JDate

• Site Features
• Niche Site
• Easy Sign-Up Process
• Paid Membership Features
• Jewish Dating with Results
• JDate Mobile App
• Customer Support

Site Features

JDate has several features that stand out from other dating websites with similar goals. First, the company has a "Kibitz Corner," where members can express their ideas and personalities, as well as several free-response essay questions to flesh out profiles. JDate gives users a chance to gauge personality compatibility with the Color Code Personality Test. The JDate website also allows users to participate in larger, offline activities and events, connecting singles effectively.

Niche Site

JDate is a niche site with a personality quiz and other features which allow users to gain insight into others' backgrounds, making the match quality much higher than other online dating sites. Unfortunately, we have also found reports of non-Jewish users who use the service, which undermines the quality of matches in a niche dating site. In general, a niche site should help users find better matches, even without a matching algorithm. 

Easy Sign-Up Process

It’s relatively simple to sign up for this online dating site. You can use your Facebook account or email to become a JDate member. The JDate profile setup merely asks for you to enter in your age, height, occupation, what kind of relationship you’re looking for, favorite activities, and your religious denomination. You will have to include at least one photo of yourself to set up your profile, but you have the option to add more. At the end of the signing up, JDate will recommend you upgrade your account to a paid membership.

Paid Membership Features

Users enjoy the following benefits with a paid membership:

• Get access to all of a user's photos
• Send and receive messages with other subscribers
• Get read receipts (see when and if others have read your message)
• See which users liked your profile
• See who’s been visiting your profile
• Hide your online status and profile
• Anonymously browse user profiles
• Send messages to all members (regardless of their subscription status)

Daters should know that automatic renewal is turned on with each subscription purchase. If you would like to turn the auto-renew off, JDate allows you to do this any time before the renewal date. 

Jewish Dating with Results

According to the website, JDate contracted a third-party research group to test which Jewish online dating sites contributed to the most Jewish Marriages. JDate helps the highest stats accounting for 52% of Jewish Marriages that started online. This study was conducted in 2011 and could be outdated given the rising popularity of online dating. However, the stats attest to the effectiveness of JDate. Users can also read more recent success stories to increase confidence and trust in the Jewish dating site. 

JDate Mobile App

Access the JDate online dating service through your mobile device with the JDate App. The app is available through the IOS and Android devices. You can easily sort through potential partners while at the grocery store, at an appointment, on your lunch break, etc. 

Customer Support

Jdate offers a fairly extensive FAQ, where curious daters and current members can look to find answers to their questions. You can browse through all the questions by category — so if you only have questions about messaging, you don’t have to sort through all the queries. 

If you have a specific question or don’t see your question on the FAQ, you can submit a question or request through the site. However, there is no phone number to call or chatbot to answer immediate questions or concerns. 

• JDate Cost
• Poor Security Features
• Low Traffic Volume

JDate Cost

JDate is one of the most expensive online dating sites. This price is especially high for signing up month-to-month — something many online daters do when they are trying a site out for the first time. While you can set up your own dating profile and browse profiles for free, you can only message as a paid member.

Poor Security Features

JDate does not run any verification or background checks on its users. The company does encourage people to report and block suspicious or spammy behavior. Only basic security features are offered by JDate, which means that users must take responsibility for their own safety and match finding. For example, some users are not Jewish and yet use the site anyway. While this is not a bad thing on a typical dating site, for a niche site designed to help Jewish singles find and meet each other, more security and user verification seems to be in order.
 
JDate recommends keeping your personal information private, not rushing into a relationship, and to never share financial information. You can also choose which information to hide on your JDate profile until you decide to share it with a match. As always online daters are encouraged to report any fake profiles, scammer accounts, or scam messages. 

Low Traffic Volume

JDate only has about 10,000 registered subscribers, with about 125,000 visits per day. While this is a small number for an online dating website, it seems to be on par with niche dating sites.