Badoo and the Badoo app is a dating-focused social networking service founded in Russia. It is targeted towards young people to help them meet new people and make connections, from friends to dates. Since its launch in 2006, it has become one of the world’s most widely used dating networks, operating within 190 different countries.
Audience structure
Badoo’s membership is extensive for any dating platform, with approximately 45 million active users a month. Membership exceeds 200 million. All in all, it’s certainly attracted attention in the dating market.
Is there any specification? (gay dating, adult dating, Christian dating, etc.)
The social network does not require that you are any particular person to join. Anybody can join and look for companions, friends, or partners, regardless of who they are or what they believe in.
Geographical structure
With an extensive member base, where can you expect most users to come from when you do a Badoo search? Most of the user base comes from the Western world. The United States of America has the most users, topping the 12 million mark.
Ethnic structure
Overall, there is a pretty sound ethnic structure in Badoo. As Western countries make up most of the user base, Caucasians are the largest ethnic category. Although most users come from the Western world, you can expect to find people of all ethnicities and faiths.
Age structure
The vast majority of users are young adults and late teenagers. Badoo is catered towards the younger generation, and most of the users are looking for flings and hookups. The largest demographic is between 20 to 28 years old, but over 40% of the user base exceeds the age of 30. It is generally suitable for young people, but older members looking for serious relationships will probably feel out of place and have fewer matches.
Gender structure
According to the latest demographic data, there are slightly more female profiles than males. However, they used to be more males at the start of the app’s creation, so the numbers do fluctuate a lot. One problem is that profiles can be set up to be viewed by non-members, therefore allowing decoy profiles to be made to entice people in.
Sexual orientation
Badoo is available for anybody, regardless of their sexual orientation. There is certainly no discrimination, and users can discuss their sexual orientation freely. The sign-up process does not require a blunt “who are you looking for, man or woman” approach, as can be found on many other dating sites.
Getting started: Badoo sign up
Creating an account is rather simple, and we did not encounter any real issues or problems. You can be Badoo dating in a matter of minutes. Let’s look at how you can sign up and what you will expect to find.
Information you’ll have to provide
When you create an account, you need to provide some necessary details such as your birthday, first name, gender, city, and what you are looking for. You will also need to upload a photograph, although you will be able to skip this step if you would like to do it later. Unlike other dating services, you will not need to fill out extensive personality tests or complete many questions. Instead, you are directed towards the profile panel swiftly.
Verification process
After receiving an email link, you can verify your account, but you will have to link up to other social media accounts or supply your phone number to verify who you are. It will be possible to continue using the service with an unverified account, but this will restrict your access. People will also be able to see that you are unverified, as verified members have blue check marks at the bottom of their profile picture.
Badoo will also provide you with a sample image of a person in a pose – you will have to recreate this pose and take a picture of yourself to submit. Overall, this is a very extensive verification process that ensures a user is who they purport to be. As Badoo is entirely free, anybody will be able to see the profile, and pictures are not blurred.
Time it takes to get approved
Approval is swift since you only have to receive a code either by email or on the phone. The photo section of the approval process does not take long, and when we tried it out for ourselves, we did not wait more than an hour. This is pretty fast for photo approval.
Badoo Account
Once you have an account, you are free to browse an enormous number of profiles. Profiles are simplistic and do not reveal much information, which can be either advantageous or a hindrance, depending on what you’re looking for.
Badoo Profile structure
Badoo profiles are relatively simple and do not contain much information. One could say that it lacks, as you do not have to answer any questions or take personality tests. You will be able to see information such as work, education, what you’re looking for, what language you speak, your interests, education, and more. However, browsing profiles won’t offer you too much insight into people.
One great feature is that there is a profile scoring system whereby members score profiles. This encourages members to post great pictures and fill out their profiles extensively, leading to fewer blank profiles. The higher your score is, the more visible you will be to others. However, this kind does lead to a superficial focus.
Badoo Search
Badoo operates based on finding matches for you. Users are presented with a series of matches based on profile popularity or proximity to the user. After scrolling through, you can click on the photograph of somebody who takes your fancy and start communicating with them. Alternatively, you will be able to swipe through people you either like or dislike, similar to Tinder.
Basic Search Features
Badoo’s architecture means that you cannot search for many specific criteria or characteristics, so there is very little control on the users’ end about who they will be able to see. The leading search feature, “People Nearby”, shows you pictures of users who are near you, allowing you to filter based on what you’re looking for, gender, location, age, new account, online and distance away from you.
“Badoo Encounters” allows you to search quickly by displaying users one by one, displaying only basic information such as interests, name, and age – this is a little underwhelming. Still, it does cater towards a quick date and hookup market. You can then click whether you like or dislike a profile and match up on this basis.
Advanced Search Features
Badoo is a social media style platform that facilitates the same searching features for everybody to use them for free. This is great for anybody who wants to have a browse before handing over any money.
Matching process
We can summarise Badoo’s matching process in one word: quick. Whether or not this is for you, let’s find out more.
