So the other day, this Tindastoll thing kept popping up in my ads. Figured it’s time to actually test it instead of just ignoring those sponsored posts.
Started By Just Downloading the App
Grabbed it from the app store like any other app. Signed up with my email – took like two minutes tops. Profile setup was dead simple: threw in a couple photos of me hiking and my terrier, wrote three sentences about liking coffee and vinyl records. Didn’t overthink it.
First Experiment: The Swiping Thing
Immediately noticed it’s way less stressful than other apps. Swiped left on profiles with just gym selfies, right on someone holding a book in their pic. Matched with this girl who mentioned indie films in her bio. Sent her a message about this obscure documentary – she actually replied! We nerded out for 30 mins about directors. Big win: felt human, not like shopping for shoes.
Tried Their “Events” Tab On Tuesday
Saw a local trivia night posted. Showed up alone – kinda awkward at first. But met two dudes also there solo from Tindastoll. Team name: “Profile Pic Deceptions”. We got 3rd place. Now got a standing Wednesday beer invite. Key takeaway: it actually gets people offline fast.
Discovered My Favorite Part: The Shared Interest Groups
Scrolled past endless dating profiles to find these little clubs:
- Potluck Hackers – Cooked terrible vegan brownies for strangers
- Analog Camera Nerds – Borrowed someone’s Hasselblad (scratched it, oops)
- Sunday Running Club – Mostly hungover people walking slowly
Met more friends here in three weeks than through three years of Instagram.
What’s Actually Good For? My Real Take
- Kills small talk: Common interests mean you skip “wyd” texts
- Low-pressure social glue: Nobody’s expecting marriage from trivia night
- Accidental friend generator: That guy I met debugging my Wi-Fi? He’s fixing my bike Saturday
Honestly thought it’d be another swipe-and-ghost app. But two months later, I’ve got film buddies, hiking partners, and yes – even went on three actual dates that didn’t feel like job interviews. Still terrible at trivia though.
