We all enjoy making new friends and chatting with existing ones either in person or online, right? In fact, the original point to social networking sites is exactly that - building a social network.
Socializing has changed over the last few decades. Nowadays, if you want to meet someone new, you can simply download an app and chat with other people that use the app.
One of these types of social apps is known as Hoop, and while there are no apps that do exactly what Hoop does - there are various available apps that have the same functional principle.
So, if you’re looking for great alternatives to the Hoop app, read on and find out more.
Hoop is a unique type of app that allows users to connect with Snapchat.
For those of you who don’t know - Snapchat is a picture and video application that allows for quick and short-lasting videos to be broadcast to friends or a wider audience.
If anything though, Hoop is almost a hybrid of Snapchat and the Tinder dating app, in which users swipe to people they would like to date.
With Hoop, you connect to others with the app to their Snapchat profiles and swipe left or right depending on whether or not they wish to exchange their Snapchat information.
Should they wish to do so, everything else that happens after this will take place within Snapchat and not within Hoop.
There is no way to directly message someone using Hoop, but you can control conversation “query” requests. If you decline a request, the other user will be informed you did so.
Hoop has a points system, in which you earn extra points for daily logins, sharing your Snapchat account and sharing Hoop with friends online.
As we said, while there are no apps exactly like Hoop, there are plenty that offer a way to connect to others. Here’s some similar apps.
Kik has had multiple changes over the years. It’s an app more tailored to kids, due to the fact that the app is for people aged 13 and above.
Not only this, you can see some things within the app that are clearly meant for younger people.
For example, you can connect with random other users, like Hoop, but you would do so in a few ways. The major way is through public groups which are joined using keywords.
This is where you can see that kids are more the target audience, as some of these keywords are things like “Pokemon” or “Minecraft”.
It’s not all about kids though. Users can connect to various other groups or even direct one-to-one video chats with other people. The secondary user does not have to accept, similar to that of Hoop.
While Kik has seen its share of users over the last 12 years, it has experienced somewhat of a decline recently. However, it is still very much active.
AntiLand is an anonymous chatting app, and much like Hoop, it allows users to message random other people without knowing who they are originally.
Additionally as with Hoop, users do not have to accept random connections.
It is discouraged to give personal information on AntiLand though, so users must connect with each other via the app and then direct message one another for other social information.
When AntiLand is used correctly and to its best ability, it can be one of the greatest social apps available on the app market - however, due to the anonymity of it, there are many users that abuse the app.
We’d recommend caution while using the app by adjusting the privacy settings. You can therefore have the power over connections more than others.
The reason for this is because Antiland works on a premise of “karma”. These are like “good points” for chatting on the app.
If you are bad, your karma goes down and you might be temporarily banned from the app in “prison”. This essentially is where other banned users are forced to stay until their ban is lifted.
If your privacy settings are adjusted, you can request that direct message queries only come from people with (e.g. 500 karma), which gives you peace of mind that they will not be one of those who abuse the anonymity of the app.
Wink is a very similar app to Hoop, but still not exactly the same. Once a user has set up an account, they will have a Wink profile.
As we mentioned about Hoop being somewhat of a hybrid with Tinder, Wink employs the swiping system to make new friends.
The large difference between Wink and many dating apps is that Wink is specifically designed for friendships rather than relationships.
If the other user has always swiped the same way as you, you will be able to send other media and direct messages - including images, GIFs, videos and more.
Much like Hoop, you can connect to your new friend’s other social media - but instead of just Snapchat, you can click the links and go directly to any social media that user has embedded to their account.
This can include Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Spotify - and yes, even Tinder!
Swiper is incredibly similar to Hoop if you connect your Snapchat account with it. It will allow you to swipe through various other Snapchat profiles and select ones you may wish to connect with.
Should you wish to, you may decide to go right into a chat room and build your newfound friendships a little more quickly.
One of the most important things to recognize about Swiper though is that a lot of the functions require a premium account - meaning you’d have to pay to get the most out of it.
Chitter is one of the apps that has either gone under the radar, or was quickly dismissed due to its earlier editions. Luckily though, it has since been sorted out and users can now enjoy their experience.
It’s an anonymous swiping app. You simply enter your age and gender, who you’re interested in speaking with and choose a username.
It’s not specifically a friendship app, nor is it a dating app - it’s whatever you want it to be, but the onus is on the users.
The way the app works is, two users are placed into a chat. They will have literally no information about the other user apart from their name.
Should the two users enjoy each other’s chat - they may decide to add each other as friends.
If a friendship connection is made on the app, Chitter users will then be able to view their friend’s other information, including their age and gender.
In its early form, Chitter was filled with negative users. However, due to fantastic moderation and a good marketing campaign, the app has now seen a great boost.
Almost any list when it comes to social apps will have Facebook on it - and this is no exception! While Facebook does not have the exact functionality of Hoop, there are plenty of similarities.
Let’s take Hoop’s swiping system. That’s available on Facebook Dating - which is somewhat of an “in-app app”.
You can choose to set up a Facebook Dating profile via the app if you wish, and this gives you the opportunity to swipe for other users.
If the connection is successful, you will be able to continue the conversation via the app or via Messenger - a subsidiary of Facebook.
When it comes to the live aspect of Snapchat connection, Facebook offers all users the opportunity to go “live” via Facebook Live - and if other users share this, a wider audience can join in the fun.
They will be able to comment and share your live feed if they wish to, and you might have to answer lots of questions and comments depending on your reach!
Additionally, Facebook has plenty of groups and pages which allow users to speak with other users who may be looking for new friendships.
Should the users hit off a great conversation, they may decide to add each other as friends and then directly message one another.
Yubo is very similar to Hoop. It’s designed for users to connect to random other users and hit off friendships - and you can do this in many different ways.
You may decide to use the live function, similar to that on Kik or Facebook, and chat with people you like that way, or even join larger video parties.
Additionally, you may want to add some new friends using their swipe system. Each profile will have unique tags for things they like, and the Yubo algorithm will try to match them with others with the same tag.
If you’re looking for an experience online like Hoop, look no further than these 7 gems on the app market!
If you liked this article, you might enjoy our post on ‘12 Apps Like Brainly You’ll Love’.