happn — Dating app 17+

I’d be interested to see if this app’s creator(s) are not resorting to dodgy, illegal tricks to get people’s money.
Short time after I signed up to this, I got a notification telling me someone is interested in me but to be able to see who or from where, I had to pay. Sounds familiar right?
Not particularly concerned about money at this stage, I paid. And guess what? My “admirer” lives thousands of miles away from me -something that should never ever happen in an app that prides itself on matching people who just walked/drove past each other- and on top of that, my “distant” admirer looked like an Instagram model, no genuine info, nothing that even bothers to convince anyone profile is real.
This kind of thing shouldn’t “happen” when people use an app that focuses on location based dating.
And that I had to pay to find this out?
I wonder what the relevant government authority would think about this and whether the business responsible for this can be hold accountable.
You keep doing this, eventually you’ll end up in court mate.

Hello Utopia,
happn cannot be held accountable for this kind of situation for the following reasons:
this probably happened because someone happened to be on holidays in your area and ended up leaving shortly after they Liked you. But the geolocation system is real.
It could also be a geolocation issue in your phone or in the other person's phone.
I hope this answer clears your doubts.
See you soon on happn!
Bob from happn.

I liked the idea but this app does not function well. Firstly was overwhelmed by the amount of likes and messages pouring in from randoms, then realised it was matching me with hundreds of people in my suburb when I had not even left my house! Every hoon driving by my house on the highway could see my profile. It also accessed my stored location history to match me with people I walked past in locations I haven’t been to in months - places I was at long before I ever download the app, which is both irrelevant and creepy. Either that or the location feature is totally inaccurate. So no matter where you go it will match you with everyone, not just people you walk past in close proximity but any traffic in the area as well. I liked the feature on other dating apps where your preferences worked both ways and your profile would only be shown to the type of people you are interested in too (age etc). Also there is a time stamp of how long ago you crossed paths so if it is late at night someone can work out they probably passed your house and now know the area you live in. Doesn’t feel safe or secure. I do not recommend. Also doesn’t tell you when you play the “crush game” of guess who likes you that if you guess right, whether you are attracted to that person or not, it will automatically send them a like from your profile and allow them to start a conversation without your permission. Badly communicated. Not impressed.

Hello Capricorn Gal,
rest assured, happn does not access location information on your app that was there before you downloaded the app. Furthermore, location is never revealed accurately and in real time, so it is not possible for other users to find your whereabouts. This has never happened so far.
As far as crossings are concerned, unfortunately, we cannot do anything about people passing your house or driving by it... But who knows, some of those people might be your future Crushes!
See you soon on happn,
Bruno from happn.

In the end it’s one more poorly executed dating app. And do you really need to limit your search to people you crossed paths with? I can tell you why the app is broken compared to other apps. Matches are based on the other person's location but not their activity. So I keep crossing paths and liking people but they may not open the app for another week or month. The app is just sitting in the background sending their location (GPS). Other apps highlight people actively using the app, but this app works off background usage. So in the end, you lose privacy (sending location), have battery drain and get very few matches compared to other apps that prioritize people actually online and seeking a match. my advice is to stick with apps that have a bigger user base and don't need your background location data
2022 update: tried the app again for some reason. It’s gotten worse! The free version is so restricted you barely can swipe or match at all. They are tracking you, selling your location data AND trying to milk you dry? No thanks!

Hello Simon,
after one month of inactivity, the app stops generating crossings.

Sending your position in the background does not drain your battery all that much and you do not lose privacy since we only use this data for the app.

We would like to remind you that the initial purpose of this app is to help you find people you have crossed paths with in real life so it is our job to show you primarily those people.
Then you also see people you have not crossed paths with but that live in your area, so it's not just about crossings.

See you soon on happn!

Bruno from happn