El mobbing

Badoo is a curious mix of social network and dating app that began life as a Facebook game https://datingranking.net/international-dating/. It went its own way a few years ago but has maintained a much lower profile than Tinder and the like. It looks and feels like Tinder but works differently. This tutorial will walk you through creating a profile and then changing your location within Badoo.

These two tasks make up the majority of the questions we receive here at TechJunkie so I thought I would answer them both right away. If you have other questions, you can always ask us.

Badoo tries to mix socialization with a dating element rather than just creating profile cards and letting you swipe left and right. That does mean more work to get chatting but usually means you make friends even if you dont get dates. The demographic is late teens to early twenties and even though there is no age limit, it is this range that makes up the majority of users.

Setting up a profile in Badoo

Even though Badoo began on Facebook, it is thankfully now separate from it. That means you dont have to link it or use your Facebook data if you dont want to. I think it is better to leave the two halves of your life separate and Badoo lets you do that.

1. . You will need to enter your name, birthday, city, gender, email and set a password.
2. Confirm your email address by clicking the link in the verification email you are sent.
3. Confirm your account by linking it to a social media account or use your phone. You can use Badoo as an unverified user but it will count against you.
4. Upload an image or two from within your dashboard.

The verification process is unique to say the least. Badoo will send an image to you with a certain pose. You have to take a selfie imitating that pose and send it in. The team will verify your image and then authorize your account. Its an extra step but as the app is free to use, goes a long way to removing the majority of the trash that usually haunts free dating apps.

Setting a profile image requires the same forethought that sites like Tinder do. Make the image clear, head and shoulders, smile and generally be approachable. Get a second opinion before uploading and set it as your profile image.

Changing your location in Badoo

Changing your location in a dating app ensures you see the potential matches wherever you might be at the time. We are asked about this feature so often in our dating app coverage that I thought I would pre-empt it and give you the information right away.

1. Open your Badoo profile and select the pencil icon to edit.
2. Select a new location in the Location section or use a predetermined one in the dropdown menu.

Badoo uses your phone GPS to find out where you are. If you cannot manually change your location, turn off your phones GPS and try again. If youre using a web browser, turn off location services and retry that.

Using Badoo

As Badoo concentrates more on the social aspect of dating, you wont see a bunch of profile cards to swipe through when you use it. You will instead see Badoo Encounters or People Nearby.

Badoo Encounters is a minigame similar to swiping but also different. You can set filters to show gender, distance, age and so on and then go through profiles that match. You can then heart them or move on. Its similar to Hinge I guess.

People Nearby is exactly what it says it is. It uses your location to search for local users. You can use the same filters from Badoo Encounters here to narrow down your search.

Chatting in Badoo is simple. You will have to load an image to access this feature but who wouldnt use an image on a dating profile? Once done, you can message anyone you like at any time. There are some sensible controls though. You can only send two messages to someone without a reply. If they reply, you can chat without limit. If they dont reply, you can no longer send them messages. This cuts down on some of the more annoying people online.

Badoo is different but also the same in terms of dating apps. It works hard to keep out the fakes but doesnt always succeed. It verifies users in quite a unique way and has the usual filters you can use to make finding a match easy. If you feel like a change of scene from Tinder, this could be it. Good luck with it!