BlackPeopleMeet Review

Though it has a smaller user base than big-name services like Match, BlackPeopleMeet offers a community exclusively for black men and women who wish to meet for friendship, fun, and long-term love. The site was founded in 2002 and now claims to be the largest online meeting place for black singles in the United States and Canada.

New users can take the service for a test drive with a free account. After joining, complete your profile by filling out the 'About' section and writing three short personal essays about yourself and the partner you're looking for. You can further differentiate your profile by answering personality questions and adding interests.

To give shy suitors a helping hand, select up to four Message Ideas matches can send to break the ice. The questions include “Do you have any strange or hidden talents?” and “If you had to leave everything behind but could choose 5 things to take with you, what would they be?”

BlackPeopleMeet offers several ways to view matches. The standard search feature can be filtered and sorted according to various parameters, like distance, appearance, and whether the profiles include photos. Searches can also be conducted by username, keyword, and members who are currently online.

For matching more akin to the modern mobile app experience, try 'I'm Interested' or 'Today's Matches'. Both features present users one at a time and require a yes or a no before moving to the next profile.

Messaging is only available to members with paid subscriptions. Premium memberships start at $16.75 for one month (the longer the subscription term the cheaper the monthly fee) and unlock a range of useful communication features. Along with sending and receiving mail messages, paid members can chat via instant messaging and see which members have Fave'd or Flirted with them.

Further opportunities for interaction are purchased via a Tokens system. Tokens start at $0.99 for 25, and can be redeemed for four add-ons: PromoteMe, NotifyMe, MatchMe, and VirtualGifts.

So how does BlackPeopleMeet stack up against dating's heavy-hitters? Its free functionality is limited, but the rates are not unreasonable for a paid subscription. It lacks the robust matching algorithm of larger competitors, but if you're willing to put in the work, the search filters are fairly extensive and there are multiple ways to view matches.

If you prefer the niche experience of a dating service designed specifically for the black community, a trial run with a free account is definitely worth a try.

Positives of BlackPeopleMeet

These are the best parts of BlackPeopleMeet.

• One of the largest dating services for black singles in the United States and Canada
• "Message Ideas" feature offers an easy way to break the ice and start conversations around subjects that matter to you
• Have your profile only show up for the people you want to see it

Negatives of BlackPeopleMeet

These are the parts of BlackPeopleMeet which needs improvement.

• While the app and website are easy to navigate the user interface does seem a little dated
• Free users cannot communicate with potential matches

Editors Bottom Line

What should you take away from this review of BlackPeopleMeet? Our expert explains:

"BlackPeopleMeet" is a popular dating service for singles interested in meeting black men and black women. It was founded in 2002 and since then has become one of the largest community of African-American singles.

We give BlackPeopleMeet, a 4 out of 5 Stars! 😃

BlackPeopleMeet Profiles & Sign Up Process

The BlackPeopleMeet dating service has apps available for download on iOS and Android. You can also access the service from their website which operates just as well on a laptop as it does your smartphone. It is free to sign up for BlackPeopleMeet, create a profile, search for members and view your matches. Most communication features does require a paid subscription. When you first create an account on the service it will ask for the following information:

• Sign-up
  • Select your gender, and what gender you are looking for (male or female only)
  • Select your Country and enter your Zipcode, First Name, Password, Birthday, and Email
  • Upload photos
    • You have the option to upload photos from your Facebook account or select from the photos you have on the device you are currently using
    • You have the option to make your photos available to other People Media dating services (this is the direct owner of the BlackPeopleMeet service)
    • A photo is required to be visible on the service. If your profile is missing a photo, your profile will remain in invisible mode which means no one can see your profile in the search results
  • Personal essay
    • "In a Nutshell" - Describe yourself and what you are about
  • Improve your matches
    • Find better matches by selecting the pictures you like (these are your interests)

Once you have finished creating your account you are free to start using BlackPeopleMeet to meet black singles. Your profile is not finished though and it is recommended at some point for you to fill the rest of it out. A fully detailed profile is a good indication to other members that you are serious about finding a partner and will give you a much greater chance of finding love. To edit your full profile got to the Settings menu and tap on "My Profile". Your full profile includes the following sections:

