Active Audience | 85% |
Quality Matches | 93% |
Popular Age | 19-30 |
Profiles | 2 100 000 |
Reply Rate | 92% |
Ease of Use | 8.5 |
Popularity | 9.2 |
Fraud | Very Rarely |
Rating |
9.3
|
Registration | Free |
Smooch is an online dating site aiming to get singles in the same area to start a conversation that leads to a real-world date. The site and features are a little dated with old technology, but this means it is accessible to anyone because the site works on older equipment. The older-style Smooch website means that the inevitable ads are less intrusive than with more modern sites.
Smooch describes itself as a safe, fun, and easy to use online dating service that uses advanced search tools, giving you a list of compatible singles in your area. Of course, that is only possible if people in your area have registered with Smooch. Venntro Media Group Ltd owns the site. This company is a specialist in setting up and maintaining online dating sites. If you read the small print, you find that your profile shares across all the dating sites owned by this company. This feature means that you have a higher chance of finding a potential match because you have a bigger pool of potential partners to match with for location or interests.
You need to be over eighteen to join Smooch, and most of the members are under thirty.
You get the option to express a preference for same-sex partners, but generally, Smooch aims at traditional gender pairings. The overall feeling is that Smooch caters to young singles who join the site to have fun flirting, chatting, and casual dating. There is little pressure to find your soul mate and more of a nudge to start a conversation with other singles who live and work nearby.
Smooch works like any other traditional online dating site. You can sign up for free and access a level of features. To unlock all the features, you need to pay a premium and become a VIP member.
When you register and set up a Smooch profile, you can be matched in searches with other members. Your profile shares across all sites owned by the dating company. You have an excellent chance of finding matches on your search criteria.
The necessary information to register and create a profile on Smooch is limited to a few essential details. You can complete your profile with more detailed information to increase the likelihood of a compatible match. The matching process is only accurate if all members provide sufficient details about their lives.
Once you are registered, you can view other members’ profiles by running searches based on your location and interests. You can send an unlimited number of winks for free and up to five messages. As you need to be a VIP member to read messages, you can only build up a relationship with another member if you are both paying subscribers to Smooch.
Smooch encourages you to get to know other members through messaging until you feel confident and relaxed enough to set up a date.
The quickest way of registering with Smooch is to sign up with Facebook. The relevant profile information pulls across. The information transfer is one way from Facebook to Smooch, and Smooch does not put any information on your Facebook account.
Alternatively, you can manually input the necessary details onto the Smooch online sign-up form. The initial information includes your preferred username, your birthday, gender, and the gender of your desired partner, together with a valid email address. Once you put in the essential information, you get a validation email. When you verify your email, you will create a password and update your home location. Smooch prefers to use geolocation to autofill this item, but if your system does not share this detail, you can manually log the area.
Manual input of profile information as part of the registration process takes around fifteen minutes, depending on how much detail you choose.
Smooch uses old website technology and is probably due for a remodel or update. The old technique is not offensive and has some excellent advantages. You can run Smooch smoothly on older equipment, the adverts are less annoying, and you don’t face problems learning how to navigate the site.
The features on Smooch are straightforward with few frills or novel activities. You find other people on the site through a primary search function that matches you for geographical location and interests. Paid members get to use more search criteria, but you don’t get advanced matching searches. But advanced matching searches are only as advanced as the level of detail they have to review. The straightforward search function compiles a list of candidates to discover with a view to a potential meeting. Smooch will offer automatic hints about potential partners through its assessment of your interests and activity.
The Smooch icebreaker is limited to winks. You can send an unlimited number of winks to members who interest you. If you are a paid member, you can see who has winked at you.
The communication process is limited to messages. A free member can send up to five messages but can’t read any messages they receive. If a member is online when you message, you can talk to each other via instant messaging.
You can rate members’ photos, and if they rate you back, the two of you can get in touch with each other. Plus, you can see when a member was last online so you can identify members who will be slow to respond to a message or maybe inactive. Also, you can compile a list of favorite members.
The final feature is that you get allocated a small number of credits. You can top up your credit balance with real cash that converts to credits that you can only use in Smooch. You cannot cash in your unused credits for a refund. Credits pay for virtual gifts to other members and let you receive SMS messages. If you are in contact with a member and respond swiftly, this feature may be useful.
Profile information can be transferred from Facebook or entered manually. Free members have one photo that serves as their profile picture, while paid members can upload more images. Smooch only needs the necessary information to complete the profile details.
Smooch does check the validity of the photo used and the information supplied. Smooch also advises that members need to adopt a cautious approach in making sure that the member they are talking to is a real person and not a fraudster or scammer.
Smooch does not accept or decline photos that fail to meet a quality standard. The quality of profile pictures and information is dependent on the member uploading high-quality information.
Smooch is available for Android and iOS. The app is easy to download, and you can register quickly. You can navigate and interact with the whole Smooch site through the app. An added feature with the Smooch app is that you can play some compatibility games for entertainment and refining your potential match list.
