Badoo and Feeld are the two that let you sign up without one. Badoo accepts a phone number, an email address, a Google account, Facebook or Apple ID, and Feeld accepts email, Apple, Facebook, Google or a phone number. Tinder and Bumble start sign-up with a phone number, and OkCupid takes an email but also verifies the account through your phone.
How each app lets you sign up
| Ways to sign up | Phone number | |
|---|---|---|
| Badoo | Phone number, email address, Google account, Facebook (app only) or Apple ID (iOS only). On its website: phone, email or Google | One option among several |
| Feeld | Email, Apple, Facebook, Google or phone number (SMS) | One option among several |
| OkCupid | Email address | Also used to verify the account and confirm you are a real person |
| Bumble | A mobile number with a six-digit code sent by SMS | Needed to start. Other logins, such as Facebook or Apple ID, can be added later |
| Tinder | The app sign-up steps ask you to enter and verify a phone number | Needed in the app steps. An Apple or Google account can be connected afterward |
The two that skip it
Badoo is the most flexible. On the app you can use a phone number, an email, a Google account, Facebook or, on iOS, Apple ID. On its website, the choices are phone, email or Google.
Feeld offers email, Apple, Facebook, Google or a phone number by SMS. If you want to avoid giving a number, the email route is the way in.
The two that start with one
Bumble's sign-up steps use a mobile number, with a six-digit code sent by SMS. You can add other ways to log in, such as Facebook or Apple ID, after that. The number comes first.
Tinder's app sign-up steps ask you to enter and verify a phone number, and then, optionally, to connect an Apple or Google account. If you want to use Tinder, expect to give one.
OkCupid: email in, phone behind it
OkCupid lets you sign up with your email address. It also verifies the account through your phone number, to make sure you are a real person.
So it is half an answer. You can begin with email, and the phone check is still part of the process.
Why the apps ask for a number
The reason, going by what OkCupid says, is to make sure each account belongs to a real person. That is the stated purpose of the phone check, and it is one more step between you and a fake account.
What to do if you would rather not give one
Choose an app that offers email, such as Badoo or Feeld, and sign up that way. Do not try to get around a requirement that an app states. An app that asks for a number has made it part of its rules, and working around it can get an account banned.
Tinder and Bumble are the ones where a number is unavoidable, so if that is a firm limit for you, skip them.
Keeping your number private with your matches
The number the app asks for at sign-up is a different thing from the number you give a woman.
Keep your first conversation inside the app and move to your number only when you have a plan and she is replying with energy. Where an app offers in-app video and voice calls, such as Bumble and Badoo, use those first. You can hear her and see her without handing over a number.
Moving off the app is a step toward a date, so do it when there is a reason, not at the first sign of interest.
One honest limit
App sign-up screens change. Open the sign-up screen in the app itself to see the options it offers on your phone, and treat any list, including this one, as a starting point.
Written by Matthew Stevens, Co-Founder & Head Coach. More than half a decade coaching men across the US and worldwide.
Everything here comes out of real coaching work: the approaches, dates, texts and profiles we go through with the men we coach.