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Dating


Is Badoo Safe - Dating Site Reviews

8.4

badoo.com

Is Badoo a dating site, a social network or something in between? We decided to give it a try and find out...

Badoo has been around for a lot longer than people tend to think. In mainland Europe, it's been a popular site for years, essentially a dating site disguised as a social network. The company didn't put a lot of emphasis on the benefits the site can have for people searching for love, but members of the site quickly became very well aware of this quality.

As time has moved on, Badoo has spread into the UK and eventually hit the USA. Although it still doesn't completely position itself strictly as an online dating site, it merits our review treatment simply because that one of the main reasons that people use the site.   

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How Does Badoo Work?

During the registration process they invite you to choose the reason you're signing up, to which we selected the “Dating” option.  From that point it's clear that we're firmly in the dating sector, with the next steps all very typical of other internet dating websites we've reviewed. You're invited to add a photograph (if you don't, you are regularly prompted with requests to do this) and more information about yourself.

The members area is a little more interesting. Unlike a lot of popular dating sites that present search results in a way that shows you multiple profiles at once, Badoo provides you with results on a one by one basis. It's not quite Tinder style (read our Tinder review here), but has a similar feel due to the emphasis placed on the main photo of your matches. That being said, as you flick through your potential dates it does also outline any common interests you have with the person being presented to you as an option for a romantic relationship.

Is Badoo For Free?

The site is free to join and let's you browse members at no cost, but there are a few upgrades that are pushed to us during our review of the site. Paid features include the enabling of 'Superpowers' (boosting your profile to bring double the amount of attention to you) and the “Charge Your Points” feature, which lets you to pay for other enhancements that can boost profile performance and visibility.

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One very positive aspect of the site is the way that Badoo promotes the benefits of account verification, frequently encouraging users to do so using a variety of different methods that are offered including via phone or Facebook account. The benefits of this are clear and generally surround security on the site – if you can prove you are who you say you are then you'll get more attention and conversely, if you know that the people you see on the site are genuine members, it's more likely that you'll spend time trying to communicate with them. Scammers find it more difficult to prove their identity, so verification like this is an important deterrent to help reduce fake registrations.

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Overall, we like Badoo and feel that it is worthy of exploration. Although it's not only for dating – a lot of people still join the site to find new friends – it has the infrastructure to help serious daters find true love. The excellent mobile apps are a nice way to try the site and it's great to see a dating site making more use of mobile technology for making payments (on Badoo you can pay using SMS, far more convenient than the typically used credit card option).

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Is Badoo Worth Joining? Our Conlusion

If you're based in Europe then it's simple, Badoo is as much of a 'no brainer' as top dating sites like Match or eHarmony. For our non-European readers we'd also suggest checking out Badoo, just to run a search to see what membership is like in your area. After all, when it comes to finding your other half, you have to be open to trying different ideas.

As usual, we'd like to take this chance to recommend the use of at least three dating sites at any given time. Multiple accounts let you test and try a number of dating services quickly, whilst giving you a much higher chance of setting up dates in a prompt manner.

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badoo.com reviews:

  • 2017-11-18 16:53:25, Tom Watson (Man, 50)

    Not totally convinced by Badoo yet

    Review:

    This site certainly looks the part and the android app makes life a lot easier but when it comes to finding people to go on dates with I think its best to stick with specialist dating companies. Badoo still doesnt seem to know what the heck it is even after all these years. Maybe if it focused more on being an actual dating site it would get more people in small towns like the one I live in.

  • 2017-11-17 18:39:38, Thomas (Man, 42)

    4 Star

    Review:

    Its rite up their with the best online dating websites on the web. Theyve been going for donkeys years so if you think about it, they wouldnt have survived this long if they were totes useless! Lol! I agree with most here that think its a good one to try. Thomas

  • 2017-10-17 09:10:56, Ashley Fox (Woman, 42)

    Super!

    Review:

    Youll get no complaints here. I reckon I was using badoo before I was even using FB. Great site as a social network but also for looking for dates/ partner. Cheap, easy and fun. What more do you want lol?

  • 2017-05-18 16:43:03, Scotty (Man, 47)

    A-OK

    Review:

    This site (Badoo) is totally fine guys. I have some friends who use it and told me that theyve met decent people using this site. I don't usually bother with free dating sites as I worry that anyone can just register. But I tried it because of my friends and im cool with it now, totally trust it. Not perfect like most reviews say but worth checking out.

  • 2017-05-09 15:21:49, Linda (Woman, 28)

    Good option for singles looking for serious or casual meetings

    Review:

    Im a member on badoo and have used the site on and off down the years. Used it both as a paid subscriber and a free member. It has something for everyone as long as you can find people that are close to where you live then you have a good chance of arranging a get together for friendship, romance or whatever your looking for on the site.

  • 2017-05-05 00:21:09, Simon M. (Man, 49)

    Proceed with caution & low expectations

    Review:

    Im not quite ready to say “dont bother” but im not a big fan. Look out for fakes, although they are pretty easy to spot cos their messages are normally short and a lot of them dont make much sense at all. If you get a message from a member (usually a girl) thats way out of your league then be smart and trust your instincts over your nether regions. i have had good contacts on badoo and met a few women in their 30s but truth be told id struggle to give this a rating of any more than 2 stars.

  • 2017-04-13 01:42:30, Bucky (Man, 47)

    Badoo Review

    Review:

    Not bad at all. Beats going to the pub in this weather on the unlikely chance of meeting some mysterious stranger. Much rather be saving my money and liver using an internet dating site and this one is my latest weapon of choice.

  • 2017-04-02 18:16:03, Scott P. (Man, 50)

    I TRYED BADDOO

    Review:

    I LIKED IT SERTAN THINGS CUD BE IMPROVED A DIDNT REELY GET ALL THE DATES A WAS HOPEING FOR BUT CHATTED TO SOME GIRLS AND DID PIC SWAS. WUD USE AGAIN BUT HAVE A GF NOW AND PROMISED HER I WUD STOP USIN DATE SITES SO AM TRYIN TOO BE GOOD :-)

  • 2017-04-01 16:32:50, Glasgow Guy (Man, 53)

    8/10

    Review:

    Really busy site, I had heard about it a few times but no really sure why its taken me so long to finally get round to giving it a bash. Daz, Glasgow

  • 2017-03-04 07:09:20, Jeffrey D. (Man, 37)

    New user

    Review:

    I signed up to Badoo after spending a few weeks traveling around Europe where it's extremely popular. Since I got back to the US I've used it to speak to friends I'd met in Spain and France, but also to see if I could meet people here in the States. It's early days but I love the fact that I can do most things on the site without having to spend my hard earned dollars (which are much depleted after my travels!) I get some spam emails, sure, but I get them from any dating site I use so im not ready to give in just because of that. One down side is that it isnt all that busy here even with me being in a major city (NYC) but we'll see how it goes. It seems fine to me.

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