The AI revolution we're all living through has shaken up the labor market, supercharged the stock market, and flooded the internet with memes, but you may not have noticed that it's quietly rewriting the rules of online dating.
Large language models (LLMs) have put the power of sophisticated chatbots into the hands of ordinary people, including ordinary scammers, leading to a massive surge in fake profiles and bots taking over dating sites. Now, online dating isn't just about being witty or taking a great selfie; it's also about spotting AI-generated writing or photographs to avoid being scammed every other match.
These same AI tools have made it much easier and more affordable for dating apps and sites to enforce their moderation policies, and some of the apps have even harnessed AI to improve quality of life for their users, either by refining the matchmaking or by acting like a digital wingman, suggesting which of your photos to showcase or picking out new profiles for you based on your past matchmaking preferences. That being said, AI has also led to more sophisticated trust and safety features from dating apps, like how Bumble uses AI to weed out spammers and scammers. These apps are also using AI in user-facing features, including acting like a "digital wingman" and helping you improve your profile.
Hookup apps for everyone
AdultFriendFinder — readers’ pick for casual connections
Tinder — top pick for finding hookups
Hinge — popular choice for regular meetups
Suspicious of AI, or just want a break from our digital overlords? Here are three hookup apps that haven't yet succumbed to the AI revolution.
3 hookup apps without AI features
Feeld
Billed as a "dating app for the curious" and the place "where curiosity meets connection," Feeld is easily the most open-minded app in the hookup sphere, a place where you can find anything you're looking for and even things you didn't know to look for. From the beginning, Feeld rejected the algorithm-based swiping frenzy that became the standard on so many other apps, preferring to treat its digital space like an online house party where you might talk to anyone who catches your fancy.
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As of this writing, Feeld has not yet embraced AI, and if its CEO is to be believed, they don't have any plans to, either.
Pure
Pure, the "open-minded dating app," is definitely built around short-term fun, with an emphasis on anonymity and prominent displays of "turn-ons" and kinks, but it also bucked the carousel-style matchmaking trend made popular by Tinder.
There are two main ways to connect with strangers: you'll either be shown one profile at a time, forcing you to properly assess each person for compatibility, or you can opt for the "Devil's Bones" gamble, which puts you into an anonymous voice or text chat with a total stranger.
If you're sick of the indirect approach of most dating apps and want to avoid AI's influence in the algorithms, Pure is a great, straightforward alternative.
AdultFriendFinder
If you're really anti-AI, you're probably safest sticking with AdultFriendFinder, not because it has any ethical or philosophical objections to artificial intelligence, but because its site architecture has hardly changed in the 25+ years since its founding.
Even better, AFF doesn't have an algorithm-based matchmaking system. Instead, it allows you to search for people based on criteria like their location, gender, age, or favorite kinks, or else it creates online communities and discussion boards where you can meet like-minded people to start conversations organically.
If you don't like the idea of artificial intelligence impacting your future hookup options, the above three apps and sites are a great way to resist the tide.