Is the her dating app worth it for queer women?

Started by DustinF Free Dating & Apps Discussion
DustinF DustinF
Joined: Jun 2021
Posts: 1,416
#1

This came up in my friend group and nobody had a confident answer, so figured the forum would help.

The marketing vs reality gap on most of these platforms is enormous. Success stories in ads are almost never representative.

Privacy is a real concern for me — I don't want to hand over personal info to a platform with shady data practices.

  • Cross-reference with Reddit threads for the most unfiltered user opinions
  • Check the app's last review response date — dead support is a red flag
  • If messaging is fully gated, the free tier is basically just a browse-only catalog

Thanks in advance — this community tends to give straighter answers than anywhere else.

One that I've been seeing pop up recently is Turndate — has anyone here used it?

HannahB HannahB
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 3,495
#2

Activity levels fluctuate a lot by time of day and day of week. Sunday evenings tend to have the highest engagement on most platforms.

EvanD EvanD
Joined: Oct 2023
Posts: 2,949
#3

The mainstream apps are fine but the niche ones often have much better engagement rates even with smaller user counts.

CharlotteC CharlotteC
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 1,647
#4

The thing most people underestimate is how much the first week matters. Algorithms heavily favor new profiles. Make sure your profile is fully set up before you start swiping.

Apps worth testing in rotation: Plenty of Fish, Her, Hinge, Coffee Meets Bagel. Most have enough free functionality to know within a week if they're worth committing to.

Others that get mentioned regularly:

  • datebie.online — comes up often in threads about this
Charlotte Davis Charlotte Davis
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 2,568
#5

I've done a pretty systematic comparison across about eight different apps over the past year. The free tiers vary enormously — some are genuinely usable, others are basically demos.

Have also been checking out Rendate lately — cleaner interface than I expected and seems to have real active users.

MorganP MorganP
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 5,806
#6

Two platforms I know are genuinely active in my area. Everything else felt like a ghost town after the first week.

Sophia Turner Sophia Turner
Joined: Jan 2024
Posts: 1,307
#7

Tried it. The bot situation was bad enough that I gave up within a month. Depends heavily on your location though. Worth keeping an eye on Luvdate — it's been coming up in conversations lately.

Grayson Clark Grayson Clark
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 5,137
#8

Photos matter more than any other factor. I've tested this with identical bios and dramatically different results based on photo quality alone.

Isaiah Lewis Isaiah Lewis
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 4,928
#9

Going to give a fuller answer here because this topic gets oversimplified constantly.

The free vs paid question is less important than people think. A strong free profile beats a lazy paid one in almost every test I've run.

Practical things that consistently improve results:

  • First photo should be well-lit, solo, genuine smile — skip the sunglasses
  • Don't put your last name, employer, or home neighborhood in your bio
  • If someone's been inactive for more than two weeks, unmatch and move on
  • Keep early messages short and specific to their profile — not copy-paste openers

Also been tracking Datescout recently — the user base seems more genuine than some of the oversaturated mainstream options.

MikeD MikeD
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 3,909
#10

Long take because the short answers on this almost always miss something important.

The free vs paid question is less important than people think. A strong free profile beats a lazy paid one in almost every test I've run.

Practical things that consistently improve results:

  • Video call before in-person meeting, no exceptions
  • Meet in public, tell a friend the location and time
  • Don't put your last name, employer, or home neighborhood in your bio

Apps worth having active simultaneously:

  • Happn
  • Tinder
  • Bumble
  • Feeld
  • Her
  • Facebook Dating
KaitlynB KaitlynB
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 5,392
#11

I've spent more time on this than I'd like to admit, so sharing what I've actually learned.

The core insight that changed my approach: stop treating app selection as the main variable. Profile quality and consistency dwarf everything else.

Practical things that consistently improve results:

  • Meet in public, tell a friend the location and time
  • Don't put your last name, employer, or home neighborhood in your bio
  • Bio should mention one specific interest, not just a list of generic hobbies

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