The safety and security of members is a prime concern for any online dating site. The two main risks are wrongful sharing of personal information or becoming involved with someone who wants to steal from you or is abusive.
Smooch has all the standard website security in place to protect the information you share with the site. Smooch has additional protections aimed at removing fake profiles and preventing members from approaches from dishonest or badly behaved people.
Moderation by a human team is in place around the clock. In addition to monitoring, Smooch deploys anti-scam software. This system allows comparison of profile information with details of known scammer information and trends. This cross-referencing gives a risk assessment on every member’s profile that the moderators use to identify members with a high-risk score. The team takes action to remove Smooch’s profiles if they deem it necessary for other members’ safety.
Members’ profiles are cross-checked against their other social media accounts to check that the information provided is consistent. Photos are scanned through a Google image search to check for members who may be using false pictures to pretend to be someone or present a different appearance. These steps remove timewasters and dishonest members’ profiles from Smooch.
Members are encouraged to report the profile of any member that is behaving suspiciously or in a predatory manner. Smooch listens to complaints and takes swift action to investigate and resolve any potential issues.
Everyone joins Smooch as a free member. You have the option to upgrade to a paid subscription at any time. Once you have subscribed, your membership automatically renews unless you cancel it. The monthly subscription fee for Smooch, which is at $10/month, is low compared with other online dating sites. If you choose to subscribe for three months, it comes down to $6.67/month.
Free members can create a profile and add one photo. Smooch lets free members search for other members in their area, create a favorites list and send an unlimited number of winks (Smooch icebreaker). You get an email when someone adds you to their favorites list, winks at you, or sends you a message. But you can’t see who they are or read the content.
The paid or VIP service lets you send and receive private messages. You can chat online with instant messenger for a more interactive conversation if you both are online. Plus, you can see who views your profile, adds you to their favorites list, sends you winks and virtual gifts. Finally, you can upload multiple images to your profile and create and read dating diaries.
As a VIP member, you can top up your credit balance, letting you buy additional services like sending virtual gifts or receiving SMS updates.
Smooch provides help and support in many ways. You can contact customer support for technical issues regarding your access to the site or your subscription. Many tasks, such as forgetting your password and other account management activities, are dealt with by an automated process that quickly resolves your issue.
Smooch provides helpful resources providing advice and support in keeping yourself safe and how to maximize the benefits you get from Smooch.
The moderator team carries out plenty of support activities behind the scenes to keep Smooch safe from poor or offensive behavior and fake profiles. You can access a report button so you can immediately flag up anything that makes you uncomfortable while on Smooch.
The first question on anyone’s mind when they are thinking of joining an online dating site is their safety. Smooch pays attention to member’s fears and anxieties and puts plenty of resources into providing 24/7 moderation by a human team. Plus, Smooch carries out many cross-referencing checks to ensure you meet genuine people in your area. You still need a sensible and cautious approach, but Smooch aims to be a safe site for online dating.
The short answer is – yes, Smooch is a real online dating site. You register for free and look around at other members’ profiles based on a location search. It doesn’t cost you anything to register and check it out for yourself. Members’ profiles showed when they were last logged onto Smooch so you can check that there is plenty of activity.
Smooch is a straightforward site that lets you register a profile and get in touch with other members in your area or further away. You set up your account, review other members’ profiles, and compile a favorites list. If you want to talk to other members, you subscribe. You can get a feel for the level of interest by exchanging winks with other members for free before deciding to invest in a search for love and romance.
You join Smooch for free, but to have meaningful interaction with other members, you need to subscribe to the VIP service. The fees are reasonable compared to other dating services. The free service lets you work out if there are enough other members available for contact for it to be worthwhile joining.
Smooch provides a straightforward social network of singles looking for fun, flirting, chats, and dates with other singles. If you are looking to expand your network of friends and possible dating opportunities, Smooch is a low-cost way. You can find people in your area with the same aim in mind.
Smooch is a no-frills online dating service. It encourages members to register and search for other members that live sufficiently close to a physical meeting. Communication tools are limited to messaging, but that is enough to get a conversation started. That is what Smooch is all about – getting the ball rolling, letting you reach out and have a chat with someone you might like enough to meet.
Smooch is not focused on finding you the most compatible ideal match for you. The search tools like the communication options are basic. But they don’t need to be elaborate. It’s more fun for most people to start a conversation. Then they find out about the other person through asking and answering questions. When you bump into someone in a bar or coffee shop, you don’t know their life story or personality profile. You need to work it out from the conversation you have with them.
Smooch promotes that same process of mutual discovery. You spot someone you like the look of, you send them a wink, and they wink back. Tentatively you send them a message, they reply, and you start to chat. From chatting, you might set up a casual date or a meeting in a public place near to where you live.
If you are a genuine single looking to make friends and are open to dating and romance, then Smooch will work for you. Smooch provides an online meeting place where relationships can develop naturally and without pressure. The free option and the affordable subscriptions mean that you can enjoy checking out the other members on Smooch.