How practical and useful is BoyAhoy’s reach? Is it good only for casual hookups? Or is it also useful for something not as intense? We conducted a review of BoyAhoy to answer those questions and also to ascertain the quality of the user experience that it provides. Here are the results.

— Pros and Cons —

Pros

• Available for both iPhone and Android devices
• Free to download and install
• Over five million users worldwide
• Simple and intuitive user interface

Cons

• Use of Premium features requires some form of payment
• The current iPhone version of the app is buggy
• The long-distance search feature provides a thin set of results
• Lacks a standout feature

— Full BoyAhoy App Review —

BoyAhoy is a hookup app for gay men. It describes itself as being “the global network for meeting gay men.” It promotes itself as helping men to find other men locally as well as internationally.

— Available Platforms —

BoyAhoy is available exclusively as a mobile app. There is no desktop version. The website BoyAhoy.com exists solely to provide basic information about its service. Available for both iPhone and Android devices, the app has been downloaded over five million times as of September of 2017.

In terms of user reviews posted on Google Play and iTunes, there is a clear discrepancy between both platforms. On Google Play, the BoyAhoy app has an average rating of 4.1-stars. On iTunes, it has an average rating of 2.5-stars.

When we downloaded the app, we did not encounter any problems with either version in terms of installation. Usability and ease of navigation were likewise smooth and intuitive for both.

With the iPhone version, where we did encounter some technical issues was with the reliability of its synchronization to the phone’s GPS location. On the iPhone version, we encountered several instances when the app would not accurately reflect our current location. We did not encounter these types of issues on the Android version of the app. The iPhone version that we tested was version 4.26, which was updated in July of 2017. Hopefully, they will get this issue rectified as soon as possible.

— Usability —

Downloading and installing the app is a straightforward process. Even on slower 3G Networks you can have the BoyAapp up and running in less than 2 minutes.

It has a layout and navigation system that most people will be familiar with. It is intuitive and smooth.

The first screen that you are presented with consists of tiled images of other members that are in close proximity to your location. You can click on one of those images to see their profile page. This will consist of their main profile picture, their most recent status update, and any messages that they have received to their current status update. From there, you can click on the member’s username in order to be redirected to the user’s membership profile. There you will be able to see the person’s age, location, physical attributes, and if the member provided the information, a brief bio.

From the member status page, you can post a comment, or you can choose to send a wink or message. BoyAhoy offers an online chat feature as well. There is also the option of sending recorded audio messages to other members.

During our tests, we found the profiles on BoyAhoy to be rather thin. It is hard to gauge a user’s personality with so little information available. While that should not be a cause for concern if you are relying on the app for casual hookups, for those that are interested in finding something long-term, it makes it difficult to get a true feeling for the individual on anything beyond a physical and sexual level.

— Cost —

BoyAhoy is free to download as well as to register for an account. The free version allows you to receive notifications from other users as well as to browse through the profiles of those near you.

In order to use premium features, such as the wink bomb, which allows you to send multiple winks all at once to multiple users, you need to pay. Likewise, if you want to be informed of who has checked out your profile, you also need to pay.

Payment for these upgraded features can be done via an all-inclusive monthly membership or through the accumulation and cashing-out of points.

Points can be obtained by spending time on the site. However, don’t expect too many points to accumulate that way. The best way to accumulate points on BoyAhoy is by downloading third-party applications that are advertised on the site. You also have the option of paying for blocks of points.

A block of 500 points will cost you $4.99. A block of 1,000 points will cost you $7.99. There is also a 4,000 point package that has a cost of $24.99.

If you prefer to avoid the point system altogether and simply pay for a monthly membership, a one-month subscription has a cost of $9.99, a three-month subscription has a cost of $24.99.

Based on our experience on BoyAhoy, we would suggest that new users start out by buying a 500 or 1,000 point package. That is enough to allow you to use the premium features a few times. That will give you an idea of how the site functions. If you feel comfortable with it, then paying for a monthly subscription might be your best bet moving forward.

— So, What About This Local vs. Long-Distance Deal? —

In the three days that we put BoyAhoy to the test, we found that it functions best as an app to find people who are nearby. The “travel” option, in our opinion, was lackluster.

If you entered a location different to your local area, the number of search results were disappointingly low. We theorize that this is due to the fact that the use of the travel feature requires a paid membership or the use of points. This means that only a small fraction of the BoyAhoy user base will be considered when populating your search results.