{"id":127484,"date":"2019-02-18T22:39:17","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T21:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=127484"},"modified":"2025-07-01T22:20:48","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T05:20:48","slug":"new-friend-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/new-friend-apps\/","title":{"rendered":"Which apps are best for making new friends?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"making<\/p>\n

Dating apps are commonplace these days. No shame in meeting the love of your life (or love of the week) online.<\/p>\n

Part of what makes the process, well, weird, is, some dating apps have a friendship option, in addition to the usual fare. Others adopt the dating model \u2014 incorporating friendship quizzes, detailed profiles, and in-app messaging.<\/p>\n

So, why are friend-focused apps the subject of skepticism and stigma? It\u2019s arguably way harder to form platonic friendships from scratch after you\u2019ve completed college than it is to meet a potential suitor.<\/p>\n

Those looking for new blood for the friend group or a fresh perspective face some challenges,where do you look for new faces? We’ve covered friendship apps<\/a> in the past, narrowing down our recommendations to the best ones available.<\/p>\n

Here, we’ll look at which options work and which ones you might want to skip.<\/p>\n

What friendship apps are worth your time?<\/h2>\n

Meetup<\/h3>\n

\"meetup<\/p>\n

Meetup <\/a>is the one app that anyone suggests when someone wants to meet more people. It\u2019s one of the better apps, in that norms are a bit more established than you\u2019ll find with the apps that take the dating model and put a platonic label on it.<\/p>\n

Meetup is maybe both the best and the worst<\/strong> app in this category. Why? Well, for a few reasons. The breadth is staggering. There are groups focused on massive impersonal singles events, and others with dedicated regulars \u2014 book clubs, hiking groups, people that want to meet for happy hour.<\/p>\n

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n \"Meetup\"\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Meetup<\/span>\r\n DOWNLOAD FREE \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/path><\/path>9<\/text><\/svg>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/span>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

Facebook Groups<\/h2>\n

Facebook Groups aren\u2019t usually anyone\u2019s favorite place online \u2014 they\u2019re usually forced on you because you signed up for a class or a neighbor invited you to a community page.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t write them off! There are tons of Facebook Groups and many of them center around shared interests like Meetups do. Because there\u2019s usually a purpose behind each group, it\u2019s a less awkward<\/strong> way to find new people than the one-on-one date-style interactions you\u2019ll find on something like Bumble BFF.<\/p>\n

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n \"Facebook\"\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Facebook<\/span>\r\n Download Free \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/path><\/path>8<\/text><\/svg>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/span>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

MeetMe<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"meet<\/p>\n

MeetMe<\/a> is an app that allows you to find people nearby that want to meet up on a whim.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if the app is a dating site, a place for friends or both. We\u2019ve found that this app doesn\u2019t have great reviews, it\u2019s one of the only co-ed friending apps on the market \u2014 compared to Hey! Vina<\/a> and Bumble BFF<\/a> that primarily target women.<\/p>\n

Users create a profile that includes a short bio, location, and details like age and sexual orientation and from there, you can chat with other users. We like that MeetMe is less formal than Meetup<\/strong>, which is focused on events\u2014and sometimes there\u2019s a long wait before there\u2019s something to do.<\/p>\n

Still, this app doesn\u2019t seem too promising \u2014 and may come with awkward interactions<\/strong> where one person isn\u2019t aware they\u2019re on a date.<\/p>\n

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n \"MeetMe:\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n MeetMe: Chat & Meet New People <\/span>\r\n Download Free \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/path><\/path>10<\/text><\/svg>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/span>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

We3<\/h2>\n

\"We3<\/p>\n

This app explicitly states that it\u2019s not for dating<\/a>. Instead, it\u2019s supposed to work like a mini meetup. You meet in groups of three, which mitigates some of the awkwardness<\/strong> involved with things like Bumble BFF or the bygone Tinder Social.<\/p>\n

The algorithm looks at over 150 factors that help determine who you get matched with.<\/strong> What we liked about this option is \u2014 We3 gets that sprawling mixers are basically worthless for meeting friends. And, one-on-ones can be awkward.<\/p>\n

Bumble BFF<\/h2>\n

\"bumble<\/p>\n

Bumble BFF<\/a> is an interesting one. If you listen to the founder speak about the Bumble brand, you\u2019ll get the vision \u2014 it\u2019s evolved into a one-stop shop for networking, friending, and, of course, dating.<\/p>\n

All well and good, except the app still features a lot of users with pictures they put up for their dating profiles. So, as you scroll through the pool of potential besties \u2014 you\u2019re presented with this lineup of people \u2014 ostensibly judging them based on appearance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Still, the one-on-one approach is refreshing if you\u2019ve only used larger meetups to expand your circle. We\u2019ve found that a lot of people text back and forth for a long time \u2014 and things fizzle fast.<\/strong> With that in mind, it\u2019s worth it to be more proactive about setting up a time to meet and making a point of following up with the people you actually like.<\/p>\n

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n \"Bumble\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Bumble \u2014 Meet, Date & Network<\/span>\r\n Download Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/path><\/path>8<\/text><\/svg>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/span>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

Hey! Vina<\/h2>\n

\"hey<\/p>\n

Hey! Vina<\/a>, which we\u2019ve also looked at in the past, is exclusively built for finding friends. Like apps like OK Cupid, the process involves taking some quizzes, uploading a few picks, and receiving matches based on what the algorithm spits out. You\u2019ll get an automated message from a Vina employee \u201cmaking an introduction,\u201d but it\u2019s the same thing every time.<\/p>\n

The process is basically the same as what you\u2019ll get with Bumble BFF. You\u2019ll message matches and decide to meet up. The app is cute, and we like the idea. However, it can be tricky to get over that initial hurdle of the date-ness of the whole thing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n \"Hey!\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Hey! VINA<\/span>\r\n DOWNLOAD FREE \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/path><\/path>7<\/text><\/svg>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/span>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

Final thoughts<\/h3>\n

Friend-dating requires as much time and energy as regular dating. People take that for granted. You might meet friends at work, or through doing a regular hobby \u2014 but those seemingly effortless friendships were built on repeat exposure to each other. Did we miss your favorite app for meeting friends? Let us know in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Looking to make new friends? Here are the pros and cons of 6 popular apps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9161,"featured_media":127487,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2518,2441,3150],"tags":[1783],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-127484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","category-how-to","category-uncategorized","tag-friends"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127484"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":326557,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127484\/revisions\/326557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127484"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=127484"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=127484"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=127484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}