uDates App Review 2024: Legitimate Matchmaking or Scam?
by John Santana
Online dating is proven to be the most effective way to find true love. With the insurgence of new dating sites each day, it is hard to keep up with the rating and ranking. uDates is another online dating site from the extensive list we have reviewed. The site presents itself as a premium matchmaker with comprehensive services. But, is it really the case?
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About uDates
UDates is a UK dating agency with millions of users around the world. It aims to connect singles in the same area and overseas. It operates in various countries around the world including the US and Canada.
Over the years, uDates has been the subject of several infamous scandals. The main criticism is over how the site uses bots and fake profiles to interact with members, pressuring them to spend more money. While uDates claims all these have been resolved, its reputation is still under question.
First impression: 5/10
Signup and searching: 5/10
Profile quality and messaging: 1/10
Special features: 2/10
Pricing: 5/10
Overall: 3.6/10
Verdict: uDates is a scam that users should avoid. It is hideously spammy with tons of bots to lure new members in. There are hardly any genuine members and the entire service is of low quality. Users will probably gain more satisfaction by chatting with Siri.
To salvage the situation, you can still join other online dating sites that we have reviewed and proven to be of top quality, such as Adult FriendFinder, Ashley Madison, and Bang Locals.
First Impression
Judging uDates by its cover is quite a hard task. To begin with, its passionate red theme and modern outlook do earn itself a big thumbs up. The front page is clean and simple. It shows animations of some features such as instant flirts and advanced filters. You also get the quick signup box right in the middle if you are interested.
At the same time, users are instantly reminded that this professional look is a copy of other leading dating apps like Tinder and Bumble. Its even transfer the Tinder color theme over directly. Copying can be good if you can reform it to be better.
But in uDates’ case, things take a turn for the worse. It trims down other cool features, leaving only a few key points for each advertised feature. It is quite confusing for users as they have no idea what to expect.
All in all, looking at uDates provokes mixed feelings. It seems like the British app is trying to stay afloat by mimicking others in the game foolishly. The outcome is not bad but enough to be a joke and push potential clients away.
First impression: 5/10
Signup and Searching
As expected, signing up on uDates is simple. All you need is an email and to complete a few pages of questions to furnish your profile. You can do everything in under 5 minutes. Then, you are bounced off to the home page of the app where you can start matching.
While users appreciate the easy signup, it does pose security issues as there is no protection for users. The sire does not reveal any data storage details. In the future, it is possible to see a data leak if uDates does not improve its safety protocol.
Interestingly, the search system on uDates is quite comprehensive, as opposed to its bare registration process. Users can select multiple filters and rank them by importance. If you give a specific filter a higher ranking, the search engine will give it a heavier ratio when presenting the results. This feature is useful as users will prioritize certain traits over the rest.
The results are presented in a grid format like most other dating apps. There is nothing that stands out. It is clean and easy to browse for users. Although the presentation is neat and deserves some points, its unoriginality takes the points right back.
Signup and searching: 5/10
Profile Quality and Messaging
When it comes to the worst part of the app, this section takes home the prize. All the rumors you hear about uDates using bots are true. Once you start matching, you will immediately get messages and matches from different girls. All of these girls look gorgeous.
When you talk deeper with them or try to invite them for a meetup, they will come up with literally the same excuses like, “I have just moved to town and still need some time to sort out some things.” When the same excuse is repeatedly used, you start sensing something fishy there.
Furthermore, when you want to take the chat off the platform, all the bots will respond by saying, “I like it here. Let’s keep it here.” This no-brainer automatic reply is robotic. As you ask more questions or several questions at the same time, these bots will either give irrelevant answers or inconsistent sentences.
It is frustrating for users to be tricked by an online dating platform like this. In the online dating market, it is more or less common practice to use bots to keep the profiles entertaining. But rarely would an app go further by messaging paying members to waste their time and money.
uDates’ tactics are unacceptable and completely throw users off. To make the matter more insulting, the replies from these bots are senseless. They can’t even interact with users properly.
Profile quality and messaging: 1/10
Special Features
Online dating apps often try to introduce exclusive features to attract more clients. While uDates does not have a dozen of special features, it is particularly proud of its “instant flirt” and “like” system.
The instant flirt gives a simple prompt to initiate or respond to profiles that are interested in you. There is nothing complicated about it and the prompts are automatic, rather than tailor-made based on the profiles and content.
In its like system, users are competing to score more likes from other members. The more the likes, the more sought-after this profile is. To put it bluntly, it is disgraceful because it is merely another money-profiting way for uDates to squeeze users tighter.
You will need to upgrade your account and pay more for your profiles to be visible and receive more likes. Users without likes will not be seen by other members.
Special features are meant to assist users in finding love. But for uDates, it is simply another way to make money off of cheap services. Users can live without these features and still have a great time browsing and matching.
Special features: 2/10
Pricing
Anyone can sign up for free. But, keep in mind that uDates is a money-grabbing machine. It will not let you take away any goodies without paying. As a free member, you get to look at the platform as a spectator. You cannot message profiles or even peep at their full descriptions. If you see profiles you like, you will have to pay to unlock the premium features.
The one-month membership plan is $20, which is fair pricing for apps in this range. Then, its six-month plan drastically drops to $7.5 per month. You would probably be delighted to hear that its 12-month plan is only $6 per month.
In terms of the cost, uDates is impeccable. Its pricing is pleasantly affordable. Indeed, regardless of how cheap it is, you still don’t get back what your money is worth.
But, considering how they are way trashier dating apps charging a significantly higher fee, uDates deserve a round of applause on this for keeping the cost low so users will not have much regret even if the investment goes down the drain.
Alternatively, if you do not want to be locked into a subscription plan, you can buy credits from uDates. For 40 credits, you pay $12 and then 670 credits for $100. Each message requires five coins.
Sending photos and reviewing photos cost 10 credits. What is more appalling is that virtual gifts can cost up to 2000 credits. You can imagine how fast your credits run out.
Again, this is another attempt uDates is trying to copy from leading dating agencies like Ashley Madison but fails to deliver the essence. The point of having a credit system is to benefit users, rather than seeing it as a creative way to make more money. It seems that uDates is putting users’ needs far behind its commercial agenda.
Pricing: 5/10
Summary
Unless you have a dire need to be on uDates, you should avoid this online dating site and even blacklist it. It is possibly one of the worst platforms out there. You can barely find genuine users, which is the whole point of online dating. There is nothing special about uDates that you are missing out on.
For an authentic dating experience, you can try out other platforms that we have reviewed with good ratings such as Adult FriendFinder, Ashley Madison, and Bang Locals.
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