Is Badoo a Dating App? What It Is and What It Means on a Partner's Phone
Content Marketer
Yes, Badoo is a dating app, owned by the company behind Bumble. How it works, whether it's legit and safe, and what it means if your partner has it.
The name means nothing to you. Badoo. It sounds like a game, or a kids' app. Then you look it up, and the first results say "dating", and suddenly the icon you saw on their phone, or the email in the shared inbox, looks very different.
Before you decide what it means, it helps to know exactly what Badoo is, because it's a slightly unusual case.
Short answer: Yes, Badoo is a dating app. It's owned by Bumble Inc., the company behind Bumble, which describes it in its annual report as one of the "pioneers of web and mobile free-to-use dating products." Badoo also markets itself for making friends and chatting, which is why some users say it's "not really for dating." It's rated 18+, and it's much bigger in Europe and Latin America than in the United States.
Below: what Badoo is and who owns it, how it works and what's free, whether it's legit and safe, and then, if you found it on a partner's phone, how to read that and what to do.
What Badoo is and who owns it
Badoo launched in 2006, which makes it older than Tinder. Today it's part of Bumble Inc., a US-listed company that also runs Bumble. In its annual report for 2025, Bumble Inc. writes that "Badoo app's focus is to make finding meaningful connections easy, fun and accessible for a mainstream global audience," and that it is "a leader in the online dating sector in several countries in Europe and Latin America."
The same report says the Bumble app is strongest in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. That's a useful detail. If you're in the US, Badoo is less common than Tinder, Hinge or Bumble. If your partner is from, or spends time in, Spain, Italy, France, Brazil, Mexico or another country where Badoo is popular, it may simply be the default dating app there.
How big is it? You'll see figures of 400 to 460 million users quoted online. Those are registered accounts reported by third parties, and we couldn't confirm them in official filings. What Bumble Inc. does publish is paying users: about 1.24 million for "Badoo App and Other" in 2025, down from 1.34 million in 2024. However you count, it's a large, real service.
How Badoo works
Badoo will feel familiar to anyone who has used Tinder or Bumble, with one big difference.
Swiping and matching. You browse profiles and vote yes or no, much like other swipe apps. Bumble Inc. says Badoo "has a similar matching algorithm to Bumble app."
Messaging without a match. Unlike Tinder, Badoo "allows members the option to directly message anyone who is of interest without having to mutually vote yes," according to the same report. That's part of why it feels more like a chat app to some users.
Dating, friends and chat. Its App Store listing is called "Badoo Dating: Meet New People," with the subtitle "Chat and date or make friends." The description speaks to people who want to "date, make new friends or just casually chat."
Free, with paid extras. Badoo is free to download and use. Paid options include two subscriptions, Badoo Premium and Badoo Extra, and Badoo Credits for one-off features like popularity boosts. The App Store listing says Premium includes the ability to "See who's already liked you" and to "Control who sees your profile with Invisible Mode." Prices vary by country and change often, so check the store in your region rather than trusting a number in an article.
Is Badoo legit, and is it safe?
Legit: yes, in the sense that it's a real dating service run by a public company, not a scam site. That doesn't mean every profile on it is real. Like every large dating app, Badoo has fake profiles, romance scammers and people who aren't who they say they are. Our guide on how to spot a fake dating profile applies here as much as anywhere.
Safe: Badoo is rated 18+ on the App Store. Its listing describes a three-step profile verification process, and members can see which profiles are verified. Verification lowers the risk of fakes but doesn't remove it. The usual advice holds: don't send money, keep conversations on the app until you trust someone, and meet in public.
Still around? Yes. People ask because Badoo is less visible in the US than it was in the early 2010s, but it's still published and updated, and its owner still reports on it every quarter.
Found Badoo on your partner's phone?
Seeing a dating app on your partner's phone is unsettling, and it's fair to want to understand it before you react.
It's a dating app, so it's not nothing. Unlike Telegram or Discord, Badoo's main purpose is meeting new people, mostly romantically. Its owner classifies it as a dating product. So if you're in a monogamous relationship, an active Badoo account is a serious thing to talk about.
But "active" is the key word. An app on a phone, or an account that exists, isn't the same as someone using it now. Some possibilities to keep in mind:
- An old account. Deleting the app doesn't delete the account, and dating apps keep sending emails and notifications long after someone stops using them. If what you saw is an email, our page on a husband getting emails from dating sites explains how to tell old from new.
- "It's just for chatting." Badoo really does present itself as a place to make friends and chat, so this explanation isn't absurd. Whether it's acceptable depends on what you two agreed, and on who they're chatting with.
- A country thing. Someone who grew up where Badoo is the main dating app may have had it for years, from long before you met.
- A new install. If the app appeared recently, or comes with other changes like a new passcode or a phone that's always face down, that's a different picture.
Say the account dates from four years ago, when they lived in Madrid, and nobody has opened it since. That's a leftover. Now say Badoo was installed three weeks ago, with notifications turned off. Same app, very different evening. Timing tells you more than the icon.
On charges. If you spotted Badoo on a bank or card statement, that means someone paid for something, a subscription or credits, at some point. Check the date and whether it repeats. A recurring charge after the start of your relationship deserves a question.
Whatever you do, please don't go through their phone or try to log into their account. It's a violation of their privacy, illegal in many places, and it tends to turn the conversation into one about what you did. Asking directly, with the specific thing you saw, works better: "I saw Badoo on your phone. Can you tell me about it?"
If you're unsure whether what you've found counts as cheating in your relationship, is being on a dating app cheating goes through how couples see it.
Can you check if someone is on Badoo?
This is where we need to be precise. CheatEye does not search Badoo. Our tool won't find or confirm a Badoo profile, and we won't pretend otherwise.
What it does cover are the apps that are often installed alongside it. CheatEye searches Tinder from a first name, an age, a gender and a city, with a photo if you have one, and adds Bumble, Hinge, Happn and OkCupid with a paid option ($12.90 on top of the $17.90 search). Since Badoo and Bumble belong to the same company and many people use more than one app, that's often the next thing people want to know. If a profile turns up, the report shows its bio, photos, last activity, Tinder subscription and last used location. Your partner isn't notified and you don't need their phone. It doesn't search by phone number or email and it doesn't show messages.
A profile that turns up shows that it exists and when it was last active. It doesn't explain why, and it doesn't settle anything about Badoo. For a fuller view of the options, including free ones, see is my spouse on dating apps and our guide to finding someone on Bumble.
Frequently asked questions
Is Badoo a dating app? Yes. Its owner, Bumble Inc., describes it as one of the pioneers of free-to-use dating products and a leader in online dating in several countries in Europe and Latin America.
Is Badoo a dating site or a social network? Mainly a dating app, also available on the web. It markets itself for chatting and making friends too, and it lets members message people without matching first, which gives it a social feel.
Is Badoo a legit dating app? Yes, it's a real service run by a public company. Fake and scam profiles exist on it, as on every big dating app, so verified profiles and caution still matter.
Is Badoo a safe app? It's rated 18+ and offers profile verification. Like any dating app, it carries risks from scammers and fake profiles, so don't send money and meet in public.
Is Badoo free? It's free to download and use, with optional paid subscriptions (Badoo Premium and Badoo Extra) and credits for extra features.
Who owns Badoo? Bumble Inc., the company that also owns Bumble.