• About
  • Looking for, education, religion, occupation, income, political affiliation
  • Where I grew up, marital status, pets, smoking preference, children
  • Body type, height, hair, eyes, ethnicity
• Personal Essays
  • "In a Nutshell" - Describe yourself in 1,250 characters or fewer
  • "The One I am Looking For" - Let members know what characteristics are most important to you in a potential match in 1,250 characters or fewer
  • "I Just Like to Add" - Answer one or more of the following questions: What makes you you?, What do you love?
• Personality Questions
  • Answer 7 multiple choice questions including “Are you romantic?” and “How punctual are you typically ”
• My Top Interests
  • Choose up to three interests from a list of 30 activities and hobbies
  • Interests include fitness, crafts, sports, religion, gardening, travel , etc...
  • For each interest you pick you can also include a comment about why you like it
  • These are also used as suggest message conversation starters for members when they contact you
• Message Ideas
  • Choose up to 4 questions that people who are interested may answer when they send you a message
  • This is a great way to direct topics for messages to help you learn about those who contact you

You can also check under "My Account" for more changes you can do. For the app and website this includes:

• Your Location
• Preferences
  • Age range of members to show your profile to
  • Extended network and public availability of user profile information
  • Enable or not of displaying your Astrological Sign
  • List of blocked users
  • Change your online status so you don't appear in the online search and to disable the live chat. This setting only lasts as long as your visit
• Account Status
  • What type your account is (Free, Paid)
  • How long until your subscription ends and what the renewal rate is
  • Your transaction history
  • Enable/Disable email alerts
  • Hide your profile
  • Remove/Delete your profile
• Onsite Notifications
  • Turn individual onsite notifications on and off
  • Enable/Disable the notifications toolbar
• Email Alerts
  • Turn individual email notifications on and off

Also for the app under the Settings menu item you can also enable or disable any app notifications. This includes notifications for Today's Matches, Profile Views, Flirts, and new messages received.

BlackPeopleMeet Costs

BlackPeopleMeet has a limited free membership and a paid premium membership available for different terms. They also have a virtual currency called tokens which you can purchase and use towards premium features.

• Prices last confirmed July 6, 2021. Please check BlackPeopleMeet for most recent pricing. All prices in USD unless specified otherwise. Prices may differ based on location, time of purchase, or access point (this can include device used and/or if accessed from a website or app)
• Free Plan
  • Includes:
    • Create a profile and upload photos
    • Search for members. Includes advanced filters
    • View member profiles and photos
    • View matches and pass or say yes to a match
    • Favorite profiles you like, and view them in a list
    • Send a Flirt to a member, and view those you have flirted with in a list
    • Like and comment on photos
    • See what profiles you have viewed
    • See who has viewed your profile
  • Costs: Free
• Premium Plan
  • Includes:
    • All Free Plan features
    • Chat by instant message to any online member
    • Send and read messages
    • See who has Flirted with you
    • See members who have Fave'd you
    • See members who have Liked your photos
    • See members who have said Yes to being matched to you
  • Costs (in USD):
    • 6 months for $2.99 per week, which is $11.96 per month (billed in one payment of $71.70)
    • 3 months for $3.49 per week, which is $13.96 per month (billed in one payment of $41.85)
    • 1 month for $4.19 per week (billed in one payment of $16.75)
• BlackPeopleMeet.com accepts Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, Discover, PayPal, and checks by mail
• A one time $3.99 processing fee is added to all new upgrade orders
• All memberships paid by credit card automatically renew until canceled. You can cancel anytime by clicking on "My Account" in the upper right hand corner and then on "Account Status"

BlackPeopleMeet Tokens are purchased separately, the more you buy the cheaper they are.

• Tokens
  • Only available on the website
  • Use Tokens for:
    • See the section below for more detailed explanation of this feature
    • Notify Me
      • You will be informed when a specific member logs in to the website during the next 7 days. BlackPeopleMeet will also let them know you are interested
      • Costs 20 Tokens
    • Promote Me
      • Put yourself at the top of search results. It's a day's worth of activity in 60 minutes
      • Costs 20 Tokens
    • Match Me
      • Get placed into someone's daily matches to see if the interest is mutual before you make the first move
      • Costs 20 Tokens
    • Virtual Gifts
      • Send a special image to a member. Two sets of images (male and female versions) are included to pick from
      • Costs range from 10 tokens (a single rose) to 75 Tokens (a diamond neckless)
  • Cost (in USD):
    • 25 for $0.99
    • 110 for $3.99
    • 280 for $9.99
  • If your token balance reaches 20 or below, your purchase will automatically renew for the same price and same number you purchased previously until you cancel via the Token settings page

Finally Boosts can also be purchased individually or in Boost Multipacks.

