6 Trending Teen Dating Apps Parents Should Know About

Updated – Originally published February 14, 2023

Teen dating apps are a thing… 

Let’s start there.

This alone can be a shock for parents.

Gone are the days of teens unspooling the phone line around the house to talk to their crush, in the hopes that a sibling or parent doesn’t overhear. Since apps like Tinder set the stage for online dating, where one just needs to swipe left, right, up, or down to indicate potential matches, dating was forever changed.

While most communication technology is merely a tool to help people connect, it’s important to know that most dating apps leave safety up to the users — and that’s where the problems begin.

Dating apps for teens can put your child at risk of exposure to explicit content, sexual predators, and other dangerous scenarios.

So, which apps should you, as a parent know about, and what should you know about them?

Let’s look at six:

• Hoop
• MeetMe
• Peeps
• Purp
• Skout
• Yubo

Hoop | “Swipe. Snap. Repeat.”

Hoop is unique because it directly links with Snapchat. Users swipe through profiles, send friend requests, and once accepted, the conversation moves to Snapchat — where messages disappear and are harder to monitor.

Who is Hoop For?

Hoop is a teen-focused app popular among teens aged 13–17 who want to expand their Snapchat friends list with people they don’t know in real life. It markets itself as a way to “meet new friends,” but the user behavior often looks identical to popular dating apps.

What are Hoop’s Main Features?

• Swipe-based profile discovery
• Snapchat integration (chat continues off-platform)
• Coin system to limit/boost requests
• Age filters (self-reported)

Why is Hoop Dangerous?

Hoop has no in-app chat — everything happens on Snapchat, a platform known for disappearing messages. This makes it difficult for parents to monitor conversations, which opens the door to sextortion, grooming, and inappropriate contact.

Age verification is minimal. Teens can easily lie about their age or connect with older users posing as peers. Because of this, Hoop has been criticized for enabling connections between minors and adults. It also offers in-app purchases so that’s something to be aware of too.

MeetMe | “The Hookup App”

MeetMe, formerly called MyYearbook, is billed as an app to meet new people. This may sound harmless enough, but there are plenty of examples of why teens should not be using this app. 

MeetMe is essentially a social media platform skewed toward dating and flirting, including features for “Flirting” and “Romance”, which contains sexualized images (of mostly females). MeetMe has also been tied to sexual predators, child exploitation, and even murder.

Another way to look at this is to consider that the app is reviewed in the same articles as Adult Friend Finder, a platform made for adults who want to connect specifically for hook-ups. It’s also been labeled as one of the top dating apps used by teens.

Who is MeetMe For?

Meet me is only for adults, according to their terms and conditions, but age verification is only necessary to make your profile verified. That means kids and teens can still easily create an unverified account to gain access to the app.

What are MeetMe’s Main Features?

• Public livestreaming
• Groups users by geography
• Private direct messages
• “Flirting” and “Romance” dating functionality

Why is MeetMe Dangerous?

MeetMe offers sexual predators and criminals easy access to your child. While the company says they have checks in place to ensure convicted sex offenders aren’t allowed on the app, it appears identification verification is not a strength for the app. As recently as 2019, a convicted sexual predator became the most popular VIP  streamer on the app, and evaded detection because he used a fake last name.

There have been multiple murders connected to the app, and in many cases, the perpetrators had criminal records. This, combined with the fact that the app couldn’t catch the sexual predator who became a top earning VIP streamer, shows just how unsafe the app is for teens and adults alike.

Peeps | “Friends That Flirt?”

Peeps is an overtly flirty “friend-finding” app that pairs users based on age and interests. It features profiles with bios and photos, swipe-matching, and direct messages — creating an app experience indistinguishable from dating apps for adults.

Who is Peeps For?

The app’s marketing promotes it as a way to meet new people “your age,” but it’s mostly used by teens and young adults. Some versions of the app are labeled 17+, but there’s little enforcement of this restriction.

What are Peeps’ main features?

• Swipe-to-match profile system
• Flirty chat interface
• Age filters (self-reported)
• Instagram and Snapchat linking

Why is Peeps dangerous?

Peeps has minimal content moderation and bypassable identity verification — it requires you to upload a photo and then validate by sharing a selfie with prompts to turn your face to the right and left. Users can upload any photo, write provocative bios, and send messages with very little oversight.

