Top free apps and video chats for dating, building relationships, or making new friends

Today, the phrase “We met on the Internet” is as common as “We met at a party” ten years ago or “We met at a festival” twenty years ago. That is, online dating has become commonplace for the vast majority of contemporaries. Also, if many people believed that strong romantic relationships could hardly grow out of online dating in the past, today, opinions in society have changed completely.

Today, about 17% of all marriages are between people who met on the Web. According to the forecasts of many experts, by 2031 the share of such “Internet couples” may exceed 50%. As a result, there will be a turning point in the principles of building relationships.

The popularization of online dating is a positive trend. Indeed, online dating opens up new opportunities for a person in so many ways, expands the circle of potential acquaintances, and erases any distances and boundaries. On the other hand, due to this popularization of web dating, a new difficulty arises, such as choosing the right site. There are more than 8,000 sites today, and these are just dating sites and apps excluding video chats, various forums, and other online platforms where you can get acquainted.

In this case, how do you choose the perfect dating platform by not making any mistakes? We will talk about that in today’s article!

Apps for finding a soulmate

Perhaps, this is the largest category of dating services. It includes thousands of all kinds of apps and websites, such as Plenty of Fish, Adultfriendfinder, Hinge, Match, FDating, 2Mingle, Happn, Clover, and many more. The problem with choosing a platform for new acquaintances is that, as a rule, the same algorithms and principles of recommending a suitable match are hidden behind different visual shells.

However, by focusing on popular applications exclusively, you will get several important advantages:

1. Large and active audience: It’s true, you definitely won’t feel any shortage of meeting new acquaintances. The top dating apps have hundreds of thousands of registered users, and in some cases, even millions of them. Therefore, you can doubt the possibility that you will lack communication.
2. Interesting gamification solutions: Many popular dating apps turn finding a soulmate into some type of game such as swipes, matches, and likes. They are game elements designed to make the search process more interesting and exciting.
3. Easy/flexible search settings: You can set precise parameters for the selection of a potential pair, in which the algorithm will try to find the best matches for you. Sometimes, it really does pay off.

On the other hand, there are a lot of disadvantages here too. In most applications, owners of free accounts are very limited in their actions. Algorithms don’t work just like marketers claim and the number of scammers in online dating services is simply huge. Therefore, you have to be vigilant and extremely attentive to the people with whom you make acquaintances.

Free video chats for real-time communication

The random video chat format is completely different from traditional dating sites and apps. The major difference lies in the fact that dating here is really random. Certainly, you can set some basic search settings without exact parameters. You can usually specify the desired gender, country, and a list of interests. There are no finer settings, and this is actually a plus because you do not limit yourself to interesting acquaintances.

Let’s take a look at a few popular free video chats!

One of the first random video chats in history, known as Omegle was introduced in 2009. The format proved to be so popular that numerous Omegle alternatives began to appear, many of which are still popular today. Another great free option is omegle.chat. The platform offers users a built-in message translator and high-quality video and sound. Most importantly, Omegle.chat has a very large and active audience.

We can recommend Chathub for users who value simplicity and minimalism. It’s a classic Omegle alternative with a similar feature set. Unfortunately, Chathub still doesn’t have a mobile app. If you care about anonymity and privacy, consider using Chatspin video chat — there are A/I masks that hide your face from the interlocutors. We also recommend paying attention to the Emeraldchat service, which combines random video chat and a functional messenger. A good alternative to Omegle for many individuals can be Camsurf, a chat roulette with gender and geographic filters, as well as an extensive set of paid features.

Apps to find new friends and like-minded people

Obviously, not every user of dating sites, applications, and video chats seeks to meet their love online. Many just want to find like-minded people and make new friends. Luckily, the developers understand this too. This is the reason you have a lot of convenient dating services today at your disposal that are focused on finding friends specifically.

• BumbleBFF is a part of the popular Bumble dating app. Here you can find new friends looking for friendship and not romantic relationships.
• Pawdates is a dating app for pet owners. This is where they can find each other, arrange “dates” for their pets, and meet themselves. Also, Pawdates offers a search feature for veterinarians and pet stores in your area.
• Yubu is a dating app for young people that focuses on friendship, finding new social connections, self-development of participants, and sharing of experiences.
• Meetup is a platform for organizing events and meeting people who share your interests. You can find groups for playing sports, learning languages, discussing books, and much more on Meetup.
• Friender is an app for finding friends based on common interests and hobbies. You can create a profile, list your interests, and find people who share your passion(s).
• Nextdoor is a social network for your area or city. Here you can chat with your neighbors, make new friends, and participate in local activities.

However, this is not the whole list of available options. There are a lot more of them. You will surely find something for yourself!

What to choose?

It is simply impossible to answer this question with certainty. However, we can give a little advice that will help you find the right answer: “Define your goals!”

The fact is that many people registering on a site or on a dating app, do not fully understand what they want. Also, a lack of understanding of one’s own goals and priorities leads to the fact that a person simply wastes his or her time by not getting any pleasure from new acquaintances or desired prospects. At this point, it is left for you to know what you want exactly. Subsequently, it will become much easier to choose a suitable dating service. This is Guaranteed!