Not A Dating App
- Not A Database Management System
- Not A Dating Site
- This Is Not A Dating App
- Not For Dating Website
- Not A Data Mining Functionality
- So regardless of whether or not you use an online dating site, a dating app, go to happy hour after work, or get fixed up by your great aunt Myrna or a matchmaker like me – just keep dating! A smart strategy coupled with consistent effort is a proven recipe for success! I hope you find this information helpful.
- Women generally outnumber men on this popular dating app, by a ratio of about 60% to 40%. Around 36% of users are 18 to 29, with just over 55% in the 30-49 range. Why It’s A Great App.
- Don’t take this personally, but your dating-app bio could probably use some work. I tend to take a lot of pride in my own dating-app bios, which in recent years have included standout lines like: “The last 22-year-old you’ll fuck before you decide to settle down with a mature, sophisticated 26-year-old,” “More issues than Esquire magazine,” and of course, “I’m sorry but my.
- Tinder is much more than just a dating app, according to Taru Kapoor, General Manager, India, Tinder and Match Group. More than half of Tinder’s users are in the 18-25 age bracket.
Not that the pandemic has slowed down the growth of dating apps. A Marketplace report on the dating app scene found that the top 20 dating apps saw active daily users grow by 1.5 million last year.
384 millionmembers | 2 million daily logins | 60%/40% Male& Female |
60%/40% Male& Female | ||
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance | GeographyUSA, Europe, International |
low fraud risk | Verificationphoto verification | Mobile AppiOS, Android |
$4subscription price | Free versionbasic |
Hot or Not was around from 2000, when it was founded by two Berkeley graduates with a simple purpose — to let users know if they are hot or not. The premise inspired a lot of dating sites — even trendy swiping apps like Tinder took pointers from the system. Also though now almost all dating websites have a Hot or Not game and the additional features, the original platform is still among the most popular dating sites.
What’s the Hot or Not app all about
The platform was the first social network to introduce swiping. However, unlike Tinder, where you agree or not agree to date the person, here you can also send feedback. All profiles — including yours — will be rated based on their attractiveness on the scale from 1 to 10. The score is regularly updated and can be substituted if you change the picture.
Affordability
★★★★☆
The free version of Hot or Not is enough to get a date. You can register an account, upload as many pictures as you want, get matched up, and message other members.
The premium version offers profile promotion, gifts, and a possibility to cancel your matches, and attaching stickers to messages. The improvements are unsubstantial — I tried it and hardly felt the difference. But then again, the premium subscription is cheap — $4 per month.
Audience quality
★★★☆☆
Hot or Not is one of the most popular social media, not just among dating sites. The platform has 384 million users. What’s even better is the majority of them are real.
Hot or Not is serious about verification — each new member is required to upload a headshot with a website screen as a background.
The members are the most active in the United States and the UK, but it’s also among the most popular social services in entire Europe — one million users are active daily. The gender ratio is 60-40, with the majority of male accounts. To keep the sex proportion balanced, Hot or Not offers perks to female users — women get three days of premium trial.
Fakes and scammers
Hot or Not has a nearly stellar reputation in online dating. Here, users are required to undergo a strict photo verification. You need to submit a picture with the offered gesture. Not or Not naked games are prohibited — it’s not a sex dating app.
Interface
★★★★☆
The main page of Hot or Not leads directly to registration. No sales or explanations of how the site works — you need to sign up first, talk later. I wish the website would give more information to new users.
Signing up
Hot or Not asks only the most basic information in the form. You have two options: connect your social media, in which case the website will take the necessary information from your Facebook page, or fill out a form. Hot or Not wants to know your username, gender, age, email address, mobile number, and password.
The website doesn’t let users sign up for Hot or Not without disclosing the contact information. This data isn’t displayed later on, but you have to provide it for security purposes.
Profile
The thing to remember about Hot or Not is, first and foremost, that it’s not a dating website — or it wasn’t meant to be. Most users are here to meet new people, but the platform wasn’t designed with that in mind. This is why profile information is limited — there no intimate details, expectations from relationships, or dealbreakers.
- The matching relies on pictures, locations, interests, and basic characteristics like appearance, smoking, drinking.
- Profiles can be hidden or public. All users can rate pictures “Hot” or “Not.”
- Each page has a rating that defines the number of swipes that your profile gets. Your profile will be assigned to a category: the possible options are Low, Average, High, and Very High.
- The profiles feature a lot of pictures and videos — Hot or not rate photos games are the main matching algorithm.
