Happn Dating App Review

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What you need to know Happn dating app review

When the Happn dating app launched in 2014, it was unique. With its location based system, showing you profiles of passers-by who you might match well with. The idea of falling in love with a perfect stranger who you pass by every day being the premise. They have a really cute advertisement video on YouTube if you don’t believe me. And with the #MakeItHappn why not give it a shot?

Happn shows you exactly when and where you crossed paths with potential matches and how many times. What this breaks down to is, you can only see other profiles when you come in close proximity with others. So on your way to work, school, the park or shopping. This app tracks where you go and lets you know about potential matches as you go through your day.

Getting in touch with other users, however, is not as simple as sending a private message. In order to begin chatting, you need to be mutually interested in each other. So this should help alleviate any creepy vibes from the fact this app tracks your moves when you have it turned on. This feature is great for those who don’t want to receive nagging messages from strangers they aren’t keen on.
If you’re the shy type, you’ll be happy to know that “liking” someone who you’ve crossed paths with remains completely anonymous until they “like” you back. So dealing with embarrassing rejections will never be an issue.

If you wish to be more daring and live up to their #MakeItHappn slogan. There is the option to send a ‘Charm’ to that special stranger you have your eye on. Charms are used to express your interest without being anonymous. This feature is completely free for women but is a paid extra for men (Any other guys a tad offended by this?).

The stats

Happn first released its female-friendly location-based dating app in Paris in January 2014. It has since grown in popularity around the rest of Europe, with over 50M installs according to the Google Play store. It is available in plenty of languages including English, Spanish, German and French and is widely available on several different platforms: iOS, Windows and Android.

The main focus of the Happn app is of course dating. You can also use it to find good old fashioned friendship as well. The fact that it shows more personal information than some other dating apps, like your job and musical taste makes it ideal for this. This extra information also makes Happn more ideal for those looking for more than just a meaningless hookup. As an extra measure of security, you can only use your Facebook account to sign up on Happn. This link creates a sense of security for other members. It also lowers or prevents fake accounts significantly.

As mentioned previously in this Happn dating app review, women can use Happn for free. Guys, on the other hand, do have to pay coins to get their hands on Charms. Coins can be acquired for free but can also be purchased directly from the app. Prices range from 10 coins (£1.49) to 500 coins (£27.99). These coins are by no means necessary to get the most out Happn.

The ages of members on Happn vary. The majority is a younger audience ranging fro 18 to 25, since anyone over 18 can create an account. Recent comments on the app’s different download pages reveal the crowd remains a young one, as older members in their 40s find it difficult to find matches. The market is there and older members are requesting better promotion in their age range, so hopefully progress in this market will continue into the future.

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What it packs

Now for the more technical side to this Happn dating app review. Possibly the biggest issue which may put off some potential users. Happn requires constant access to your location in order to be of any use. So if privacy is a major concern of yours, this might not be the dating app for you.

It works by using your mobile device’s GPS feature to search for other users within a 250m radius. Some critiques of the site have revealed a mixed bag about this setting. Some people have wanted a larger radius while others have felt it was too big. I suppose it all depends on where you’re going. This provides a bit of a problem if you have a limited amount of free mobile data. Make sure you’re topped up before you head out.

You could argue that a Wi-Fi connection would solve this problem but let’s remember that this app is designed to work whilst you’re on the move. After all, you’re not always going to be in those precious free Wi-Fi zones.

The file size stands at roughly 60MB for the iOS version. Fairly reasonable for such a potentially handy app. It also runs quite well once downloaded and installed, very little lag was encountered whilst testing for this Happn dating app review. For optimal performance keep this dating app updated.

The last word

The experience for this Happn dating app review has been surprisingly positive. It’s good to see a solid app which can stand up to the popularity of other dating apps like Tinder. Travelling around with Happn turned on, provided a lot of profile matches on my timeline. It was very easy to see which users would be ideal for me. Especially, thanks to the information displayed on potential match profiles.

I was, at first, put off by the registration process. As were quite a few other people when checking through other reviews and comments about the dating app. You have to use your Facebook account to create a profile on Happn. However, they do promise your information will never be shared on Facebook. Once you create your Happn profile you can ensure this in your settings. So those of us who prefer not to share our personal life with the world needn’t be concerned.

Connecting via Facebook offers some great benefits. Not to mention a quick account creation process. Happn uses your Facebook information and profile pictures to create a detailed profile automatically. You can upload additional pictures of course. You can also update your information in the “About Me” section very easily. Searching for your desired match is simple and fun. In just two taps you can access a filter page. This allows you to choose gender and age preferences for people you want to be connected up with.

Something which was left to be desired was the search radius in which the app finds your matches. 250m is quite a significant distance. So it was slightly disappointing to see that this distance cannot be adjusted. It would be nice have the option to see my matches who were less than a minutes’ walk away only (or is that just me being lazy?).

Our Happn Dating App Review Rating

Now for the important part, did I get lucky? Yes, I did actually. Once your crush likes you back an announcement alerts you. The option to then chat with your crush on the app’s message service is then possible. It’s a great feature for me since I tend to be a bit shy and don’t handle front out rejection well.

This Happn dating app review provided a lot of nice surprises for me so I give is a 4.5 out of 5. In the beginning, I was quite sceptical but after some time with Happn my pre-judgment was uncalled for. Happn is a unique location-based app with a bunch of nice features making it female-friendly and secure with its Facebook login. I thought it also has an attractive design. It makes finding a potential new partner or casual fling, fun and easy. Although it does have a few small niggles, the pros far outweigh the cons and I definitely recommend giving it a try.

Download

iTunes 4.5/5

Google Play 4.5/5

Windows Phone Store 4.5/5