Is MeetMe a Dating App? What It Is, and What It Means on a Phone

You glanced at their screen and saw an icon you didn't recognize. MeetMe. The name sounds like a dating app, but when you look it up, the store page talks about live streams and making friends. So which is it?

That's a fair question, and the honest answer is a little of both. The detail matters, because "a little of both" can mean very different things on the phone of someone you share a life with.

Short answer: MeetMe officially calls itself "a free social networking app where you meet new people, make local friends, live stream". In practice, it's built around meeting strangers nearby, and many people use it to date, so reviewers describe it as a hybrid of social app and dating app. It's run by The Meet Group, the same company as Skout, and its terms require users to be at least 18.

We'll cover what MeetMe is and who's behind it, how it compares with Skout, the age rules (useful if you're a parent), and then what it means, and doesn't mean, when you find it on a partner's phone.

What MeetMe is

It's been around since 2005, under another name at first. MeetMe started as myYearbook, created in 2005 by siblings Dave and Catherine Cook. After a merger with Quepasa, the company was renamed MeetMe in June 2012. Its website still says: "MeetMe has been bringing people together since 2005."

The company is The Meet Group. It took that name in 2017 and was acquired in 2020 by Parship Group, the parent of eharmony. The deal created ParshipMeet Group, which runs MeetMe alongside Skout, Tagged, LOVOO and GROWLr, as well as eharmony, Parship and ElitePartner.

How it describes itself. The US App Store listing says: "MeetMe is a free social networking app where you meet new people, make local friends, live stream". The homepage puts it as: "Start chatting and streaming with people nearby who are just like you." The word "dating" isn't in either line.

It's still active. If you saw "MeetMe app shutting down" in search suggestions, we found no announcement of it. A new version reached the App Store in early November 2026, and the terms were updated on August 31, 2026.

So, is MeetMe a dating app?

It depends on whether you go by the label or by how it's built.

The label says social. MeetMe positions itself as social discovery: meeting new people, local friends, live video.

The features say meeting strangers nearby. The core of the app is browsing people in your area and chatting with them. "On MeetMe, messaging is always free and unlimited," the listing says. Reviewers describe a swipe-style feature called QuickPick, a "Secret Admirer" game and MeetMe Live, where people stream and viewers send virtual gifts bought with credits.

Even the company's own site hints at it. MeetMe's footer links to an "Online Safety Code for Dating Services".

Reviewers land in the middle. Datingscout, in a review updated in October 2026, calls it "a hybrid between an online dating app and a social media platform". Bitdefender's guide for parents goes further and says it "functions as a dating app".

Our reading: MeetMe is not only a dating app, but meeting people nearby, often with romance in mind, is central to how it works. If your worry is "is this an app people use to meet someone new?", the answer is yes.

What MeetMe costs

The basics are free. Signing up, browsing, chatting and watching streams don't cost anything.

Paid extras exist. On the US App Store listing, as of November 9, 2026, "MeetMe Premium" is listed at $9.99 and "MeetMe+" at $7.99. Credit packs run from $1.99 to $99.99. Credits are used for things like boosting a profile and sending gifts to people who stream. Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled.

MeetMe and Skout: same company, shared users

"What is Skout" and "is Skout and MeetMe the same" show up right next to MeetMe in Google's suggestions, and for good reason.

Skout is a sister app. It was founded in 2007 as a location-based social network and dating app, and MeetMe bought it in October 2016 for $55 million. Its site now describes it as "Your network for friendship, love and livestreaming", with the same copyright line as MeetMe: The Meet Group.

The two share their user base. In February 2017, The Meet Group announced that users of MeetMe and Skout could "browse the combined user bases" and "chat between the two platforms." So someone on Skout can be talking to people who joined through MeetMe, and the other way around.

They're still two separate apps. Different names, different icons, same company and the same 18+ rule. If you've found Skout rather than MeetMe, almost everything on this page applies.

Tagged is a cousin too. It belongs to the same group, which is why "is MeetMe and Tagged the same thing" is a common search. They're separate apps under the same owner.

The age rules, for parents

Some people reading this found MeetMe on a teenager's phone, not a partner's. This section is for you.

MeetMe is for adults only. Its terms, updated August 31, 2026, state: "You must be at least 18 years old to register for MeetMe." And: "If you are under the age of 18, you may not access or use MeetMe." Skout's terms say the same. The US App Store rates MeetMe 18+, citing mature or suggestive themes.

Age checks exist, but they aren't perfect. MeetMe's community guidelines, updated in July 2026, describe "age-verification measures designed to confirm that members are at least eighteen (18) years old", using a face scan age estimate or a government ID. The same page adds that "Verification processes are not guaranteed to be error-free". Older parent guides that say teens can get in with a single tap were written before these checks were described.

