East Meet East (EME Hive) Review: Is The Dating Platform Legit or Scam?
by John Santana
Somewhere out there, there is an online dating site exclusively for Asians. It is a place called EME Hive, formerly known as East Meet East. It is understandable how you could feel the most connected with a fellow Asian. Love brews from sharing mutual interests and values.
As an Asian dating site, there are lots of things to combat. Let’s see how EME Hive is performing and if your Asian love is on their way to meet you.
East Meet East Dating At a Glance
First impression: 6/10
Signup: 6/10
Searching and matching: 7/10
Member quality: 6/10
Pricing: 3/10
Overall: 5.6/10
Final verdict: Are you checking out EME Hive because you are interested in dating Asians? Well, you probably should look elsewhere. EME Hive is not a sketchy site so you will be able to find real dates on it. However, its narrow service area will not be enough for most users to develop a fruitful relationship.
Its overpriced membership plan also locks members in. The lack of flexibility makes the site less desirable. If you are keen on Asian dating, you should look at Adult FriendFinder and Ashley Madison. They have millions of active Asian members looking for someone that speaks the same language and laughs at the same joke.
East Meet East (aka EME Hive) In-Depth Review
First Impression
Asia is a vast continent with nearly 50 countries. People look drastically different. However, EME Hive fails to reflect that. Across the site, you will find mostly photos of East and South East Asians.
It is not as diverse as you might have expected. There are supposed to be ample South Asians in the mix as well, but you can hardly see that on its line-up. Its success stories and profile displays are exclusively East Asians.
On its landing page, you know EME Hive only serves the people of New York City, or this is where it performs the best. Its prompt goes, “there are millions of singles in NYC.” If you are ready to sign up, you can do it now.
Before you leave with disappointment, EME Hive does support other regions as well but it is apparent that its main focus is the NYC area. You are supposed to still find matches in other cities. Limiting its service scope to one city instantly drives people away before they know what EME Hive is all about. That is not very smart marketing on its part.
EME Hive is web-based only. Even its mobile version is not as efficient, nor is it adjusted for scale. It could be a dealbreaker if you are hardly ever on your laptop. Browsing from your smartphone is not the same at all.
First impression: 6/10
Signup
There are three ways you can create an account on EME Hive. You can sign up with an email, log into your Google account, or connect to your Facebook account. Of all three options, you should consider the email option if you are big on protecting your privacy. Connecting to your social media account could reveal unwanted personal information.
Once your account is ready, you can start composing your dating profile. Ideally, you should bring out the best characteristics in you, such as your achievements and relationship goals. Likewise, you need to let others know what you are looking for. Don’t hesitate to be specific in your bio about your type. It helps members decide whether they will be a suitable match or not.
The entire experience is smooth, although users are often skeptical of its security policies. EME Hive has an opaque data storage policy. You have no idea how your information is being handled and processed. Understandably, it causes some users to back out as they worry for their online safety.
So far, EME Hive has not been involved in any major data scandal. But if it refuses to reveal its policy, it would be a ticking bomb for chaos. Hence, you should never leave too many personal details. Nudity is not recommended as members could retrieve your photos anytime and use them elsewhere. You are exposing yourself to cyberattacks and potential identity theft.
Signup: 6/10
Searching And Matching
EME Hive updated its search engine a while back to make it more comprehensive. You can narrow down the search with parameters such as education, smoking habits, marital status, body type, income, etc.
It offers an array of filters in various aspects. Thanks to this upgrade, EME Hive is offering much better search results. Still, the system fails to recognize the priority of commands.
For example, when there is no profile that matches your criteria, instead of giving you the next best options, the site generates random profiles from its database. It confuses users because sometimes it works well but other times it doesn’t.
Profiles are displayed in a grid format with four profiles being on the same row. On each profile, you can see their first name, age, ethnicity, and location. You have to click on the profile to expand the full description individually. There, you will find all the details about this person.
You can refresh the page indefinitely but the site sometimes recycles matches so you end up seeing the same match. There is a feature to hide uninterested profiles so they will not appear in your search result ever again. But this does not stop the other person from seeing your profile.
