Friend-making apps have been popping up in lots of places lately, but actually, the ones you can use for free and safely are fairly limited. When I looked into it the other day, I could really feel that there’s a big difference even among women-focused friend-making apps—depending on whether they have 24-hour monitoring or not.

Favomatch and Touch are for women only, and they’re specialized for finding friends through things like supporting favorite idols or hobbies, so the purpose is clear. Touch requires an ID check and has 24-hour monitoring, so it feels reassuring. Also, Bumble’s BFF mode lets you find friends of the opposite sex too, so I think it’s quite good for men who want to use a friend-making app for free.

For people in their 30s and 40s, Somuri has a well-developed search feature, but the downside is that men have to pay. Tantan is global, so there are lots of international users, which makes it interesting. Tipsys, which is for women only, can be used for free as well, but it’s kind of annoying that there’s a limit on the number of messages.

Honestly, if you’re really looking for features that are both free and robust, I feel like choosing a women-focused friend-making app is the right move. For men, I think Bumble or Tantan would be easier to use for free. If you prioritize safety, I think it’s best to start after checking with Touch or Favomatch.