While some berate Tinder and other similar apps as the herald of hookup culture that is fueling the dating apocalypse, this reprimand has not stopped the rapid rise of these platforms. Over the years, hookup apps have continued to gain increasing popularity, with many users seeing them as a convenient way to get sexual intimacy.
With our ever busier lives, these apps present an escape from the complicated intricacies of longer-term relationships and provide an avenue to squeeze in some low-stakes fun in the form of a quality fling.
In fact, according to one review from Binghamton University, our propensity for hooking up could be a genetic drive. Either way, there is no denying the expediency of hookup-themed dating apps.
Furthermore, the wealth of options available to you in this space is robust enough to ensure that you find the right match for your needs. Whether you need a platform like Match.com with extensive profile and chatting functionality, or a swipe-powered, matter-of-fact one like Tinder, there's something for everyone.
The Pure App takes the minimalism of Tinder a step further, offering the promise of instantaneous, anonymous casual hookup mates with the added innovation of using on-demand, self-destructing user profiles.
Pure, the Hookup App
Since its launch in 2014, Pure has been one of the contenders that are providing stiff competition for the Tinder behemoth. The platform's tagline is “dates right now,” a nod to their defining feature: the temporary profiles that encourage more on-the-spot hookup arrangements.
Designed as a platform that significantly uncomplicates the traditional hookup app, Pure feature profiles that only need a selfie, no lengthy profile information, and no need to link your social media accounts.
Users of the app only get an hour to scan through a list of nearby potential mates seeking a connection. Within this allotted hour, other users can view your profile too, and then decide if they want to hook up with you. Your time slot begins when you create a profile and ends by the hour mark.
If you get a match within the allotted time limit, you can then proceed to chat the user up, request more pictures, get their contact details, or arrange a meetup on the fly. However, once your profile expires, you will have to create another to begin matching up again.
The Pure app blends this innovative concept with a minimalist and aesthetic user interface to create a platform that significantly simplifies the entire dating process, providing a barebones setup that gets you to hooking up as soon as possible.
Getting Started with the Pure App
Sign Up
Since Pure is an app-focused platform, to get started with the service, you can download the Pure app either from Google Play or from the App Store. Alternatively, you can choose to use the desktop version of the platform instead.
Getting started with the service is pretty easy, and it takes only a few minutes. First, you have to enter your email address, gender, and what gender you are interested in. Then, you must verify your email address to get access to the Pure dating platform.
On your first login, Pure will request access to your data as well as your GPS location. Since Pure only allow connections with users nearby, the platform relies heavily on GPS data to function correctly.
Profiles
One area where the Pure app stands out from the rest of the competition is in its unique implementation of the user profile feature. On Pure, all user profiles are temporary, and they get automatically deleted after an hour of going live.
Furthermore, the Pure user profile is one of the most minimalist yet as it only features a photo and nothing else — no user information, no excerpt, no extra photos: nothing.
To get started using the Pure App, you have to upload a photo to your profile. Since this photo is all that other users can see, you should upload your best photo to enhance your chance of potential interactions significantly.
After uploading your photo, your profile will stay up for an hour. During this time, you can choose to take your profile online to make it visible to other users: only then can you begin screening other members in your vicinity for potential connections.
While you can keep your Pure account forever, the user profiles are self-destructing, and you will have to create a new one each time the current one expires. However, you can change your profile photo whenever you want, even before a user profile expires.
Meeting People
Once you have uploaded your photo to the platform, you can then choose to go online and begin seeking new connections. However, the ability to go online is behind the service's paywall; hence, you will have to sign up for a Pure premium subscription before you proceed.
Clicking the “go online” button makes your profile visible to other nearby members and simultaneously reveals a swipeable list of those members to you too.
Since there is no user information on your profile, the Pure app does all the work for you. The platform automatically sorts the members' list available to you to match your sexual preference and your location. Pure uses your GPS information to ensure it only serves up potential matches that are closest to you.
To interact with a member's profile/photo, you can either like or dislike it. If you and another user mutually like each other's photos, the chat window automatically activates for your guys. Then, the race against the clock continues.
While the chat functionality is a full-feature setup that allows the exchange of more photos, its use is only possible during the one hour profile window. At the end of each profile's lifetime, your profile, as well as any ongoing chats, will be automatically deleted.