• Boosts
  • Use Boosts for:
    • See the section below for more detailed explanation of these communication tools
    • Bumps your profile to the top of the search results where you will be featured for 60 minutes
    • Only available on the website
  • Cost (USD)
    • 1 for $2.49
    • 5 for $1.99 per Boost ($9.95 in total)
    • 10 for $1.49 per Boost ($14.90 in total)
  • After the purchase, your first Boost will be activated immediately

BlackPeopleMeet Viewing & Communication Features

BlackPeopleMeet includes the features one would expect from a dating service to make viewing and communicating between members easy. The tools offered are similar on both the website at BlackPeopleMeet.com and the dating apps.

Most features can be accessed directly when viewing a members profile or from the search results.

• Profile
  • View all public profile information about the member in the about section
  • View all photos they may have posted
  • View your history of any messages sent or received with the member
  • Direct way to send them a message, flirt (express interest), or live chat (only if they are currently online)
  • Add the profile to your favorites list (press the star icon which may also be labeled as save)
  • View any personality questions answered
  • View their top interests
  • List any message starters that the person may have setup
  • Can enable NotifyMe premium feature or send a Virtual Gift
  • At the bottom of the profile you have several options including:
    • Send to a friend - Allows you to email profile information to someone
    • Report a Concern - Allows you to report the profile to BlackPeopleMeets Customer Service department (press the Exclamation Icon)
    • Block Member - Allows you to remove the member from your search results and you from theirs. Communication is also disabled (press the Stop Icon)
• Photos
  • Can like any photo and include a comment if you wish (press the thumbs up icon)
• Flirts (same as Express Interest)
  • Within the Connections menu you can see a list of people who have flirted with you (or expressed interest) and that you have flirted with
  • Anyone can send Flirts, just look for the Winking Smiley Face icon wherever profiles are displayed
  • Flirts you receive will be labeled with "ECHO!" when someone you sent a Flirt to sends one back
• Favorites
  • Everyone can add profiles to their favorites. To view members who have favorited you requires a paid subscription
  • Favorites you receive will be labeled with "ECHO!". An Echo is an alert that happens when two members have shown mutual interest in each other
• Inbox
  • Send, read, and reply to messages from other members
  • Messages are labeled with "ECHO!" when someone you sent a message to, replies for the first time
  • Requires a paid subscription

• Notifications
  • Listed on the main dashboard and on the bottom bar. It includes any of the latest communications (messages, flirts, etc...) you may have received and any views your profile has gotten
  • Some notifications may be tagged as an Echo. This indicates that the member reciprocated a response you made to them
  • You can also receive email alerts on notifications
• Boosts
  • Allows you to get up to 4 times more views by making sure your profile is included in the top results of members looking for someone like you
  • With each boost you will be featured for 60 minutes
  • During your Boost 60 min session, you'll see a Boost Dashboard. This will count down your session and show you the count of members who have you featured in their search results.
  • After your Boost session, you'll receive an activity summary via email.
  • Track your Boost sessions on the Black People Meet Home screen with the Boost button on the top toolbar. The number of remaining Boost sessions will appear on the button when a Boost is not running. When a boost is running, this button will show the duration left and will act as a route to view the summary or the results page.
  • Costs extra. Available only on the website
• Connections
  • Lists of user actions. By you on other members, and by other members on your profile
  • Find who has viewed your profile and what profiles you have viewed
  • Find a list of your favorites and which members you have been favorited by
  • See who you sent flirts too and who flirted with you
  • Find who has liked your photos and which members photos you have liked
• Echo
  • Echo refers to someone reciprocating some sort of communication you sent to them
  • This includes Favorites, Flirts, Messages, Photo Likes, and Photo Comments
  • These echos can be viewed in the main notification panel and in the Connections menu
• Chat
  • Chat with other members who are online now
  • Find people available to chat through search or by visiting the home dashboard
  • Chat messages can be saved
  • Requires a paid subscription
• Notify Me
  • You will be informed when a specific member logs in to the website during the next 7 days
  • OurTime will let the member know as well that you are interested
  • Costs Tokens. Available only on the website
• Promote Me
  • Put yourself at the top of search results and attract more attention. Get a day's worth of activity in 60 minutes
  • On average users can expect when they purchase Promote Me 50 times more views and 10 times more messages
  • Costs Tokens. Available only on the website
• Match Me
  • Get placed into someone's daily matches to see if the interest is mutual before you make the first move
  • Costs Tokens. Available only on the website
• Virtual Gifts
  • Send a gift to a member you like. Gifts are a great way of informing her or him that you would like to get to know them better
  • Virtual gifts are images of different objects including flowers, jewelry, watch, golf clubs, etc...
  • Costs a range of Tokens. Available only on the website