It used to be different. Years ago, MeetMe accepted users aged 13 to 17. In 2015, it settled a case brought by the San Francisco City Attorney over how it handled minors' location data, agreeing to show teens' locations no more precisely than city and state. That's history, but it's why so much of what you'll read about MeetMe is written for parents.

If your teen has it. The app's own rules exclude them, which gives you a simple, non-dramatic place to start the conversation. You can report an underage account through the in-app reporting process described in MeetMe's guidelines.

You found MeetMe on your partner's phone

Back to the partner question. Seeing an app you associate with meeting strangers is unsettling, and wanting to understand it doesn't make you jealous or controlling.

Because MeetMe mixes social and dating features, there are a few more ordinary explanations than there would be for a pure dating app like Hily (we cover that one in what is the Hily app). There are also fewer than for a plain messaging app.

An old account. MeetMe has existed in some form since 2005. Plenty of people opened an account years ago and never deleted the app, or reinstalled it with a new phone.

Watching streams. Some people use MeetMe Live mostly as entertainment, the way others use any live video app.

Meeting people. That's what the app is designed for, and for some users that means dating.

What tells these apart is what surrounds the app, not the app.

Recent activity. Notifications about new messages, people viewing their profile or new matches point to a live account. An icon that never lights up says less.

Spending. Say you notice a $4.99 App Store charge every few days for several weeks. That's someone buying credits regularly, which means using the app actively, whether for streams, boosts or gifts. A single charge from two years ago is a different story.

Timing. An app that appeared recently, in a hidden folder, at the same time as a new passcode or a phone that's suddenly always face down, is worth a conversation. One that's been there since before you met is mostly furniture. We use the same test for messaging apps in why a partner might still have Kik.

What to leave alone. Reading their messages, logging into their account or installing tracking software isn't the answer. Besides damaging trust, monitoring another adult's phone without consent is illegal in many places, as we explain in is it illegal to put spyware on your partner's phone. For a wider view of the apps people use to keep things private, see our guide to hidden cheating apps.

And remember that couples draw lines in different places. Having an account on an app like this isn't cheating under every couple's rules, and talking about where yours sits is often the real conversation. We explore it in is being on a dating app cheating.

Can you find someone on MeetMe?

MeetMe doesn't publish an official guide to searching for a specific person, and third-party claims about searching by name are unreliable. Creating a profile to look for your partner breaks the app's rules and tends to backfire. If you do end up talking to someone on MeetMe or Skout yourself, our guide on how to spot a fake dating profile is worth a read.

What CheatEye can check, and what's out of reach

To be direct: CheatEye doesn't search MeetMe or Skout. Nothing on those apps can be checked with our tool.

What it can check is the mainstream dating apps, which matter here because someone meeting people on MeetMe may also be on them. CheatEye searches Tinder from a first name, an age, a gender and a city, with a photo if you have one, and the other-apps option adds Bumble, Hinge, Happn and OkCupid. If a profile matches, 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, can't show messages and doesn't track location live. A profile appearing tells you a profile exists, nothing more. Other ways to look are covered in is my spouse on dating apps.

Run a search on CheatEye

Frequently Asked Questions

Is MeetMe a dating app? Officially it's a social networking app for meeting new people and live streaming. In practice it's built around meeting strangers nearby, and many people use it to date. Reviewers call it a hybrid.

Is MeetMe legit? Yes. It's a long-running app from The Meet Group, part of ParshipMeet Group, the company behind eharmony. Like any app for meeting strangers, it has fake profiles and scams, so the usual caution applies.

Is MeetMe free? Signing up, browsing, chatting and watching streams are free. Paid options include MeetMe+ and MeetMe Premium subscriptions and credit packs.

Is MeetMe safe? It's built for adults meeting strangers, with age verification and in-app reporting. It isn't meant for anyone under 18, and the company itself says its age checks are not error-free.

Is MeetMe for teens? No. Its terms say you must be at least 18 to register, and users under 18 may not use it. Teens were allowed years ago, which is why many older articles discuss them.

Is MeetMe still active? Yes. The app was updated in early November 2026 and its terms in August 2026. We found no announcement that it's shutting down.

Is Skout a dating app? Skout describes itself as a network "for friendship, love and livestreaming". Like MeetMe, it mixes social features with meeting people, often romantically.

Is Skout and MeetMe the same? They're separate apps owned by the same company, The Meet Group. Since 2017, their users can browse and chat across both apps.

Is MeetMe only live now? No. Live streaming is prominent, but profiles, browsing and free chat are still core features. If the app you found is Badoo instead, see is Badoo a dating app.