Is the Pure Dating App Only for Hookups?

No, but it leans that way in tone, and the app is built so that nobody has to guess what you want. Pure describes itself as open and honest dating, a place to make your own rules, and it asks every member to say what kind of experience they are after. Whether you find a relationship or something casual depends mostly on what you write and who reads it.

Pure's FAQ describes the app as all about open and honest dating, with open connections based on mutual respect. It calls the app a place to make and break your own rules, and to date, play and misbehave. Its App Store listing calls it a dating app for curious people and a space to be honest with your intentions and clear in your boundaries. Its tagline on its own site is "Shameless dating app."

Read that closely and the message is not "hookups only." It is "say what you want and nobody will judge it." The framing is relaxed about casual encounters, and it is also open to dating. That is a different thing from a hookup app, even if some members use it that way.

Two features force the question into the open.

The first is the Personal Ad. You write what kind of experience you are looking for, and you have to post it before you can see anyone else's. So nobody browses silently. Every ad you read was written by someone who stated a goal.

The second is the Looking For setting. In your profile you choose a goal from five options, and you can change it at any time. Pure's FAQ says matching dating goals matters as much as matching turn-ons.

The app also lets you list turn-ons, and its Perfect Match filter shows only the ads that match all of the turn-ons you selected. That makes it fast to filter, and it makes the app feel more direct than most.

Pure does not publish who is on the app, so do not assume a percentage of members who want a relationship, or one who want something casual. Anything you read about that online is somebody's opinion.

What you do know is the app's rules. Members must be over 18. Profiles and ads cannot contain explicit photos, sale or mention of drugs, hateful or abusive statements, or threats. The app says its safer dating page is built around keeping members safe while they explore real connections.

Those are the app's rules about content. They do not tell you what women who read your ad will say, which brings us to the part you control.

The ad is the whole profile, so treat it as one.

Be honest about what you want, and be specific. Two plain sentences about the kind of experience you are looking for do more than a long paragraph of hedging. If you want something serious, say so. If you want something casual, say that. A woman who reads your ad and agrees will reply. A woman who does not will keep scrolling, and that is the filter working for you.

Do not write one thing and mean another. A man who says he wants something casual, then spends the second date asking about commitment, is not clever. He is wasting both people's time, and he is breaking the one rule the app is built on.

Mismatched goals are the usual reason people end up unhappy on an app like this one. If she is looking for something casual and you want a relationship, no amount of charm closes the gap.

Check her ad and her Looking For goal before you like it. If they do not fit what you want, skip her, and be glad the app showed you early. The same goes in reverse: if your goal is one she does not share, you will hear it quickly, which is the point of the format.

Pure suits a man who is comfortable saying what he wants in plain words and hearing a plain answer. It suits him less if he prefers a slow reveal, where nobody says anything direct until the third date.

If you are unsure, try it the way you would try any dating app. Write an honest ad, use it for a couple of weeks, and watch what comes back. If the replies are from the women you hoped for, keep going. If not, change your ad before you change the app.