraged if their aim is to appear in the most searches.  And actually there are a lot of empty profiles.  JDate has been notified of their algorithm bug leading to false matches, but still they have not fixed it.

JDate is a paid dating site – you have to pay to read or send emails – and yet they still have not fixed this huge bug.  This bug is in the search tool used for all the member search pages as you try to look for your match.  The search tool is basically useless and JDate members receive emails of matches that are not in fact matches.

Pay for a dating site that doesn’t have a search tool that actually works?  Waste money and time clicking on every profile that is not guaranteed to actually be a match?

Compare the dating apps on the market in this video:

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Match.com does not let you block members from viewing your profile

no privacy

You pay a subscription fee on a website and you expect to get services to help you – not just help the website company increase their profits.  Every member on the pay-to-message dating site Match.com is a reason for another member to be a paid member.  One may wonder if that is the reason Match.com does not provide an actual member block feature.  Privacy is one of the top complaints by members on Match.com.  Even if you have an active paid subscription, you cannot block a member from viewing your profile/photos/info – really this should be a free feature even on paid dating sites.  On Match.com you can just essentially block yourself from receiving any messages from that member.  That “blocked” member on Match.com still thinks they are sending the message, but you don’t receive it.

This Match.com member complaint on Consumer Affairs gives a good summary of this common issue on their dating website:

C of Jersey City, NJVerified Reviewer

Original review: Aug. 12, 2017

Match is a terrible dating website. You cannot block other members from seeing your profile even if they are abusive. Match will block messages sent from an abusive member but the member can still stalk your profile which is very dangerous. Also, they do not do much when a conflict arises with another member. The most they would do is cancel both you and the other’s membership with no refund and no reason. Customer service is even worse – they are very rude and ignorant. Please go to any other site but match. DO NOT waste your money here because it has nothing to offer. You will not find serious/intelligent members on this site. The only members on there now are looking to “play”.

At least Match.com posts in their Help section that in fact you cannot block a member from viewing your profile:

Although you’re free to adjust your profile visibility whenever you’d like, we don’t currently have a feature that allows you to selectively hide or make your profile visible to specific members.

Most probably do not know this about Match.com until they need this feature, however, just to be surprised by the lack of it.  Facebook, the free social networking website, does provide a real block function.  And so does Friends Match Me, the free Facebook dating app.

Compare the dating apps on the market in this video:

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