There was a time when uDate was a stand alone dating site. Today, however, it is part of a larger media group that has amplified its reach to over 180 million active members worldwide. Joining uDate today from an IP located in the U.S. will redirect you to Twoo.com.

In its original form, uDate was known for the distinctive way that it allowed members to analyze the habits of other members and used that information to generate matches. Does Twoo.com perform the same function? Does Twoo hold true to the positive legacy of uDate? Does Twoo offer a superior or inferior user experience?

To find out, our team took the Twoo platform for a test. Here are the results of our uDate review.

— Pros and Cons —

Pros

• Free version has search, chat and discover functionality
• Large user base — over 12 million active monthly users
• Available for desktop, iPhone, and Android

Cons

• Free version offers a limited number of daily chats
• Profile position relies too heavily on the “popularity” metric
• Must either upgrade to premium or constantly invite people to keep popularity rating high.

— In-Depth uDate Review—

The original uDate got its start in the early 2000s back when wearing braless halter tops and watching “Sex in the City” was still a thing. While it never established a foothold on the burgeoning online dating market as large as other more well-known brands, it did have a steady following. This is probably why around the time that we were all wearing those yellow-colored Livestrong wristbands, Massive Media, a Belgian digital media outfit, bought uDate. Soon thereafter it folded it into its Twoo.com brand. Basically, it became a “feeder page” to draw U.S. and Canadian members into Twoo.

Flash forward to 2012 and Massive Media itself was purchased by Meetic, a larger media group based in France with even more experience and exposure in the online dating scene.

Yes, for those of you that might recall using uDate back in a time when boy bands were still all the rage, your nostalgic streak will be happy to know that — at least as a feeder page — it is still around. As Twoo, however, uDate’s most distinctive features no longer exist.

— What is Gone —

Old-timers out there — and by old-timers we mean those that first got a driver’s license sometime in the 90s — may recall that uDate used to have a feature that allowed individual members to tweak what personality and physical attributes the site would weigh more heavily when gauging compatibility. This resulted in what many felt was more accurate matchmaking. Well, we are sorry to say that function no longer exists under Twoo.

Likewise, the second most favorite uDate feature — that of being able to see who opened your profile, how many times and when they opened your emails —that’s gone too. Maybe the folks at Twoo have had bad experiences with clingy ex-partners, who knows?

The other habit tracking features of uDate are also gone. You cannot tell how frequently Twoo members visit the site, nor are search results limited to members who have checked in within the previous 30 days.

— Registration on Twoo —

Twoo offers two methods for new members to register. One is by using your Facebook credentials. This is the fastest way to register. Twoo imports basic personal data from your Facebook account — inclusive of your profile picture — to setup your Twoo profile. The site posts a disclaimer indicating that they will never post anything on your Facebook account.

Twoo also allows you to register by using your email address. This adds the step of having to submit a profile picture manually. Supposedly, this uploaded picture is verified to minimize fake profiles. During our test, all four of our testers did not encounter any problems during this “verification” process even though two of them already had Twoo accounts and had used the submitted images on those different accounts. This did make us ponder just how reliable this “verification” process actually is.

— Accessibility —

Twoo can be accessed on desktop browsers as well as on mobile apps for iPhone and Android devices. All three interfaces offer the same set of features and for the most part offer smooth navigation. One of our testers did encounter sporadic freezing on the Android app. This occurred on 4G, 3G and wifi connections.

— Features —

It should be mentioned that Twoo is a multi-purpose platform. While it can be used to find potential matches for dating or casual hookups, it can also be used to find platonic friends. You can limit your search to an area as small as your city or as large as the entire world. Being aware of this will help to place its features into better context.

The two primary features for finding matches are Twoo’s “Discover” and “Search” functions. “Discover” presents you with profile pictures of other members whose profile criteria match your own or other specific parameters that you have selected. It uses a swiping-style interface such as that found on Tinder. You either like the profile or pass on it. If you like a profile the other member would have to like your profile in order to establish communication.

The search function allows you to fine tune your search parameters by location, age range, physical attributes, and profile popularity. Yes, you read correctly, profile popularity. Twoo incorporates a ranking system for all of its members. It is partially peer driven, based on the number of views, likes, and interactions that a profile receives. The biggest factors in determining popularity, however, come from how complete your profile is and how many friends you invite to Twoo.

— User Experience —

Our testers reported that their overall user experience on Twoo was airy and fun. They equated the experience to being at a large outdoor festival. There are a lot of people (Twoo claims 180 million in membership with 12 million active monthly users), but it also feels terribly congested. Our testers indicated that they felt the site is more suited for establishing casual online chatting relationships than anything remotely approximating an actual date or hookup.

Their biggest gripe was that due to the value that Twoo places on the “popularity” metric, unless you are extremely active on the site or you invite a steady stream of people to join — your profile nose dives in the search results.

— Cost —

Registering on Twoo is free. You can conduct basic searches, use the discover feature and chat with other members with the free version. However, if you want to boost your search positioning, rely less on the popularity metric, use the advanced search function, and chat with a larger number of people per day — you must upgrade to a premium account. This has a cost of $9.99 per month or $24.99 for three months. You can also purchase credits and use them to upgrade your account on a “per instance” basis.