I Tried The App That Lets You Date Randos You Pass On The Street

Happn, a somewhat new dating app, has hit New York City (I can hear your groans from here). But I promise, it's not all bad and ugly when it comes to using this app, which connects you with people that you've crossed paths with... if you're the kind of person who believes in that whole fate thing.

How does it work?

Happn keeps track of where you are, in real time, and when another user passes by a spot you've been at before, their profile will show up in your feed. Similar to Tinder, the two of you can only talk to each other if you've both "liked" each other, by pressing the heart on their page. If you're really trying to get someone's attention, you can send them a "charm," which shows up in their inbox and lets them know you're interested.

After using the app for a week, here's what I found:

The Good:

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Unlike other apps that only bring you available daters close to your general location, or base your matches off of the answers to obscure questions (I'm looking at you, OkCupid), Happn's navigation is so spot-on that it will actually show you someone as close as, say, in your very own office building (which, yes, did happen to me).

While you don't want to be running into your new prospective boo in your office elevator, you're also probably not looking to start something with someone who is "only" less than five miles away from your apartment in Astoria... over in Bushwick, which may as well be a long-distance relationship as far as I'm concerned.

The Bad:

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The creepy messages that you get on Happn are going to be a whole new degree of uncomfortable, since some users seem to think that leading off with a sentence like, "Hey, now that I know you pass 8th street and Broadway often, I'll have to hang out there all the time until I see you" is a flattering first message to send to a stranger you've just connected with on a dating app.

Because this app is new, the users on here have a lot of different opinions when it comes to what exactly this app is used for. Half of the guys on here are trying to make it into a new hookup app, citing proximity as a great excuse for inviting you over to their place, and the other half are earnestly trying to find their next LTR.

The Ugly:

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You'll still find the same amount of riff-raff on here that you would on any other app. The date that I went on off of Happn ended up being your typical, pompous Ivy League finance bro, who — plot twist — was also too cheap to pay for our dollar oysters. Other colorful characters included a match who told me he was a "sissy boy" and then sent me a photo of him cross-dressing, and another who is still sending me shirtless selfies of him with his tongue out, Miley Cyrus-style, to this day.

All in all, I recommend giving Happn a try. It just might give you a second chance at talking to someone you may have noticed before but were too shy to approach. Think of it as the Craigslist missed connections, version 2.0.