The best dating apps for bisexual people

Young people looking to at least go on a few dates with the same person instead of everything turning into a friends with benefits situation was a major blind spot for dating sites — until Hinge blew up. The premise and user base might be in the Tinder and Bumble realm, but Hinge's unique profile criteria and algorithm based on that criteria set the scene for matches with real-life potential. Some 90 percent said the first date was great and 72 percent said they'd be down for a second date.

Despite the fact that we're actively seeking out new dating apps and feel a rush every time a cute contender swipes right back, no one looking for something serious wants to be on these. That's the whole idea behind Hinge's 2019 rebrand to "the dating app designed to be deleted." Instead of cheesy questionnaires and spam emails about the 50 winks you were sent, Hinge uses ice breakers, religion, education, and more to help you find matches you'll actually get along with. Though there's a mix of serious and casual users, Hinge's latest updates allows you to select your "Dating Intentions," so you can be clear about exactly what you're looking for.

Instead of swiping, connections are made by liking or commenting on another person's prompt answers or photos. Prompts range from "Two truths and a lie" to "I'll pick the topic, you start the conversation." You can send eight likes per day with the free version of Hinge, but there isn't a limit to how many people can like you per day. Conversations are hidden after 14 days of inactivity to keep you focused on potential boos who are taking meeting seriously. Paying for Hinge Preferred also lets you filter by political views and other factors.

The focus on personality and interests is a nice change of pace from Tinder, where most of the focus is on selfies and whether you're DTF on the first date. Thoughtful responses are probably too much effort for most people who could simply use Tinder to scout threesome contenders or send nasty messages.

Read our full review of AdultFriendFinder.

Between creepy men pretending to be women and straight girls looking for another girl to have a threesome with her and her boyfriend, most heteronormative dating sites don't give bi women a great shot at finding a relationship. HER, an award-winning app made for queer women by queer women, is the perfect place to go if you're tired of the only queer woman you know being your ex girlfriend. 

The app that wants to "introduce you to every lesbian you've ever wanted to meet" is growing rapidly: HER has grown to 4.5 million users since its rebrand in 2015, and according to Statista, that's pretty damn close to what Bumble is working with — and they're all women. If you tried HER a few years ago and were discouraged by swiping through the same people, your experience will be much different this time around.

In summer 2019, HER revamped its minimalistic profiles to let users get more creative in categories like gender, sexuality, pronouns, diet preferences, and star signs, as well as a "What does this mean?" field in the sex, gender, and pronoun categories to create more well-rounded understanding of identity. There's also a space for a text bio where you can showcase your sense of humour and describe what type of relationship you're looking for. 

The app has groups like "newly out," "in a relationship/finding friends," and "travelers" to help you find your people. Plus, during the pandemic, HER has hosted online and virtual events.

A hot mess and a nightmare — both things our interviewees used to describe being bisexual on Tinder. Every bi woman we talked to immediately brought up being scouted by other female users (who were, of course, straight and in a relationship) just looking to find a third for a threesome, the real kicker being that most of them conveniently don't mention their motive right away. And because Tinder doesn't require a Facebook account to sign up, there's essentially no stopping a man from pretending to be a girl.

Tinder does help people come out as bisexual or learn to navigate same-sex flirting for the first time. The now-ubiquitous swiping function gets shit for being shallow, but The Cut spoke to two people who said that the low-stakes vibe (less pressure than hitting up your first gay bar) made it easy to explore what they'd been thinking about after years of one gender exclusively: setting preferences to both men and women.

A partnership with GLAAD is making finding the right people much easier. In June 2019, Tinder expanded its orientation options to include bisexual, asexual, pansexual, and six more. Users can decide whether or not that's made public and can also opt to be shown people of the same orientation first. Problematic daters can still work around this if they're that devoted, but it's an appreciated step toward making Tinder a safer space for LGBTQ users. Users who pay for Tinder Gold can also undo a left swipe or see which users have liked their profile.

With Chappy shutting down in Feb. 2019, there aren't many apps specifically for gay or bisexual men that aren't some iteration of Grindr's ab pic and dick pic-filled feed. But even after a decade of the same horny agenda, Grindr remains a go-to for instantaneous location-based hookups for gay and bi men.

Going into it, bisexual men probably have an idea of what's coming on Grindr: nudity, pushy messages asking for nudity, and though it says it's an app for all queer people, probably not many women. But finding and meeting up with men on Tinder isn't always quick, especially if you're in a small town with a meager queer community. Whether it's your first time with a guy and you want someone experienced or you're the experienced once simply looking for a quick hookup with a man, it's nice to have Grindr in your back pocket. 

That's not to say it's not for relationships, but on a surface level, it's ideal for quick, casual encounters. However, the Grindr for Equality campaign takes the app past being a simple hookup facilitator by advocating for sexual health and the safety of LGBTQ people in unsafe countries.

The main complaint from bisexual people about Grindr isn't that it's aggressively horny or 99 percent men. It's the biphobia. This entire thread of Reddit users have experienced it in some way, describing the disappointment they feel from not being supported by their LGBTQ community and getting messages like "vaginas are gross" at the first mention of being bisexual or anything that's not strictly gay. Grindr is technically advertised toward LGBTQ women as well, but because of the atmosphere on the app, they're few and far between.

Bumble made a name for itself with it's "women send the first message" model, which though a tad on the heteronormative side (either person can chat first with same-sex matches), can kind of help deter any creepy dudes away from bi women.

Without the chat feature applying to same-sex couples, Bumble does become a pretty similar experience to Tinder, minus a thing or two. Matches also go dead after 24-hours of no first messages — that means if you don't send a first message or your match fails to respond to your first message within 24 hours, the time for talk is over. You can extend that time with Premium features, but for those trying to actually a conversation, and even a meeting going, this certainly helps keep your match queue streamlined.

In terms of the specific Bumble bi experience, it is easy to look at people of all genders at the same time. However, profiles don't come with a tag to signify your own sexual orientation, so if you want people to know your bi, you'll have to throw it in your bio or through one of the prompts. Still, Bumble is one of the most popular dating apps in the game, so the chances you'll find someone are decently high. And if you're looking for queer pals, Bumble BFF isn't a bad place to go either.