I, A Single Person, Tried Six Different Dating Apps So That You Don't Have To
What's this app's deal? God. Where do we begin? Raya is an exclusive dating app that requires a membership and also costs $7.99 a month. You cannot just JOIN Raya, you must know someone already using the app and be invited. This is already annoying, but I also saw it as a potentially good thing because maybe having to work so hard to get on this damn app meant that people would take it more seriously. (I was wrong. Moving on.) The thing that sets this app apart from others is the reputation it has for celebrities using it (kind of true, in my experience) and the fact that screenshots are strictly forbidden. If you screenshot, you will get a warning and if you screenshot again, you will get kicked off.
Did I like using it? At first...yes. After two days? No. First of all, you only get to see a few matches a day, and a lot of them aren't even in the same city as you. Raya will show you people all over the world. I matched (and had great conversation!) with someone in Montreal, South Africa, and London. I understand the reasoning for just a few matches a day, but I don't like it. Second of all, the app's layout is wonky as hell. It glitches out so often, erases messages, and isn't particularly useful. You can't send links, pictures, or anything else in chat but you can send songs from iTunes, which like...OK? Thanks, I guess? I never sent anyone any music, nor did I ever receive any, and I was fine with that. Third, you have to choose a profile song. Sounds cool, right? Reminds you of MySpace? Yeah, until you have to actually CHOOSE the song. I went with "Boy" by Odesza for the record because WHAT THE FUCK ELSE DO YOU CHOOSE? I DON'T KNOW.
The thing I noticed most about Raya is that I got the feeling that most people were on the app just to say they were on it. I'd say about 5% of the people I matched with actually wanted to meet up, and the rest would match and then not respond to any messages and then you would just sit there forever. It's a weird place.
Did I have success? I matched with Mike Posner and he asked me what BuzzFeed was.
Cost? $7.99 a month, not worth it.
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