Friend-making apps have been increasing rapidly lately. These are not for dating, but for people who are purely looking to make friends. As working adults, it’s often difficult to meet people with the same hobbies, especially after turning 40 or 50. But there are also concerns like “Is it really safe?” and “Is it okay to use for free?”

This time, we thoroughly compared 15 popular friend-making apps. When choosing, the important factors are whether genuine people seeking friends are gathering, if it’s free to use, and most importantly, whether it’s safe. These three points are key.

The top is “Favomatch.” It specializes in supporting fans and otaku activities, and is limited to women, so women can comfortably make friends with each other. It’s convenient that you can search by fan activity style. Next is “Touch,” which is also women-only. It verifies identities with ID, and has 24-hour monitoring, ensuring safety.

The third is “DotoMatch,” also women-only, featuring a timeline function that allows you to find people in a SNS-like feel. You can search on holidays, making it easier to find people with matching schedules.

If you want to make friends of the opposite sex, “Bumble” is recommended. It can switch to BFF mode for friend-making, and the male fee is also cheaper, which is attractive. It also has 24-hour monitoring for safety.

“Tantan” is an app from China with over 300 million members worldwide. It’s specialized for making friends, allows same-gender searches, and messages can be used without restrictions. It also has 24-hour monitoring, so it’s safe.

For those over 30, “Somri” is a good choice. It’s focused on adult friendship-making, with a rich search function. You can also choose a same-gender friend search mode, making it easy to match your purpose.

If you want to make friends with women only, “tipsys” is also an option. It has over 300,000 users, and the group interaction feature is interesting.

“JOIN US” is a dating-matching app. It’s aimed at people who want to drink with someone immediately, and you can find nearby users via location info. However, it doesn’t have 24-hour monitoring, so it’s more for finding drinking buddies rather than ongoing friendships.

If you like golf, “GolWho” is recommended. You can search for partners by golf score, and there’s even matching with pro golfers. Safety measures are also well implemented.

“Tinder” is mainly known for dating, but it can also be used for making friends. It allows same-gender searches and is used worldwide, making it suitable for making friends while traveling.

Ultimately, when choosing a friend-making app, safety and purpose alignment are crucial. Women-only apps tend to be safer, and whether it has 24-hour monitoring is a major factor. Many apps also offer free features, so trying them out first is the best approach.