Getting in touch
The way that you get in touch depends on whether you use the “People Nearby” or “Badoo Encounters” method. The former process creates a grid of people in your area who share common interests with you. Getting in touch is as simple as clicking on one of the pictures that you like to initiate a text-based chat. The app can also show you other users that you’ve bumped into before, displaying the location and time that both of your paths have crossed.
Users can get in touch with someone via the “Encounters” section by clicking on whether or not they like someone. Although you can only see one person at a time, there is no limitation to the number of people you can connect within a day.
Chat features and interface
When using the chat feature, we did not encounter any problems. It is a simple interface that facilitates a simple function. Users can also talk via video after they have communicated by text. Occasionally it glitches, but these instances are too rare.
Badoo Review – Does It Actually Work?
It is possible to find who you are looking for on Badoo, but bear in mind that the enormous amount of options available will encourage people to give up when they’re bored. The quick options also encourage a superficial and photo-based approach some people may find unappealing, especially those interested in getting to know a person in detail.
Is Badoo safe?
The company has developed numerous safety features to ensure that it is safe. These features enclose a “selfie request” whereby you can request a selfie from whoever you’re speaking to so that you can see that they are the same person as they claim to be in their picture. The photo verification process that we have mentioned is also a great way of ensuring they are who they say.
Data privacy and protection
The service does take users’ privacy and personal details very seriously. Everything is encrypted with standard methods that can be found on most dating websites. Rest assured that there is no reason to believe that your information will be leaked or shared with third parties.
Are there many scam profiles
Badoo has gone to extensive measures to ensure that people verify who they are; however, this doesn’t prevent several scam profiles from coming up. When we searched, we received several messages from females who wanted to communicate, with no profile information or pictures. An extensive analysis of Badoo reviews online reveals to us that many scam profiles are on the network, though you can usually tell them because they’re unverified.
How is it moderated?
The Badoo customer service team has many moderators, much larger than any service we’ve reviewed. The company employs 5000 moderators, which keep the platform clean. A user can easily report abuse by clicking on a simple button, choosing their complaint, and submitting it. It’s a straightforward process.
Help and Support Team
In our Badoo review of customer service, users can get in touch through social media, the help section, or by sending an email. We found that the support team was swift in combating our queries and questions. Generally, there were no problems, and staff members guided us towards the appropriate areas of the platform. The help section online serves well to provide answers to several popular queries and questions instantly.
Website usability
Because the Badoo dating site is a social media platform with a dating focus, the layout is very similar to other social media platforms such as Facebook. The design is catered towards the young generation, with a simple color palette and focus that is more functional than anything. It doesn’t stand out in any particular way. We found the dashboard to be very cluttered, full of pictures – some people may not appreciate this type of design. In terms of accessibility, everything is laid out to be user-friendly so that you can log in both quickly and easily.
Is there is a Badoo app available?
People who use the service predominantly access it via the application, which can be obtained for free from both Google Play Store and App Store. The app makes Badoo’s desktop version look lackluster and outdated – this is probably because the company is focusing more on developing their app. Because people are mainly looking for quick lookups and easy dating, it makes more sense to use an app for this so that you can do it on the go and anywhere.
Badoo Review – Does the App Actually Work?
Badoo have certainly put a lot more time into developing their mobile app when compared to the desktop version. Sometimes we noticed some technical errors such as an inability to Badoo login, but it works well in general. Users shouldn’t have any significant problems when using Badoo’s app.
Membership options
The premium service will primarily help you get noticed and meet other people quickly. Let’s take a look at what you can expect as both a free member and a paid member.
Badoo Free Version
So what is Badoo good for as a free member? You will be able to carry out most of the functions, and this is great to see because most dating services will provide much more of a restriction. A free member can do the following:
- Browse profiles
- Search profiles
- Message a premium member
- Send quick flirts
- View who has visited their profile
Premium features
Premium members will get a lot more access to features, including the following:
- See who has favorited you
- Highlight your messages
- Browse anonymously
- Communicate with new users first
- Send a crush alert
- Increased user popularity
- Activate various stickers
- Send gifts
Badoo Pricing: Plans and prices
There is a great deal of flexibility when it comes to payment. A user can purchase anything from a day’s subscription ($0.79) to a lifetime membership ($79.99). In the world of online dating, these rates are relatively cheap.
Users can also purchase credits to facilitate various perks such as increased visibility, removing limitations of features and gaining access to the features we mentioned above. Packages range from around $2.99 to $9.99 and are rather cheap.
Cancelling a Badoo subscription and profile deletion
Badoo has made it exceptionally easy to cancel a subscription, only by scrolling down to the profile’s payment section and clicking “unsubscribe”. The subscription will become withdrawn at the end of the payment period. If you want to know how to delete Badoo, deleting a profile is equally comfortable – all that you need to do is find the “delete Badoo account” option at the bottom of your profile page and give it a click.
Conclusion
With its simple focus, easy functionality, and large user base, Badoo is an excellent place for young people to make new connections. The features have been designed to speed up the whole process to a rapid degree. Badoo may not be the right dating app to use if you’re looking around for a serious relationship, committed date, or lifetime partner. However, if you’re looking for something of a casual nature, then the Badoo dating app would certainly be worth your while.
