These days you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone single who has yet to try online dating. Still, there's a difference between doing online dating and successfully doing online dating. Unfortunately, you're presented with horror stories all the time—or at least what people believe to be horror stories when they fail to see the humor in it all. Thankfully, with some education and an awareness of what makes for a good dating app, you can do online dating successfully.
You can do searches for members. A "Match" feature also allows you to say yes or no to a member just by looking at their profile photo. Similar to Tinder's way of letting you swipe yes or no. Only here, you cannot see their bio while doing so.
You will see on Match that you can like or nudge someone. Nudge is like a good ol' Facebook poke or wink.
You can also go to a tab that says "Who's online" and check for nearby members to chat with via the app’s instant messaging system.
You can freely send messages to all members—you don't have to be a mutual match to be able to do so.
There are also forums on the site where people can post threads. Having looked at many dating services, I know that many forums on dating sites are dead. Not so on Mingle2. People here appear, indeed, to want to mingle!
The fact that people are looking for different ways to mingle might be because Mingle2 is more than just a dating app. It's also a site for people looking to make new friends.
Member search
You can search for members based on their profile information— location, age, and height, among other things. There's also an option to search for members who are online and search for members based on their interests.
And on top of that great idea for filtering your search, we also got this excellent piece of insight and accompanying dating tip: "Online dating for women in their 50's is amazing in the 2020's" said Andrea McGinty, Founder of 33000Dates.com with over 25 years experience as a dating coach. "What is key is that women reach out to men with short, sweet and unique messages - don't wait for them to reach out. Most of my marriages come from women who reached out to the man first and the men love it. They get tired of doing all the work and say it shows self-confidence on the women's part - and that is so sexy."
Member quality
Mingle2 is free to use, so you might think that compromises member quality—until you remember that Tinder, Bumble, and OkCupid are free to use, too. Only premium features cost money on these sites.
However, looking at the members, the overall quality of profiles and members seems lower than on an app like Bumble. This is possibly because the website design is a bit outdated, and there are many ads on the site and the online dating app.
Another thing that isn't in Mingle2's favor is that they don't have any photo verification process (or ID verification process, for that matter).
As such, there have been reports that not all members are real people.
That said, there are over 150,000 members in the US, so whether you're looking for a serious relationship, casual dating, or even hookup, it's worth signing up and looking around. After all, some members are bound to be great! And kudos to Mingle2 for staying free.
Mingle2 membership fees
While it's a free online dating site, and you can download the app for free on the App Store or Google Play store, you can opt to pay for Mingle Plus.
You can use both the site and the app entirely free of charge. What Mingle Plus offers is the ability to go back and rewind a "swipe/like," get unlimited messages and nudges, show up at the top of searches, see who has already liked you, and lets you see if your messages have been read, among other things.
Most importantly, Mingle Plus eliminates adverts on the site and app. Whether you use Android or iOS, you will be swamped with ads, which can get annoying when trying to meet people online.
So what does Mingle Plus cost?
A twelve-month membership will cost about $5.95 per month. There are various membership packages for shorter terms to choose from so you can decide what works for you. It's easy to unsubscribe or select the "deactivate account" option in settings - great if you think you've met that special someone.
The verdict
So what has this Mingle2 review revealed?
For starters, Mingle2 is a big dating platform with many active members. But on the other hand, the design of the site and app and the constant advertisements make it less user-friendly.
The fact that you can't verify your profile leaves Mingle2 open to fake profiles. However, you can often avoid fake profiles by requesting a video call on Zoom or Skype or a quick 20-minute coffee. People with fake profiles don't want to show their faces. Some profiles aren't fake per se—the person just uses outdated photos. So with a video call, you can quickly check up on that!
There aren't many exciting features on Mingle2, but nor are there on Tinder! You can search and match for others, send free messages (plus, you can message members you haven't matched with so that you can reach out amicably), and partake in forum discussions.
The good thing about Mingle2 is that it's popular and free. That means you can easily sign up, look around, and see if there are members near you whom you'd like to meet up with. As you don't even have to complete your profile to browse members, you don't have to waste any precious time, either.
Furthermore, the site is straightforward to use. The fact that there are only a few features makes it very easy to navigate. You just have to steer clear of the ads. But the ads will disappear if you're willing to pay the membership fee.
Mingle2 may not be the best dating site due to its outdated design and lack of verification processes, but it's worth checking out!
Dating tips for Mingle2
You've got your account; what's next?
The profile
First of all, create an excellent profile:
Do upload at least five profile photos
Don't upload too many selfies
Don't upload bathroom selfies
Do try to use a mixed batch of photos that show you being social and partaking in activities you enjoy
Do have one close-up of your face (and no, not so close-up it looks ridiculous)
Do write a short positive bio (read this article if you want some more tips on that)
Do state things in the positive ("I value honesty in a person" as opposed to "I don't want to date dishonest people")
Speaking of excellent profiles, also write a nice message when first messaging someone. A simple "hi" isn't enough.
Meeting in real life
Bear in mind that first meetings are just that—meetings. They can't be called proper dates because you don't know who you will meet up with. Online chemistry doesn't always equal offline chemistry. This is one of the first things you should learn about online matchmaking, or you'll be in for some disappointments.
Because you only sometimes hit it off with the person you meet, keep first meetings short. Going for a coffee is excellent. Even better if you tell your date upfront that you have a gym session (or another thing) scheduled right after.
If someone is nice, leave them wanting more. If they aren't, you can leave without wasting much time, money, or effort. You didn't have to dress up for a three-course meal that lasted two hours and cost a fortune. Your investment was minimal. You can do a video call first to be even more sure they're worth your time before meeting them in person.
That said, always aim to make someone feel good about themselves, even if you don't hit it off with them. Leave them feeling better than before they met you.
If you don't want to grab a coffee, grab an ice cream and walk with someone in a public park, on the beach, or at a local market.
Wine tasting or bowling can be fun for second dates and give you plenty to talk about. Activities are splendid if you get a bit shy when meeting new people.
Safety
Scammers exist—both at your local pub and online. As such:
Don't hand out your full name until you know someone
Don't hand out your work/home address until you feel sure you won't get stalked
Don't hand out your phone number if it can be traced to your home address before meeting someone
Never hand out credit card details/leave your card with all the details in view when on a date
Take your time before you see someone in private—meeting in public places at first and always let someone know where you are
Meet up as soon as possible or do a video call to ensure they aren't using fake profile photos!