- The information on popularity is updated daily.
Searching
Hot or Not is a fun dating website for people who are tired of standard feeds. It was the first website that introduced swiping and a hot or not quiz to online Dating — yes, even before Tinder.
Once both users swipe right, you can start chatting. To increase the likelihood of getting a match, you need to photo-verify your account — a lot of users are vary of unapproved profiles.
The number of swipes that your profile gets depends on your activity on the service — the most dedicated members get the most attention — and rating, which depends on how many users swiped right on you.
Chat
The messenger of Hot or Not is easily among my favorites so far. It’s lightweight, nicely designed, and well-organized. All conversations are divided by the type of contact — you can view all, or limit to conversations with online or matched users.
When a user reaches out, the first thing you see is a punchline, profile’s score, and photos. If you’d like to talk, press the “Chat now” button. You can also pass by choosing “No, thanks.”
If you have matches that you didn’t contact via chat yet, they will be displayed in your pending requests. All messages can be saved as Important. Also, you can see if your text was read or not.
Mobile app
The mobile application has all the same features as the web version — only swiping feels better. Hot and Not is available for free both on Google Play and App Store.
The platform is adapted to smartphone’s sizes and interfaces incredibly well — conversations and matches are sorted in folders depending on their status; all functions are located in the menu on the left part of the screen. The app doesn’t hint at Dating — you can easily browse it during commutes without getting stares.
Security and privacy
★★★★☆
Even though Hot or Not is a big platform, the team is thorough about checking profiles’ authenticity. It’s almost an exceptional case — most big social media lose touch with safety after reaching the user base of several million.
Technically, you don’t have to go through photo verification. It’s possible to register a profile, send messages, and fill out a profile without getting a badge — but you will be getting very few matches. Most accounts on Hot or Not are verified, and those that aren’t simply can’t present the competition.
The only issue is that you have to wait for 2-3 days to get verified. The platform has thousands of daily sign-ups, and the team can’t go through each new submission immediately.
Hookup chance
★★★★☆
Hot or Not is not the best website to find a sex hookup or a long-term relationship. The only type of Hot or Not dating that worked for me here was casual. People are open to considering meeting only after they chatted enough with you and have seen a lot of pictures. There are exceptions, but that’s the general vibe I got.
For long-term relationships, the platform is a no-go. It’s hard to expect people to care about your personality on the visual-based site, like Hot or Not. If you are not attractive, your profile will hardly gain much traction.
Sex dating isn’t the Hot-or-Not’s deal either. Guys still might be willing to agree — although the majority will act surprised, girls will most likely decline.
Matching algorithms
Hot or Not connected members via an engine under the name “Meet Me.” The Hot or Not scanner selects profiles that correspond to your interests, age, gender, and location preferences, and fall in line with your visual type.
More attractive people with higher scores will likely get hotter matches in their field, whereas average members won’t have a lot of options: the average hot or not scores of your matches will probably be around 5-6.
Will using this service get you laid
If you opened this review in hopes of getting a hookup soon, don’t get your expectations up. Hot or Not wasn’t designed to be a dating service — so most users aren’t actively looking for dates. Some are open to online conversations, whereas others want to test the waters and get objective reviews of their looks. It’s not just my experience — hot or not reviews on forums, and Reddit say the same thing.
The only reason why I will keep giving Hot or Not a try is that I like the matching system and because the user pool is massive, even in my location.
Also, the app gives a chance to get an honest answer to never-ending doubts — are you hot or not? However, you should do this only if you like the process and have a lot of time — because you’ll need to go over multiple profiles before finding cool ones.
Alternatives to Hot or Not for sex dating
Hot or Not is a fun website, but it’s not the only one — there are so many better options for sex dating. If you want to try out several great platforms and pick the one that fits you, I encourage taking a look at several must-know platforms.
11 millionsmembers | 300k per months | 10%/90% Male& Female |
10%/90% Male& Female | ||
4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance | GeographyUSA, Europe, International |
low fraud risk | Verificationemail, phone, photo | Mobile AppiOS, Android |
$0.95 – $45.95subscription price | Free versionminimal set of functions |
In many aspects, Pure is the opposite of hot or not dating app, and in the right way. Unlike the reviewed platform, it’s sex-oriented — people register here to get quick hookups. It also doesn’t encourage long texting foreplays and ghosting — all users have an hour to find a match; when 60 minutes are done, you are out of the dating field. You can come back later, but all your chats will be gone.