If you have any concerns about a profile it is easy to block and/or report them. Just scroll down to the bottom of their profile (or message) and tap on the corresponding button. Blocking a member will prevent them from seeing your profile and sending you any more messages. Reporting a profile will notify the BlackPeopleMeets customer service team to review the members messages and their profile. If they were found to have broken the terms of service that they agreed to when they signed up, then their profile will be removed.

Searching and Matching

BlackPeopleMeet allows you to find compatible members a few different ways. This includes Searching and Matches (also called "I'm Interested" on the app).

Searching

Tapping on Search in the BlackPeopleMeets app menu or with the website on the toolbar will bring up the search results using your default search parameters right away. The search results are presented in a gallery format 1 to 4 columns wide depending on the device you are using to access the dating service. Each member presented in the search results includes their main profile photo (with total photo count), along with their username, and city (the app also displays the headline). A green icon by the username indicates the member is currently online. Clicking / tapping on the photo will take you to the members full profile. You can also Flirt and message the member directly from this page.

At the top of the search results gallery you can quickly sort your current search settings by New Members, Distance, Activity, and Members Online. Clicking "Edit Search" (or "Search Options" on the app) will show the search options you currently have set and include the ability to search on more profile attributes. You can search by Age Range, Location (by zip code), Height, Looking For, Status, Ethnicity, Smoking, Build, Children, Religion, and Zodiac.

On the website in the Search menu you can also find separate search forms for Keywords. Keywords is used to search any text included with the profile for any of the essay style profile questions.

Matches / I'm Interested / Today's Matches

Your automated matches are the home page of both the website and app. They also can be accessed by clicking on Matches on the top toolbar of the website. A red icon by this menu icon indicates you have new matches. Likewise on the app in the menu you can tap on the "Home", "I'm Interested", or "Today's Matches" menu items for slightly different variants of the matches page.

"Today's Matches" are daily matches which are presented to you by BlackPeopleMeet using your match preferences and those preferences of other members. These matches refresh every 24 hours after you have reviewed the current ones and either said yes or no to the match. When viewing these matches you are presented with the full profile to read and are asked if you are interested. If you can tap Yes, BlackPeopleMeet will notify your match and you will be given the opportunity to send the member a message (subscriber only). If you tap on No then you move on and BlackPeopleMeet will show you the next match in the queue for you to review. The matches will never know you said no to being interested.

"I'm Interested" is a more basic matching feature and presents matches that you may like. It uses just the gender you want to meet and the age range you specified near your location. For each match you are presented with their main profile photo along with a few details about them. Tapping on the photo will take you to their detailed profile if you want to find out more. On the match you can tap on the question mark icon (or swipe right) to say Yes, or the X icon (or swipe left) to pass. After either option you then are presented with your next match.

To find those members who you are matched up with (they said Yes to you as well), visit the "Connect" menu item in the app, and on the website check out the Connections menu and then click the "My Yes Votes" menu item. From here you can send them messages, add them to favorites, and view their full profile.

Other BlackPeopleMeet Information

Black People Meet is operated by People Media, a Match Group company. Match Group is a subsidiary of IAC/InterActiveCorp and owns a number of other dating services including Tinder, POF, and OurTime.

BlackPeopleMeet Customer Support

The BlackPeopleMeet service has a built in Help section that answers most common questions a member may have. It is organized by topics and can be searched using keywords.

Customer support can only be contacted by accessing the "Contact Us" link found near the bottom of the Help section of the website and app. This contact form requires you to be logged into BlackPeopleMeet and allows you to ask a number of different types of questions related to the service including upgrading, canceling, communication, and matching.

Email

Use the "Contact Us" form to ask your question (24 Hours a day, 7 days a week) (response times for emails are about 2-3 business days)

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