Users can initiate a conversation with matches they like. Aside from messaging people, you can also join the live-stream channel. Easy-going members or those with lively personalities love showcasing that with a live session. Anyone can jump in and interact in the chat. You can see the details of the broadcaster and how many members are watching the stream with you.
Searching and matching: 7/10
Member Quality
Despite having an unsafe registration system, EME Hive is lucky enough not to have many fake profiles flooding the site. There are still people catfishing but the number is not serious enough for anyone to abandon the site.
As mentioned before, most members are East and South East Asians looking for dates. They are predominantly international ex-pats living in the US with some born and raised in the country. EME Hive attracts mostly working professionals too busy to go on physical dates. Online dating gives them better options with less time commitment.
However, meeting up with a member is not easy. Most members don’t seem to be serious about meeting up, despite claiming to be looking for a relationship. This could be due to the flimsy EME Hive vibe, causing people to adopt a wait-and-see attitude so they do not get scammed.
The member quality is fairly OK, but it does not generate frequent dates. The member activity level is low. You could be spending weeks before you get a solid date, especially if you are not in the NYC region.
Member quality: 6/10
Pricing
In terms of gender equality, EME Hive is obviously favoring the ladies. Women could access all premium features without paying for them while men had to pay. This attracted widespread criticism. Now, the platform is loosening up and allowing unlimited messages for men with matches as long as one of them is a paying member.
To join a membership, you can opt for the one-month automatic renewal plan or the one-year plan, which costs $38 per month and $10 per month, respectively. A monthly fee of $38 is obviously overpriced. Typically, dating sites are asking for around $6 per month to $25 per month.
A high fee usually applies to dating sites for rich people with proper intake screening where they can decide if your application is successful. For a site like EME Hive where anyone can sign up, it is not wise to pay the high price.
Being locked in for a year to enjoy a price reduction is not feasible either. Committing to a year means you lose some money if you want to cut the contract early. And one year is quite a long time. It is likely that you will already have found someone before that. You don’t want to be tied down by your membership plan.
Pricing: 3/10
Asian Dating Tips
Whether you are dating a local or an ex-pat, there are dating etiquettes you need to know about Asians. In Asian culture, manner is above all. Since you may be raised in a different country than your date, it is important to understand the general dating sense.
No matter how hilarious you think your jokes are, think twice before saying them to your date. Asians are not snowflakes but they are considerate of other people’s feelings. Your dark sense of humor may come off as offensive and hurtful. Therefore, you might want to filter your language a bit until you get to know each other better. It helps determine how likely they will appreciate your jokes.
Also, Asians care for the elders in the family very much. Whatever you do, you don’t want to cross the line. Never mention anything bad about their elders, even if it is about family gossip. You don’t want what will trigger your date so it is better to wait until you know about their family situation better.
Most Asians follow a progressive scale in life. They start by focusing on their career, then getting married and having kids. Messing up the sequence is not ideal. Therefore, depending on your life stage, you should demonstrate a relevant determination to strive for the best.
If you are thinking about getting married, you have to be responsible and mature. They would not appreciate it if you are still goofing around.
Finally, Asians love a good romantic story. Having a gentle lover is a dream come true. They don’t necessarily desire their partner to be as masculine as Tom Cruise. All you need is to have a soft heart for their tired soul after a work day. When they experience burnout, they want a reliable partner here to listen to them.
Write them a poet. Nothing is ever too cheesy. Quite the contrary, your lover will brag about how unique you are and how you know to love them right. Every Asian is different so you will have to take the time to learn about their preferences. Some are wilder than others so it is crucial to take into consideration where they grew up. Most Asians in the US share a mix of cultures in their blood.
Summary
Overall, EME Hive is not the best Asian dating site. It may be one of the better niche-specific ones but far from perfect for users. Remember, you should never settle for less. Choosing the right online dating site dictates your love life.
Go for Adult FriendFinder and Ashley Madison instead.
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