Another crucial distinction is that Pure is not as visual-oriented. Users here also upload pictures, but these aren’t just headshots. Women often share boobs and men post six-packs — anything that will get you laid will do except for genitalia, because these are reserved for private communication. It’s a fast and safe way to find an urgent hookup — all contact is anonymous, and shared content disappears in an hour along with a chat.
80 millionmembers | 400,000 users daily | 70%/30% Male& Female |
70%/30% Male& Female | ||
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance | GeographyUSA, Europe, International |
high fraud risk | Verificationemail | Mobile AppiOS, Android |
$39.95 - $239.95subscription price | Free versionbasic |
If Pure is a stylish sex dating website, AdultFriendFinder is as direct as it gets. Here, your feed is full of penises and vaginas, people openly share the dimensions of their genitalia, and erotic dreams with the favorite position, and play Hot or Not nude games.
AdultFriendFinder isn’t for anyone. I wouldn’t suggest registering here unless you are confident about sex or want an experienced hookup. If you have hopes for relationships or casual sex-free Dating, it’s undoubtedly a miss for you.
40 millionmembers | 2 millions per week | 60%/40% Male& Female |
60%/40% Male& Female | ||
4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance | GeographyUSA, Europe, International |
medium fraud risk | Verificationemail, phone number, Facebook | Mobile AppiOS, Android |
$9.99 - $120subscription price | Free versionmail features are free |
An obvious suggestion, but it would be unfair to let it slide. Tinder was heavily inspired by Hot or Not matchmaking algorithms, so if you like the one, you will also have fun on the other. Tinder is the biggest dating app right now, and it’s very intuitive, fun, and straightforward. All you need is a picture and a description to start dating.
That said, Tinder’s reputation hasn’t been stellar lately. There are a lot of stories about spammers, scams, and dangerous dates — so you should be careful. Tinder is the example of a platform that might’ve gotten too big for your good. Also, unlike Pure, which eliminates all dating info in an hour, Tinder stockpiles that stuff for years — and it’s not safe.
250,000members | 140,000 visits per month | 62%/38% Male& Female |
62%/38% Male& Female | ||
4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance | GeographyUS, Canada, UK |
medium fraud risk | Verificationemail | Mobile AppiOS, Android |
freesubscription price | Free versionyes |
Just like Tinder, Yumi also strikes me as a service inspired by Hot or Not. Users get to swipe on other members and decide if they’d rather be friends, date, or stay strangers. Each day, you get only four cards — four potential profiles for your dating. However, they aren’t just random — the app chooses candidates based on your matching history, interests, age, gender, and location preferences.
Yumi is not a sex dating app, nor a platform for long-term relationships. It’s best suited for casual dating with no commitment and possible benefits.
4,000,000members | 28,400 monthly visits | 60%/40% Male& Female |
60%/40% Male& Female | ||
4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance | GeographyNorth America, South America, Europe |
low fraud risk | VerificationFacebook account | Mobile AppiOS, Android |
$14.99 – $19.99subscription price | Free version7-day trial |
Another app like Hot or Not, Down Dating, where you are matched with people to whom you could’ve been connected on Facebook or those that fit your preferences. The one thing that sets the service apart from the Hot or Not online platform is the possibility to communicate your intentions.
A lot of dating websites don’t let users draw a line between long-term dating and sex. Down Dating takes this confusion away by offering two matching buttons to work with — Down if you are in for sex, and dating, if you want a relationship. If both partners pressed the same button, you’d be connected. This decreases your chances of getting a suitable match because it’s not too likely that two people will swipe the same button on each other. On the other hand, there will be no confusion in chat later.
10 millionmembers | 1 million daily logins | 65%/35% Male& Female |
65%/35% Male& Female | ||
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance | GeographyUSA, Europe, International |
low fraud risk | VerificationFacebook | Mobile AppiOS, Android |
$7.95 - $23.70subscription price | Free versionbasic |
If you were planning on using Hot or Not to find a suitable relationship, I recommend taking a look at OkCupid. This is one of the biggest dating websites, popular among Millenials and even Generation Z, and a popular gay dating option. Here you can look for matches in the feed, get custom digests, and play swiping games. OkCupid offers you the range of all classical matching options — you can always switch between several ones.
My favorite thing about OkCupid is its detailed matching system. Usually, sites that aren’t oriented towards serious relationships tend to let users choose their partners with no background information. OkCupid, on the other hand, has an entire personality tests with not obvious questions. You’ll be given situations where you have to predict your behavior, not another “Are you disciplined?” type of questions.
