APP RANKING
Gay dating apps ranked by trustworthiness
We scored 11 apps, mostly for gay and bi men, on one question: who runs it, and where can you hold them responsible? Not on how easy it is to meet people or how nice the app is — only on what is officially written and on public registry data.
What this ranking measures
- Whether the operating company's name, representative and address are stated officially and agree across pages; whether it has a Japanese corporate number and its registered address matches.
- Whether the Japanese legal disclosure (特定商取引法に基づく表記) contains the items the law requires. Apps with no such page score 0 on this axis.
- Whether prices, the age-check method, and Japanese terms and support are stated officially.
- We do not score how long an app has existed, user numbers (each company's own claim), store ratings or reviews.
- Identifiable operator （30）
- Consistent company name, representative, Japanese corporate number, address matching the registry, number shown on the site
- Legal disclosure (特定商取引法) （30）
- Whether the required items are there, and whether everyone can see them
- Published prices （15）
- Whether the official site shows prices in yen
- Age check （15）
- The age-check method stated officially
- Support for users in Japan （10）
- Terms, privacy policy and support in Japanese
The laws involved
Japan's law regulating online dating services (インターネット異性紹介事業を利用して児童を誘引する行為の規制等に関する法律) requires age checks for services that introduce people for 「異性交際」 (relationships with the opposite sex) (Article 2). Apps for same-sex dating fall outside that definition, so how far they check age is up to each company. That is why the age-check method is one of our scored items.
An app that sells paid plans is doing mail-order sales, and Article 11 of the 特定商取引法 (Act on Specified Commercial Transactions) and Article 23 of its regulations require it to show the business name, address, phone number, the representative's or responsible person's name, price, when and how payment is made, when the service is provided, cancellation terms and auto-renewal conditions, among others. Address and phone may be left out if the page says they will be disclosed without delay on request (proviso to Article 11).
Quotations from the apps' own pages are left in Japanese with a translation in brackets. If our translation and the Japanese version ever disagree, the Japanese version is the one we stand behind.
Trustworthiness ranking
- 94 / 100
Operator: 株式会社L.PRISM ・ Japan
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator30 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)29 / 30Published prices15 / 15Age check10 / 15Support for users in Japan10 / 10 - 66 / 100
Operator: Blued Japan株式会社 ・ Japan
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator14 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)23 / 30Published prices4 / 15Age check15 / 15Support for users in Japan10 / 10 - 59 / 100
Operator: 株式会社アプリブロス ・ Japan
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator26 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)19 / 30Published prices4 / 15Age check0 / 15Support for users in Japan10 / 10 - 49 / 100
Operator: 株式会社TIEWA ・ Japan
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator20 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)0 / 30Published prices4 / 15Age check15 / 15Support for users in Japan10 / 10 - #526 / 100
Jack'd
Operator: Perry Street Software, Inc. ・ United States
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator14 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)0 / 30Published prices4 / 15Age check8 / 15Support for users in Japan0 / 10 - #526 / 100
SCRUFF
Operator: Perry Street Software, Inc. ・ United States
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator14 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)0 / 30Published prices4 / 15Age check8 / 15Support for users in Japan0 / 10 - #723 / 100
Grindr
Operator: Grindr LLC ・ United States
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator8 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)0 / 30Published prices4 / 15Age check5 / 15Support for users in Japan6 / 10 - #814 / 100
Taimi
Operator: Social Impact Inc. ・ United States
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator8 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)0 / 30Published prices4 / 15Age check2 / 15Support for users in Japan0 / 10 - #912 / 100
Hornet
Operator: Queer Networks, Inc. ・ United States
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator6 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)0 / 30Published prices4 / 15Age check2 / 15Support for users in Japan0 / 10 - #912 / 100
Surge
Operator: Cosmic Latte s.r.o. ・ Czechia
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator8 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)0 / 30Published prices4 / 15Age check0 / 15Support for users in Japan0 / 10 - 6 / 100
Operator: ROMEO BV ・ Netherlands
See the breakdown and sources →Identifiable operator0 / 30Legal disclosure (特定商取引法)0 / 30Published prices4 / 15Age check2 / 15Support for users in Japan0 / 10
This ranking compares what is officially written. It does not judge whether an app is safe or lawful. Everything is as of the check date and can change.