If you want to access the Premium features, you’ll need to buy Badoo credits in packages that range from around $2.99 to $ (USD). If you want to buy a Premium subscription you can either pay a daily fee of $0.79 or a lifetime subscription for just under $60. Each additional feature costs a certain amount of credits.
One thing to remember is that a subscription for the Premium service will automatically renew itself at the end of each billing period, so you’ll need to make sure you cancel it if you don’t want the service any more. Go to the Settings icon and then scroll down to Payment Settings to click ‘Unsubscribe’.
How to pay?
You can either pay by credit card, PayPal, or ‘Pay By Mobile’ where the cost of the credits is charged to your mobile phone bill.
If you want to increase the popularity of a profile then you can purchase ‘Super Powers’ for just under $10/month, or less if you buy a six-month deal, where the price drops down to $ (so just over $6.66/month). This is really the only way you’ll save any significant amount on the Premium service (remembering that the basic package is free anyway), so if you’re planning to use the platform for longer and want to raise your profile with the Premium service, a six-month package is a better idea than paying monthly.
?? Membership structure. A great social network for 20-35 year-olds
Badoo is aimed at the 20-35 age group and is principally for young professionals who want to connect with people around the world, not just in their local neighbourhood. The platform hosts around 350million messages a day, and has over 60million monthly active users, so it doesn’t get stale or dull.
International coverage
The reason it gained popularity so quickly is because of its cross-OS format (it’s available for Android, iOS and the web), and the use of a freemium model, so that the basic core services are available free of charge.
It now has offices in Malta, the UK, the USA and Russia, with its headquarters in Limassol, Cyprus. This no-borders reach means that it’s accessible right across the world, making it even more appealing to users, regardless of their location.
?? Registration
- Go to Badoo and on the front page, select your gender.
- Indicate what you want to use your profile for, by choosing ‘Chat’, ‘Make new friends’ or ‘Date’
- You’ll then be asked for personal details including your name, date of birth, location, and email address.
- Click ‘Create Account’
- Populate your profile with pictures to add interest, and more information about yourself, such as interests, hobbies and what kind of contact you’re looking for. You can add to your account as and when you want, and download pictures from other social media sites. Keep it fresh, interesting, and simple to encourage more matches.
You’ll also need to link your account to other social media platforms, as well as undergoing a phone verification to confirm you are who you say you are. Verified users get a blue check mark at the bottom of the profile picture.
?? User friendliness and the app
When we decided to carry out a Badoo review, one of the key areas we looked at was how user-friendly the site is. Fortunately, we can report that it’s simple, straightforward, and very easy to navigate, with clear icons and emojis that make it simple to find your way around.
However, one of the weak points for the service is that there’s no ‘personality test’ that can help to narrow down your suggested matches, just a huge list that takes ages to go through.