FAQ
Should I use the app Hot Or Not?
You can use Hot or Not if you want to start online dating but aren’t sure about your chances in the pool. For most users, it’ a possibility to objectively evaluate their attractiveness. Hot Or Not is better than Tinder this way — there you’ll just be getting no swipes for several months. On Hot or Not, you at least know how people see you. That said, if you don’t have much dating experience, starting with Hot or Not could be dangerous for your self-esteem. Consider starting on less judgemental platforms, like Pure or Adultfriendfinder, if you are up for sex.
What are the alternatives to Hot or Not?
Not A Database Management System
Hot or Not’s system inspired a lot of swiping-based dating sites. The rating system is present on many websites — almost any sex dating platform has a similar game. If you are into mobile dating, you can try out Tinder and Get Down. These services are very similar to Hot Or Not by the type of audience they attract. The only downside is, you will not get the objective score of your profile.
How does Hot or Not work?
Hot or Not currently has 384 million users, which effectively makes it one of the biggest social media platforms. Hot or Not free platform attracts users in the US, UK, and Europe, even in small cities. The reason why Hot or Not appeals to so many people is that it gives a clear, no-BS view on your dating chances. You’ll see how other people are scored, compare your profile rates to the average ones in your area, and see what kind of matches approach you. For some, it could be a self-esteem boost, while for others, it’ll be a reality check.
How to delete hot or not profile?
Go to the profile settings, scroll to the button of the menu, and you’ll see “Delete profile.” Click the button and confirm that you want to delete hot or not account. The website will remove your profile and chat information from its servers, and you won’t be able to use the app from the same account.
Is it possible to find a date on Hot or Not?
Yes, but keep in mind that it’s not technically a dating platform. A lot of people would rather prefer chatting online or sexting. Actual live meetings aren’t so common. I’ve dated Hot or Not for about four months, and I only had five dates. I wasn’t too disappointed, though, because my main reason for using Hot or Not is more about validating my looks than finding hookups or relationships.
How to verify a profile on Hot or Not?
Not A Dating Site
You can do it right after the registration. Go to the verification page, take a picture with your face and the website’s page on the background and send it for the official team for moderation. The photo won’t be available anywhere — this is just Hot Or Not’s way of checking if you are a real person.
How suited is hot or not for teens?
It’s a safe website — you can message only verified users to assure you aren’t getting scammed. Plus, it’s not a sex dating website — no one will expect you to hook up with a random person. As far as dating sites go, this one is among the top choices for teenagers.
What score is considered average on Hot or Not?
The average scores are around 6-7 out of 10. Five or below five is typically considered below average, while anything above seven is hot. However, it depends on your picture a lot — you might have to experiment with different angles, styles, and backgrounds. My rates varied from 5 to 8, depending on the image.
I got a bad hot or not rate. What do I do?
This Is Not A Dating App
Don’t get disappointed in yourself. The score isn’t definite — the Hot or Not rates depend on your region, people you reach out to, and the quality of the picture. Each photo has a different score, which means that the fastest way of getting rid of the shameful rating is to upload a new one. This time, make sure you get a good source of light — preferably daylight — and experiment with angles.
Are Hot or Not profiles with 9/10 or 10/10 even real?
Yes, they are real. A lot of Hot Or Not hot users can even be approached relatively easily. After talking to some ten-out-of-ten guys, I found out that they don’t date only people of their league. One told me he had a great date with a five score. This is obviously an exception, but this confession really lifted up my spirits. Don’t be afraid to approach someone with a much higher rating — you don’t know their matching criteria until you try.
Is it true that Facebook was inspired by Hot or Not?
Yes, it’s true. The concept of Facebook was hugely influenced by Hot or Not, which at the beginning was more of a social media than a dating website. YouTube also took pointers fro, Hot Or Not — and so did a lot of existing mobile dating services.
Not For Dating Website
Conclusions
Hot or Not is one of the oldest and most popular dating services, and it lives up to the reputation. The service is fun, versatile, and safe. It’s not particularly good for finding dates — people here aren’t open to actual meetings. However, if you want to get your looks evaluated by strangers, it’s a perfect place to start.
Not A Data Mining Functionality
I think that Hot or Not is a perfect introduction to modern dating. It shows you how people feel when they evaluate profile, gives access to one of the largest user pools, and offers fun matching features. You won’t get bored — and you just might become better at online dating.