Tinder

Tinder's listing is the most commercially explicit of the four: it names three subscription tiers and sets out the billing terms before it says anything at all about safety. The product description itself is about breadth — "millions of people nearby and around the world", a company figure we have not verified — and about keeping the experience low-pressure. One line near the end is unusually candid for this category: "All photos are of models and used for illustrative purposes only."

You set preferences, match with people nearby or around the world, and talk. What the listing adds on top is texture: prompts to show personality, photos and interests, Astrology Mode for compatibility, and a Double Date feature that lets you bring a friend along. One touch is more practical than most of what this category offers — you can let a friend know when you are meeting someone. Face Check is the verification mechanism, described as the way to build real connections with real people. The listing does not describe video calling, which is worth knowing if video is what brought you to this page.

This page was written by a company that wants you to subscribe, and it does not pretend otherwise. Tinder Plus brings unlimited likes, Passport Mode for matching anywhere in the world, unlimited rewinds and Go Incognito. Gold includes everything in Plus and adds a trial week, seeing who likes you, monthly boosts and weekly Super Likes. Platinum prioritises your likes, allows a compliment before matching, and adds more. The billing terms are stated plainly — charged to your Google Play account, renewed within 24 hours of the period ending, and not cancellable during an active subscription period. Of the four apps here, this is the one that tells you what you are buying.

Safety gets a short section near the end and stays at the level of description: "multiple ways to verify profiles", "added safety tools", features that keep you in control of how and when you meet new people. Face Check is the one named mechanism, and telling a friend where you are going is the one named behaviour. That is less than Badoo itemises and about level with Bumble, and it is the weakest part of a page that is otherwise unusually specific — specific about subscriptions. The listing states no age requirement.

People who already know they want a dating app with the largest pool and are deciding which tier, if any, to buy. It is the wrong app for anyone looking for a video-first way to meet strangers, and the listing says nothing about video.

The most transparent page of the four about money and one of the least specific about protection. Three tiers are named, priced by feature and given honest billing terms, and a rare disclosure admits the photos are models. Against that, the safety paragraph is adjectives with two named exceptions, no age requirement appears, and video calling — the reason this app sits in this category at all — is never mentioned. Read it as a commercial document and it is unusually straight; read it for safety and it is thin.