Romance scams reached a record $304 million in losses reported to the FTC in 2020. That’s up about 50% from 2019. Romance scammers create fake profiles on dating sites and apps, or contact their targets through popular social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, or Google Hangouts. These are some of the current most popular online dating scams you’ll want to watch out for. The Hard Come-on. You start chatting, and they tell you they like you. Within the first twenty minutes of chatting, they’ve already made sultry declarations of passionate love and are urging you to get off the app and message them over email. In an attempt to correct one of the common dating app gripes — women getting spammed with creepy messages — women are required to message first on Bumble. It pushes some women out of their.

Most single people these days are on dating apps. But why? What are they searching for?Why do people use dating apps? Well, according to a new study by YouGov, the most common reason why is definitely not what most of us would expect.

Even with all of the millions of 'Tinderella' wedding hashtags clogging our newsfeeds these days, many of us still associate dating apps as being 'just for hookups.' But we couldn't be more wrong.

The new study by YouGov found that 49 percent of adults who have ever used a dating app or site were on them to find an exclusive romantic partner.

In other words, next time you're swiping through Bumble, you can rest assured that pretty much every other person you swipe on really is looking for an exclusive relationship.

Now, let me get a little more specific with you about exactly who falls under that 49 percent. According to YouGov, it was pretty evenly split between men and women, with 47 percent of them being male and 51 percent being female.

But what about everyone else? What's everyone else on dating apps looking for if they're not looking for exclusive relationships? Well, 39 percent are on there just for something fun or interesting to do. The way I see it, these are the people who want to enjoy dating, but aren't looking for a serious commitment for whatever reason — maybe they're fresh off a breakup, maybe they're about to move to a new city, or maybe they simply aren't interested in locking down a relationship.

Next, 29 percent of them are on there just to test the waters and see what the app is like to use. This makes sense, especially for people who are newly single after long-term relationships (and haven't dated since the dawn of Tinder in 2012) or for people who are just starting to put themselves out there online.

Common Dating App Scams

OK, and are you ready for the most interesting part of all? Less than a quarter of people (23 percent, to be exact) are on there for casual sex. Less than a quarter! That undermines the tired stereotype that dating apps are only good for one thing alone. While it's certainly true that you can find a hookup buddy online if you're interested, that's not the only available outcome.

What's the main point here? It's time to stop subscribing to the dated and inaccurate idea that you can't find real love on apps. If all of the couples you see and meet who met on apps weren't enough proof for you, let these numbers be your proof.

Who is common dating now

Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and every other dating app and website are perfectly legitimate places for you to begin your search for love. Statistically speaking, the numbers are in your favor for finding a committed monogamous partner.

If you're looking to keep things casual, that's more than fine — wanting a monogamous relationship does not make your desires any more or less valid than anyone else. But it's important that we start changing the way we think of dating apps to make room for people who want relationships and people who don't.

We all matter and there are plenty of matches out there for all of us!

Ashley Batz/Bustle

It's not exactly a secret that dating app use among millennials is super common: we use our phones for everything else, so it makes sense that we'd use an app to find a partner or hookup, too. That being said, not all dating apps are created equal, and some are more popular than others — but which one takes the top spot? According to a new survey of 294 singles from Piper Jaffray, Tinder is the most popular dating app among single millennials: 27 percent of millennial respondents said they use Tinder, as opposed to only 12 percent who said they use runner-up Bumble, Yahoo Finance reports.

But what is it about Tinder in particular that appeals to millennials? 'Raised on video games and coming of age during social media, it's not surprising that the average millennial gets bored easily and can have a short attention span — [and] Tinder is ideal for this,' Jonathan Bennett, dating/relationship expert at Double Trust Dating, tells Bustle. 'After all, you don't need to wade through someone's life history to find them attractive. Tinder gives you the essentials and you can make a choice from there.'

There's also the simple fact that Tinder has been around — and steadily gaining popularity — for as long as many of us have dabbled in online dating, meaning plenty of millennials have long thought of it as their go-to dating app. 'Unlike many of the other major online dating services, Tinder was launched as many millennials were getting to the age where they wanted a relationship,' Bennett says. 'So, from a purely practical standpoint, I'd suspect many millennials use Tinder because they're comfortable with it, it meets their needs, and they see no need to use anything else.'

But just because Tinder is the most widely used dating app among our generation, doesn't mean it's the only worthwhile dating app out there. If you're curious about what other apps young people frequent, here's a ranking of the six most popular dating apps among millennials in 2018, according to the survey.

According to the Piper Jaffray survey, 27 percent of single millennials — as well as 22 percent of single non-millennials — said Tinder was their dating app of choice, which could be due in part to how user-friendly the app is.

'For a generally very tech literate generation that demands a user friendly experience, the simplicity of Tinder is a huge plus,' Bennett says. 'You get a short bio and a few photos, then you swipe. It's a simple, but effective system.'

The second-most popular app among Millennials, the survey found, was Bumble — an app that originally made a name for itself because of its focus on giving women more power on dating apps, and has since expanded to give users even more options, like Bumble BFF (for finding friends) and Bumble Bizz (for making professional connections).

Who Is Common Dating Now

Ahh, OkCupid: an oldie but a goodie. The third-most popular dating app first launched in 2004 (!!), but the OkCupid that we now know and love has been through a lot of changes in the past decade. Most recently, OkCupid has taken on the motto 'dating deserves better,' and has made it a point to focus on helping users foster more real, deeper connections — swoon.

According to the survey, PlentyOfFish was the fourth-most popular dating app among millennials. But even though it's not necessarily the frontrunner for *millennials*looking for love, it still has plenty of loyal users: it's the best dating app to use in several states (like Rhode Island and Maine).

The fifth-most popular app among Gen Y is Coffee Meets Bagel, an app that's goal is to help you find your 'everything bagel' (how cute is that?!). CMB also has a slightly more unique format for heterosexual users: male users are given 21 matches (aka 'bagels') each day at noon, and they can like or pass on each one — then women are shown men who've already liked them and can choose who among that bunch they want to connect with.

Last but not least is Match, an app that markets itself as a dating app to find a more serious, long-lasting connection. But even though it ranks last in this particular survey doesn't mean it's not worth trying, particularly if you — like many of your fellow millennials — want to find love.

Most Common Dating App Photos Women Images

No matter which dating app is your fave, though, there's always the potential for you to find your perfect match online — so get out there and get to swiping!