Best Dating Apps for People With Disabilities
These 6 Apps Make It Easier for Disabled People to Find Love
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Dating is already a massive challenge for most people, and often a stressful and anxiety-provoking one at that, but add a disability into the mix and it can feel really demoralizing. Thankfully, there are some sites and apps that do a much better job of helping disabled daters meet sympathetic singles and find love.
It isn’t easy to figure out whether or not to disclose your disability in your profile, but the truth is, you shouldn’t have to be concerned over that. You should be able to enjoy the process of getting to know new people, having some back-and-forth banter, and assessing whether or not there’s potential for sparks to fly. Your disability does not define who you are, nor does it have to have any negative bearing on your love life.
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Whether you’re an amputee, physically disabled from an accident, or dealing with a life-long mental health condition, it’s understandable to want a partner who can empathize with you. That’s why it’s important to take note of this: Anyone can find and is deserving of love, regardless of their disability. You just need to start looking in the right places.
If you’re tired of the superficial swipe culture and you’re looking for a real connection with someone who can understand your life for all that it is, we’ve rounded up 8 apps and sites for disabled people that are a great place to start.
6 Dating Apps to Help People With Disabilities Find Their Perfect Match
Disability Matching
Whether you’re looking for new friends or to spark up a romantic connection, this dating app is a viable option.
While Disability Matching is free to download, you’ll only get a limited number of messages per day. However, you can upgrade to a premium membership for a one-time fee of $12.99 to get unlimited messages and advanced search filters, keep a list of your favorite users, see who has viewed your profile, and add more exciting details to your profile. Upgrading also lets you set your profile match criteria so you can personalize your experience while setting your GPS location to search specifically for users who are nearby. You can even promote your own profile to the top of the results so you get seen by more members.
App Store reviews say it’s super simple and straightforward to use, from the time you sign up to the time you start messaging other users.
Dating4Disabled
It only takes a minute or two to register for this dating site, aimed at helping people with any kind of disability meet like-minded people for relationships and friendships alike.
Dating4Disabled is free to use, and as a non-paying member, you get one free point per month that you can use to read an email from another user. By upgrading to a paid membership, though, you can send and read an unlimited number of messages per month. Upgrading costs $23.90 for one month, or you can pay three months upfront for $49.90, six months upfront for $69.90, or one year upfront for $120.
Dating4Disabled is one of the more expensive dating apps on this list, but that said, there does seem to be some benefits. For one, the site takes safety very seriously, using an advanced filtering system that blocks about 90% of illegitimate membership requests and automatically denies membership to suspicious applicants. All member profiles are scanned for fraudulent information, and public correspondence is monitored. The site also has an abuse report system and allows all users to “blacklist” certain members from contacting them if necessary.
Not to mention, the testimonials page is packed with heartwarming stories of people who found their perfect person on this particular site.
Ellie
If you prefer a Tinder-like swiping interface, look no further than Ellie.
“We've designed Ellie to be a uniquely safe space where everyone can feel accepted, and be themselves without being judged,” the company says on the App Store. But FYI, this one is only available for the iPhone, and is geared specifically toward people who are looking for a serious relationship.
Creating an account takes just a couple of minutes, and from there, you can refine your search further to make sure your matches meet what you’re looking for. In late 2020, Ellie updated the app with some new features, including the ability to see when your match is online, when they are typing, and whether messages have been read.
Dating Handicapped
There are two types of members on this site: those with disabilities, and those who don’t have a disability but are open to meeting anyone with one. Either way, once you’ve completed your profile and uploaded a picture, you can browse other members based on your location or other criteria (such as who’s currently active online). You can also filter users by age, location, interests, level of education, occupation, marital status, and specific disability.
You’ll need to upgrade to a premium account if you want to send or receive messages, add people to your list of favorites, or use the chat room. However, free users can create a profile, search for singles, and even send and receive “flirts” (a digital wink, so to speak) as part of a trial run of sorts.
“Honestly, I feel more comfortable and able to just be myself,” said one user in a review.
Whispers4U
A part of Dating Factory — one of the largest online dating networks in the world — this site claims to have thousands of members across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and all over Europe.
Part of what sets Whispers4U apart is that it offers live audio and video webcam chatting, as well as instant messenger features. On top of that, the company regularly checks for scammers and removes fraudulent profiles.
You can join the site for free, but upgrading does come with a number of perks. Free trial members can create and update their profile, browse the user base, send and respond to chat requests, send and receive winks, and add members to their “friends” list. Gold members, meanwhile, get the added benefit of sending and replying to an unlimited number of emails, viewing other members’ galleries, and using chat without any restrictions. As a VIP member, you also get highlighted in search results and galleries, get featured on members’ homepages and in their mailboxes, and get overall priority listing on the site.
Whispers4U claims that its matching software actively promotes members based on the quality of your profile, which means it’s definitely worth taking the extra time to flesh out your bio and add more than one photo.
Still not sure if the site is right for you? The success stories from members speak for themselves.
Glimmer
The tagline of this dating site is “be proud of who you are.” Their mission? To create a more transparent and inclusive community for singles. While disclosure of your disability is not mandatory and can be modified at any time, Glimmer does offer the option to add it to your profile.
Geoffrey Anderson was inspired to launch Glimmer after noticing that his brother, someone with cognitive disabilities, wasn’t having much success on some of the more mainstream dating apps. Anderson told Buzzfeed that he didn't like the fact that people felt the need to omit their disabilities simply because having one is often stigmatized. Not everyone on Glimmer has a disability, but you can rest assured that those who have joined are clearly there because they’re accepting and open-minded to finding love in any form.
Once you’ve joined Glimmer, you can search members by what you’re looking for (friends, partners, other parents of people with disabilities), or by shared interests (music, travel, sports, gaming, etc.). You can also filter out members by their specific disability — post-traumatic stress disorder, quadriplegic, ADD, OCD, autism, or visual impairment.
Note: Glimmer is in the midst of a rebuild, but you can still sign up for an account and take be one of the first to enjoy their new platform when it launches.
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