helloTruly is a dating app that aims to help you find and create real connections with other singles. Much like other dating apps, it’s main goal is to help meet someone, but it does things just a little bit differently by locating and finding you people to meet based on the places that you go, instead of matching you with others based purely on a few preferences and things like your Facebook profile. The idea behind the app is to help reveal people that are nearby your location, and you can see people based on popular places to go that are nearby you as well. It’s an interesting approach that actually makes a lot of sense if you’re searching to meet someone.
Before you can get started with finding people near you to meet, you’ll need to head to the Play Store and download the app, as well as register or sign in. Once that’s done, you can move onto meeting people and interacting.
helloTruly is an easy setup if you’re new to the app and the service. It gives you two options for registering, either through Facebook which will admittedly be easier, or you can also register with just your email address if you don’t want to connect your Facebook account.
By default, helloTruly will show you people on the main page that are nearby you. It will use your location to find people that are nearby, if any. You can also switch to the “hot spots” tab which shows you people that are hanging out at popular places in the area.
If you want to put it out there that you are open to meeting, you can check in to wherever you are (revealing your profile) and let others nearby you find you. There’s no remote access to user profiles and no online chatting allowed on helloTruly, which is the point of its in-person icebreaker function. Part of your profile includes a small personal note – a “conversion starter” – that only people at or near your venue will see on screen when they’re looking at other nearby users. Before you check in at your venue, you can see the “conversation starters” (but not profile photos or names) of those at or near your venue. This way, you can let people near you know a small piece of information about you right off the bat, which might get them interested in checking in and revealing their full profile so that you can meet in person right then and there. And you can use the “conversation starters,” instead of a pickup line, to start your in-person conversation. The app will send you a notice when another person who meets your set preferences is nearby or checks in, which is a nice feature. Then you can decide whether to check in at your venue and say hello in person.
As a friendly way of interacting with other users, you can “wave” at matches that pop up on your screen to show some interest, and that lets the user know you might want to meet up, or just simply have a conversation. If someone waves at you you’ll be notified, and then you can also wave back or say hello in person.
Profile pages have a big photo to show off and a brief description of yourself/others based on the information you or others decide to share. As with most dating apps, a little more information goes a long way. Since helloTruly finds other users that are nearby who meet your preferences and may want to meet up, you can leave it alone and the next time you go somewhere new, if someone else that also uses the app is nearby you’ll be notified so you can try to spark a conversation if you like.
helloTruly also gives you a little bit of privacy and will only display your name and photo if you’re checked in to a location. Likewise, the same is true for other users as well.
When it comes to dating apps, helloTruly makes things simple and straightforward. There isn’t a feeling of forced connections and with no requirement to sign-in or register via Facebook, some users will be happy about this particular detail. It has a decent amount of features but is not stuffed with unneeded functionality either. Profiles are brief, just to give you or someone else just enough information about you to decide whether you have similar interests, and the location-based matching is a nice approach, letting you see people that go to the same places you like to go to.
Ratings
- Speed (5/5) – The app was easy to set up and only took a couple of minutes, no lag in the app either so it the experience was nice and fluid.
- Theme (5/5) – helloTruly has a pretty decent design and the user interface is simple to navigate.
- Features (4/5) – The app isn’t packed with features, but it does offer just what you need to get things going and use it happily.
- Overall (4/5) – Overall, helloTruly is a pretty nice app for meeting other singles or people who are looking for someone to hang out with. The app works well, it looks nice, and it’s free.
Pros
- No Facebook login required, but it is an option.
- Fast and simple to use.
- Location based matching.
- “Waving” feature.
- Privacy functions.
Cons
- The app is new, so there doesn’t seem to be many users just yet, but that should change once more people pick it up.
helloTruly is designed to be a dating app and help you meet other singles, but it can also be used just to find others to hang out with, and since it works by letting you check in to places that you’re at, you’re already out and about making meet-ups easy. The app is free and it doesn’t require a Facebook login, although it does offer the option, and you can find people based on popular check-ins too if you’re not currently out but will be looking to head out soon. Overall, if you’re going to try the dating app scene, helloTruly will be a nice option worth checking out.