Dating app review: Clover

Clover rates low; columnist runs into roadblocks while setting up profile

Clover+allows+users+to+livestream+but+requires+payment+for+features+like+swiping+and+chatting.

ELLEN PIETSCH

Clover allows users to livestream but requires payment for features like swiping and chatting.

VICTORIA GIOMI, Evergreen reporter

It’s week three of school, and I am back ready to review another dating app called Clover. I hate to say it, but this app was a major disappointment.

I hate to spoil this early, but this app’s final rating was a 1/10. This app is the complete opposite of how I thought it was going to be. I had seen ads for Clover prior to this review, and it looked like a perfectly good app. But, oh boy, was I wrong.

Before I even built my profile, I was greeted by a page full of livestreams. I was instantly confused. I clicked on some of the livestreams on the trending section and it was not what I was expecting. There were women dancing in bikinis, shirtless men and people writing their viewers’ names on different parts of their bodies. For a dating app, I found this a little weird.

I started looking more around the app for a place where I could actually sort through potential matches, but when I finally found it, I came to the upsetting realization that you have to PAY for that feature!

Why do I need to pay $20 a WEEK to swipe through potential matches? Why is the only way to view people via livestream? Even with my preferences in matches set to male, why was I only seeing women and a handful of men? There are so many questions that I cannot answer about this app.

I am still upset that the only way people would be able to find or view my profile was if I went live and started trending, which is honestly useless to me. As someone who is not a big fan of going live on any social media platform, a dating app is definitely not where I am going to try. You can also grow a following on the app, which makes zero sense to me since it’s a dating app and not an Instagram profile.

Once I got past the infuriating concept of livestreaming and paying to go through potential matches, I got even more upset.  I quickly realized that you have to pay to access all features on this app. The sections that needed to be bought include a section called “Set Up Dates,” a section where you join groups based on common interests, and the chat setting. This is honestly repulsive. What is the point of a dating app that you can barely even talk to anyone on?

I kind of understand paying for the first two sections, but the chat setting needs to be unlocked; that was so bizarre to me. Just in case you were wondering, the pricing to unlock every feature is as follows: $19.99 per week, $74.99 per three months or $119.99 per year.

Is it just me, or is that absurd for a mediocre dating app? I could understand how someone might pay for that with a more reliable app like Tinder or Bumble, but Clover? I do not think so.

As for the rest of the app, all that’s left is the profile set up which has the classic pictures, bio, interests, drinking/drug preferences and my dating intentions. I really disliked the option to put annual income; I thought that was very untasteful and unnecessary. Even while I set up my profile, I would click things that would show the pop-up to purchase a premium subscription.

Overall, I can honestly say I hated this app. I think that unless you want to pay for the subscription, it’s useless. Like I said at the top of this column, I rate this app a measly 1/10.