What makes Tonight so special? It basically makes it possible to find a date tonight. Unlike other apps that can prolong the courtship process, Tonight makes things happen literally tonight. If you find that to be rushed and unrealistic, the developer of the Tonight app begs to differ. Like you, we had our doubts about this app. That is why we conducted a full review of it.

What did we discover? Can tonight really get you a date tonight? Read our review and find out.

— Pros and Cons —

Pros

• Completely free
• Sets up the entire date
• No messaging, just dates

Cons

• Currently only available in the greater NYC area
• Cancelling a date could get you banned
• Available only for iOS

— In-Depth Tonight Dating App Review —

There is a new app that is hitting the online dating scene with a huge splash. It is called “Tonight.” For the moment, it is only accepting users from the greater New York City area. However, based on its press releases, it is due to expand nationwide very shortly.

In order to understand a little bit more about Tonight, it is important to be aware of the fact that it is the brainchild of the same person that developed the Whim app. If you are familiar with Whim, it is a dating app that allows people to schedule dates for the future. In other words, if you know that you have some free time coming up next weekend, you would make yourself available on the Whim platform for those specific dates and you would be matched with other members that are also free during that same time period.

Tonight takes that basic concept and develops it even further. Instead of scheduling dates for the future which could subsequently be canceled, Tonight brings people together in the here and now. On Tonight, you have until 6 p.m. each evening to make yourself available for a date that very night. All of the other members that match your search criteria that are also available for that night are presented to you as a potential match. If the both of you select each other, you have a date.

There is no needless preamble, no nervous and awkward online chat beforehand — everything is handled by the Tonight app. Quite literally, you don’t have to do anything else. Both participants will be notified of the time and place for them to meet for their date.

By using information gathered from each user during registration, the Tonight algorithm not only matches the two people together, but it also determines the best venue for the date to take place. This is as automated a system as you are going to currently find for procuring a date.

— Compatibility Concerns —

We were concerned with the quality of the compatibility of the suggested matches offered by Tonight. After all, if nobody talks to each other beforehand, how do you know that you are going to clique? The developers of the Tonight app respond to this question by citing the fact that each user is able to enter their own customized set of search criteria. Also, each user has to choose in advance the other members that they would be interested in dating.

During our test, we found this process to be fairly easy. After you enter your search filters — which include attributes such as gender, age range, level of education, interests, profession, etc. — you are presented with a list of suggested matches. If you click on a specific member, you are shown that member’s profile image along with their occupation and alma mater. There is also a brief snippet that was written by the user describing a little bit about their personality.

 

If you spot somebody that’s intriguing, you can select them by clicking on the heart button. You can also opt to see a more detailed version of their profile.

Once you have a selection of pre-approved dating candidates, each time that you enter the Tonight app and make yourself available for that evening, the app will cross-check your pre-approved selections with those who have also pre-approved you. Each of you will receive a notification of each other’s availability. If you both agree, the date is set. You’ll be able to meet at the venue selected by Tonight.

— The Dynamic —

The dynamic of the dates that are created by the Tonight app is one that shouts out, “awkwardness be damned.” Yes, it is a little nerve-wracking and awkward to come face-to-face with another person when you’ve never even chatted before your first date. One cannot deny, however, that it also creates an impulse to get to know each other much faster. It also eliminates the huge amount of time that is wasted on more traditional dating apps. At least with the Tonight app, if you hit it off you’ll know it immediately. If not, at the very least, you enjoy a good meal together and you both move on.

— User Interface —

The Tonight app is only available for devices running iOS version 10 or higher. There is no desktop version and there is no Android version. Also, as we have already stated, as of year-end 2017, Tonight is only accepting users from the greater New York City area.

Since the amount of interaction that has to take place on the app itself is minimal, the user interface reflects this. It is designed to focus on notifications and searches, not to facilitate messaging. This makes it very fast and easy to navigate.

— Cost —

Tonight is completely free. The developers have made comments in the press that at some stage they may monetize the app via a subscription model, but that has yet to take place.