Hence, the Pure app does a great job of encouraging users to come to terms with the way to move forward quickly.
Pure provides users with maximum freedom during the interaction window, and you can let your chats and media get as raunchy as possible here without issues.
Pure App User Experience
Pure's philosophy of less is more does not stop at their innovative concept, but it extends to their app and website design as well. Both versions of the platform stay true to the Pure branding, offering a lightweight and minimalist aesthetic that is guaranteed to be an instant hit with many young adults.
Both their app and web interfaces use a black font on white background, with hints of pink and an assortment of several minimalistic but engaging cartoons. The app does not include excessive buttons or options, and the entire interface guides you to what you need to do.
Pricing
You can sign up for a new Pure account and upload photos for free. However, before you can take your profile online, you must sign up for a premium subscription to the service.
While the platform does offer a 3-day free trial, to activate this trial period, you must add a credit card and cancel 24 hours before the end of the trial period, or you will get charged for a regular subscription.
The standard Pure subscription plan is available at $9.99 for one week, $19.99 for a month, and $39.99 for six months. All three programs offer the same features: unlimited new profiles and matching with other members.
Since the Pure platform bills you through Apple's and Google's trial and subscription system that works with your associated accounts, you can check the status of your subscription or cancel your plan from the Play Store or the App Store. After cancellation of the service, you still get full access to the app until your current subscription runs out.
Pure App Pros
Enhanced Privacy and Anonymity
One standout positive of the Pure app is the enhanced privacy and anonymity it provides compared with the competition. Pure's one hour limit on profiles means that after each hour, your profile photo, as well as any correspondence with other members, entirely vanishes.
This design feature eliminates the risk of privacy breaches that are a common bane of these kinds of platforms.
The Direct Approach is Effective
Pure's straightforward setup and artificial time constraints create an ecosystem where quick connections happen, and on a hookup app, that is just what you want.
The time pressure leads to faster results, while the liking feature ensures that you don't have to waste any time attempting to reach out as you would on other platforms.
Like and Request System Works
On the Pure app, the only way for two users to get to chatting is for them to like each other's profile mutually. Hence, this platform significantly cuts down on the number of messages you have to deal with, further saving you time and improving efficiency.
This system also ensures that you do not have to spend any time or effort trying to pursue someone.
Unlimited Chat
Unlike many other dating platforms, on the Pure app, the messaging feature is completely unlimited: no extra premium and no censoring.
Low Ratio of Bots
The temporary profile feature of the Pure app helps the platform to significantly cut down the number of bot accounts and fake profiles on the service.
Pure App Cons
Location Issues
Since the Pure system is heavily location-dependent, your current area of residence can significantly impact your experience with the service. If you are in a location will low activity on the Pure platform, the subscription is not worth it, while in a buzzing area like Los Angeles, the chances are that you are in for a treat.
However, since Pure does not show the location of users on their profiles, it is impossible to tell if the user profiles available to you are for people closeby before you chat them up. And since you need a paid subscription to chat, you may end up paying first to discover then that you are in a ghost town on the platform.
Furthermore, the Pure app will show you a list of users that are within 999.9km of your location, hence, irrespective of whether there are Pure members in your town, you will most likely see some profiles on your feed.
Limited Profile and Matching
Since you only have a profile photo to go off, there is absolutely no information to help you evaluate a potential date. The time limit does not help as well, as it does not leave you with much time to interact before you decide on furthering the interaction.
Furthermore, limited profile information means that there is no matching system on the platform. You find users near you, and that is it.
However, most users of the platform are looking for fast and uncomplicated hookups, and this setup fits perfectly.
Pure App User Reviews
The user reviews for the Pure app followed a similar setup on most review platforms. Users praised the site's design and concept but often lamented their insufficient user base and the lack of members in their area.
In the same vein, this user had similar issues:
Disadvantages: – User base They say that “Top 5 cities where Pure is being used the most – New York City, London, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco”. I live in SF Bay Area and have never seen more than ~25 different girls per day in a 500km radius. And I've been mostly using it on the weekends! If such an amount of users is ‘top,' it looks pretty sad, and I'm sorry for the less accessible locations.
