Three main types of dating service
Online dating roughly splits into three ways of working. None is best for everyone - they suit different needs and different amounts of time.
- Swipe apps: you see many profiles quickly, mostly photos and a short text, and filter yourself. Suits you if you like meeting many people and have time to sort.
- Classic dating sites: longer profiles, search filters and often an older or more serious audience. Suits you if you want to read more before writing.
- Curated and AI-based matching: the service suggests fewer people based on answers about values, everyday life and what you are looking for, and explains why. Suits you if you would rather spend time on a few considered suggestions than on scrolling.
What makes a dating site serious?
"Serious" is a word every service uses. Look instead at things you can check:
- Can you verify that profiles are real people?
- Does the service ask what you are actually looking for - and take it into account?
- Is there a clear privacy policy saying what is stored and how to delete your account?
- Can you report and block, and do you learn what happens next?
- Is the price clear, and is it easy to cancel?
Questions to ask yourself before choosing
The most important choice is less about the service and more about you. How much time do you want to spend each week? Do you want a relationship, or mainly to meet new people? Do many conversations at once wear you out?
If you want a long-term relationship and are tired of conversations that fizzle out, services with fewer, explained suggestions tend to fit better. If you want to explore and meet many people, a swipe app may be exactly right.
Where Aivelyn fits in
Aivelyn is a curated service. You answer questions about values, everyday life, communication and what you are looking for, and get suggestions with an explanation of why you might fit. You can verify your identity, and you decide what others see.
It takes longer before something happens than in a swipe app, and no service can promise chemistry. Read more under How it works and Trust, or compare ways of dating in the guide to dating without swiping.
Think about safety whatever the service
Never send money to someone you have only met online, and be careful with people who quickly want to move the conversation to another app. Meet in a public place the first time and tell someone where you are.
For threats, violence or pressure in Sweden: contact the police on 114 14, or 112 in an emergency. Kvinnofridslinjen is reachable on 020-50 50 50.