The app’s culture encourages flirtation and self-promotion, which could add additional pressure on teens to share explicit images or personal information to get attention. That, together with third-party social media linking, creates serious risks of exposure and exploitation.

Purp | “Another Snap Recruiter”

Purp is another Snapchat-linked app that allows users to swipe through profiles to find people to add as friends. It’s really similar to Hoop. The interface is a little simpler and faster, but the main function is the same. Once a request is accepted, the conversation moves to Snapchat.

Who is Purp For?

Purp primarily targets teens aged 13–18 who want to meet strangers and grow their Snapchat follower count. 

What are Purp’s Main Features?

• Swipe-to-request Snapchat usernames
• Profile photos with bios
• Snapchat integration
• Coin-based system to unlock more swipes

Why is Purp Dangerous?

Purp offers no true age verification, and users can easily become exposed to inappropriate bios, profile photos, and requests. The app’s design encourages fast, impulsive connections without context or safety checks. It also includes free access to a global chatroom 24/7.

Think of Purp as a dating app disguised as a “friend-finder.” Teens are incentivized to engage with strangers based on photos and bios, often with flirtation in mind. Once on Snapchat, the content becomes untraceable for parents.

Skout | “Shake to Chat”

What is Skout?

Skout is a location-based teen chat and social media app. Using GPS, Skout lets users chat with nearby strangers by shaking their phone. If someone else is shaking their phone at the same time, they’ll be able to chat with each other, including sharing photos and videos. 

Who is Skout For?

According to Skout’s terms and conditions, the app is for only adults (18+), but there is no age verification in place, making it easy for anyone to pretend they’re someone else. Dodging age verification is as simple for a kid as picking a fake birth year.

What are Skout’s Main Features?

• Shake to chat feature
• Public livestreaming
• Groups users by geography
• Private direct messages

Why is Skout Dangerous?

Skout reportedly made efforts to curb underage usage after multiple underage rapes were traced to adult predators using the app while pretending to be teens. While this helped, Skout still remains a top dating app for teens, and has many ways teens can get into problematic situations. 

Social media that is geo-located can create a more immediate danger for users interacting with others online. If a predator is attempting to groom or otherwise exploit another user, it is more problematic if the predator is near their potential victim.

Yubo | “Tinder for Teens”

What is Yubo?

Yubo is a social media app made for teens and young adults to find people. Much like Tinder, users make connections by using a swipe feature to match, and initiate live streams with other users. 

Who is Yubo For?

There are two versions of the app: one app for teens 13-17, another for 18 and older. Roughly 99% of users fall within the 13-25 age range.

What are Yubo’s Main Features?

• Social networking
• Dating app format (swipe to match)
• Public livestreaming
• Private direct messaging

Why is Yubo Dangerous?

Yubo does have age verification, including entering age and submitting a photo, but these barriers can be bypassed — meaning anyone can create a profile pretending they’re someone they’re not. This is especially easy with free generative AI apps available today, and creates an opening for predatory behavior. Teens could be exposed to predators looking to groom them into dangerous relationships, or catfishing, which is when someone lures another into a relationship using a fake profile.

Additionally, while Yubo has language filters to help stop bullying, these measures aren’t applicable to livestreams, meaning your teen could be exposed to explicit content live, whether they choose it or not.

Keeping Your Teens and Kids Safe

The common theme with all of these apps is the general unsafe playground it offers to the teens and adults where predators, explicit content, and fake profiles can thrive. And even while they have age restrictions, the apps don’t appear to have strong enough safeguards to be considered safe for teens or even many adults.

It’s important to have open conversations with your kids about the true dangers of these apps. If your teen is already using one or more of these apps, try to discuss the type of interactions they’re having, and help guide them in an open and loving way.

If you’d prefer your kids didn’t have access to these types of social media and dating apps, Gabb offers tech designed to keep things simple with no app store, no social media, and no open internet access — giving parents peace of mind and kids a safer way to stay connected.. To learn more about Gabb devices, you can check them out here.

Have you heard of any other apps like these? Or navigated this conversation with your own teen? Share your thoughts in the comments — your insight could help another parent!