The line between social media networks and dating apps is already blurrier than we’d like to admit. After all, social media platforms are about interacting with people, and it just takes one bold DM to turn a platonic interaction into a romantic one. By cleverly adopting many community features you’d find on sites like Facebook, Reddit, and Twitch, Clover leans into how social media already appeals to the lovesick. It’s a dating app, so it’s okay to be thirsty on main.
Getting Started With Clover
Despite taking many cues from social media, Clover (free, with premium options) is its own separate service with its own separate account. It’s not Facebook Dating. You can use your Facebook or Snapchat account to sign up, but you can also use your email credentials or Apple/Google accounts depending on the mobile operating system you use. Clover is available on Android and iOS devices. I primarily tested on an iPhone 12 mini. Clover lacks a web version.
The sign up process asks you basic questions about yourself, and what you want in a partner. What kind of relationship are you looking for? Do you smoke? What’s your location and age range? Flesh out your profile by tagging interests, such as animals, fashion, and working out. You need to submit at least one photo of yourself before you can interact with other people.
The glossy photos and slick interface immediately give the app a high-quality feel, similar to Hinge. Some of the stock photography is a bit objectifying, particularly when it comes to different body types. Also, splitting age categories into “18-23,” “24-29,” and “30+” should tell you who Clover sees as its target audience. An early question asks how adventurous you are in bed. If there’s one place where you shouldn’t hold back, though, it’s on a dating app.
Profiles and Interface
Initially, Clover’s atmosphere felt better suited for quick hookups, like our Editors’ Choice pick Tinder, rather than lasting relationships, like our other Editors’ Choice pick Match. Although you swipe many pretty faces, the app offers ways to know your potential partner more intimately. Profiles display whether or not the person is looking for a fling or serious relationship. Tapping an interest in a person’s bio also pulls up a list of other users who share those interests, so you can more effectively browse.
You can also play a game of 20 questions and compare your answers with other people’s responses. These are more casual questions, closer to OkCupid’s prompts than eharmony’s analytical questionnaire. Are you messy or organized? Are you predictable or spontaneous? Do you prefer Mac or PC? When you decide to send that first message, you can opt for one of Clover’s pre-written icebreakers like “You’re super fashionable!” or “Hey baby, your place AND mine???” If someone is being a jerk, you can always block and report them. If someone just isn’t right for you, recommend them to a friend.
Arguably the trickiest aspect of online dating (especially in a COVID-19 world) is transitioning from online to real-life. Fortunately, Clover offers some of the best built-in tools we’ve seen for helping users plan actual dates. Users can say whether or not they are interested in a date. You can also directly request a date. There’s an entire tab for browsing available dates, monitoring pending dates, and planning confirmed dates.
Chatting and planning dates aren’t the only ways for interacting with Clover users, though. You can also join Mixers, community groups that are basically little forums where members post messages. Naturally, most of these forums are romance-themed. Socially Awkward Singles. Girls That Want Nice Guys. But others are dedicated to certain interests. Maybe you’ll find the love of your life in the Wine community or among the Walking Dead fans. Giving users different ways to approach communication makes Clover’s overall ecosystem that much more alluring.
Premium Extras and Social Distancing
Clover is technically free, but to get the most out of it you’ll want the premium subscription and all the extra features it includes. Most notably, free users can’t leverage the video chat functionality that’s perfect for safe and socially distanced virtual dating while the COVID-19 pandemic still rages throughout the world. Clover’s video chat capability puts it ahead of many other dating apps.
Other premium features include unlimited instant chatting and date requests, the ability to include photos and other multimedia content in your messages, advanced filtering and sorting options, free weekly profile boosts, ad removal, and the ability to see who likes you. A Clover subscription costs $19.99 for one week, $74.99 for three months, and $119.99 for a year. That’s an expensive start, but the price quickly becomes more reasonable the longer you commit. You also get a week-long free trial.
Alongside video chatting, premium Clover users can also view and broadcast themselves similar to Instagram Live or a video game live streaming service. You can follow users and watch their streams, or stream yourself. You may see one of your own matches going live, but this part of Clover feels somewhat separate from the typical dating features. Only POF offers something similar.
As with most live streaming services, these webcam streams can occasionally feel a little scummy. Clover insists users refrain from harassing and overly sexual comments, but Bumble is still the app of choice for female empowerment. As a streamer, you can earn gems from fans that you can then cash out for real money. That’s pretty cool, but it also leaves the impression that some folks are on here more for boosting their trendy influencer cred than going out on dates. That’s social media for you. Still, this is yet another novel way Clover lets users interact.
Four Leaf, Four Stars
Whether you want to schedule real dates, hang in online communities, or watch video broadcasts, Clover is the robust dating app for you. Its speedy, modern look and feel make it comparable to our hookup Editors’ Choice pick Tinder. However, based on the amount of success stories in the Clover blog, perhaps it can also compete with Match, our Editors’ Choice pick for long-lasting love. Whichever way you use it, Clover’s variety of social media-esque online dating features has something for everyone.
