What Dating Apps Are Used in Colombia?

Tinder is the app that comes up in reporting on Colombia, and what that reporting says about Tinder there is mostly a safety warning. We have no ranking of the dating apps used in Colombia, so the honest method is to install the ones you can reach, run them for two weeks, and see which gives you real conversations. Do that with the safety rules below in mind, because the main risk in Colombia is not choosing the wrong app.

Reports describe Tinder dates in Medellin and Bogota that turned into robberies. In some cases a man is drugged with scopolamine and robbed. Criminals reportedly use Tinder to target wealthy foreigners.

That is a warning about a crime, not a ranking of apps. We cannot tell you which app has the most women in Colombia, and we will not invent one.

The advice for a man dating in Colombia is practical, and every item applies on any app.

• Meet in a public place and stay in a group when you go out at night.
• Be cautious when a woman who has just matched with you pushes to come back to your accommodation.
• Stay in a hotel with security staff who record visitors' IDs, so that anyone you invite is on record.
• Use a ride app for getting around, especially in parts of Medellin and Bogota with a bad reputation.
• Join local Facebook and Telegram groups for men in the city, to keep up with how men stay safe.

Many men also assume a woman who makes the first move is impressed by them, when the woman may be well out of their usual range. If a match seems too good, slow down.

Start with the apps you know. Tinder says it is available in most of the world's countries. Hinge publishes a list of countries where it can be downloaded, and Bumble says its services are not available in every country without publishing a list.

Download them and look at what appears near you in the first couple of evenings. Ask people who live in the city which apps they and their friends use, and install any name that keeps coming up.

Spanish is the main language of the country. A page and messages written only in English will reach the women who read English, which is a smaller group.

If you read and write some Spanish, say so and write a few lines in both languages. If you do not, keep your English short and plain so it translates cleanly. Do not claim a fluency you lack, because a call or first date shows it in a minute.

a dating coach's view of online dating is that a clear, honest page filters well. That matters more in a country where you may be a visitor.

If you live there, say what you want. If you are passing through, say for how long. A woman who discovers later that you fly home next week will feel misled, and the problem will be yours.

Plan a coffee or a drink in a busy place that is easy for her to reach and easy for both of you to leave. Arrive early, put your phone away, and let her set the pace. Tell a friend where you are and when you expect to be back.

Never leave your food or drink unguarded, because the drug can be slipped into food as well. A woman who has real interest in a first meeting will not mind an ordinary public place.

Pick two apps and use the same photos and the same few lines on both. Count the women you liked, the ones who answered, and the plans that came out of it. Keep the one that answers and drop the other. Run the test with your safety rules in place from the first evening.