Is Feeld really in a class onto itself? Or is it just another Tinder “knock-off” cluttering the online hookup universe? We conducted a full Feeld review to find the answers.

— Pros and Cons —

Pros

• Free version is powerful enough for most users
• Can register as an individual or a couple
• Facebook verification results in a more genuine and authentic user base
• Intuitive user interface
• Powerful matching algorithm

Cons

• The iPhone version can be sluggish and buggy
• Premium version is not available for Android
• No alternative to Facebook verification for registration

— In-Depth Feeld App Review —

For those of us who have used Tinder — even if it was merely for social development “studies” — we can all agree that it can be somewhat crass. Tinder is just too crude for some people. The banality of the app can make even the most open-minded person hesitant to freely explore what they really desire on sites such as Tinder.

Yes, as open-minded and liberating as Tinder is, it can make people who are serious about their personal kinks uneasy to use the platform. Quite simply, the number of trolls and looky-Lous on Tinder makes those who are into alternate sexual scenes — especially the polyamorous — think twice before using the platform.

The absence of a dating or hookup app that took the polyamorous lifestyle seriously inspired the developer of Feeld to create the app in 2014. Originally branded as “3ender,” it took on its current name in 2016 after none other than Tinder had sued it over the similarity of brand names.

— Availability —

Feeld is a mobile-only app. It is available for iPhone and Android devices. It can be downloaded for free from iTunes and Google Play. As of June 2017, Feeld has an average customer rating of 3.6 on Google Play and 3.5 on iTunes. As a point of comparison, Tinder has an average rating of 4.0 and 3.5, respectively, in each of those repositories.

During our testing, we found Feeld’s Android app to run smoothly on both high-end and budget phones. Over a period of seven days, we did not experience any performance related issues with the Android app.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the iPhone version. Feeld’s iPhone app was sluggish. Our testers also experienced four instances when the app crashed. It is significant to note that in the help section of Feeld’s support website, it does mention that they are aware of issues with its iPhone app. They mention that they are working on debugging the issues.

— Registering for Feeld —

In order to become a registered user on Feeld, you must use your Facebook credentials as a verification mechanism. Unfortunately, Feeld does not offer an alternate verification method. For those of you concerned about privacy, Feeld makes it clear your Facebook account is used solely for verification, so you do not have to worry about your friends learning about your affiliation with Feeld.

Once you have been Facebook verified, you scroll through a series of screens providing the basic input for your profile. You start by selecting whether you are using the app as an individual or as a couple. After all, this is the polyamorous app — don’t forget that.

You then enter your gender and sexuality. Your choices for gender include male, female and transgender. For sexuality, you can choose from straight, bisexual, pansexual and homosexual. Located immediately below the boxes for the gender selection you will find a slider to make entering your age as simple as swiping a finger.

You then move on to a similar looking screen where you must enter the gender, sexuality and age range of the partners that you are searching for. Again, staying true to the polyamorous lifestyle, Feeld allows you to choose up to three different partner profiles for your account.

— Optional Registration Fields—

Once you enter the obligatory information, you move on to the screen containing the optional items for your profile. Here you can enter a name. You may use your own or create one for your online persona. You are also provided with a text box where you can write something about yourself. We found that this is the perfect place to add something that highlights your personality. There is also a “desires” section. Here you can list your sexual and romantic desires. You can separate each term with a comma and add as many as you wish. The same process applies to the “interests” section where you would list your more benign and non-sexual likes. The Feeld algorithm uses these terms as “pairing tags” and are fundamental in matching you with like-minded individuals.

During our testing, the more terms we included in the “desires” and “interests” section, the more results we obtained. To us, it seemed that these terms were weighted far more heavily than any other part of your profile by the Feeld algorithm. It is well worth the time to tweak these terms if your initial match results are not as accurate or as numerous as you wish.

Of course, you may also upload a profile picture. As a matter of fact, it is highly suggested you do so. As with other location-based apps that depend on swiping to express approval or rejection, a profile without an image is like going clubbing with a bag over your head.

— User Experience —

The overall feel and navigation of the Feeld user interface will be very familiar to anybody that has used a social or dating app akin to Tinder. You are presented with the images of members that the Feeld algorithm determines would be a good match. You swipe right to express interest, left to ignore. When two people “like” each other, communication can be made between both members.

The Feeld communication functionality is simplistic but gets the job done. You can engage in online chat, leave messages for later, and even exchange private images. It provides you with enough contact to determine if you want to actually hook up in person.

— Cost —

Feeld is free to use. There is a premium version that allows you to see all of the members that have ever liked your profile — even if you skipped over them in the past. The premium version also has an “incognito” option.

At first, we couldn’t figure out what incognito mode did for you. After some experimentation and more thorough reading of the app’s help forum, we figured out that it shields you from “bumping” into a Feeld profile belonging to someone that also happens to be a Facebook friend. This seems like such a critical tool for privacy that we are disappointed that it is only available in the premium version.

Speaking of privacy, the premium version of Feeld also adds a pin-code option to physically protect the app from prying eyes on your phone.

The premium membership cost $11.99 for one month or $23.99 for a three-month membership. Word to the wise, currently premium membership is only available on the iPhone version. There has been no official word as to when it becomes available on Android.