Recently, many people are trying out friend-making apps. Not for dating or marriage, but for genuinely looking for friends, connecting with colleagues, or women wanting to meet others with similar hobbies. I actually compared over 10 apps, and surprisingly, there are only a few that are free and safe to use.

Many apps seem to be women-only. Favomatch specializes in finding friends for supporting your favorite hobbies, and Touch has 24-hour monitoring to ensure safety. Dote Match is optimized for women to find friends, and it features a timeline function for easy interaction. However, many require a paid subscription to remove ads, which is a bit disappointing.

If you're looking for apps that men can also use, Bumble is a hidden gem. It has a BFF mode dedicated to making friends, and the cost is affordable. Tantan also allows men to send messages for free, making it a good choice for those wanting to make friends with foreigners. For those in their 30s and above, Somli might be better for finding friends of the same age.

For safety, you should choose apps that require identity verification. The presence or absence of 24-hour monitoring makes a huge difference in how quickly issues are handled. If you want to start for free, I recommend trying out women-only friend-finding apps first. Once you use them, you'll find that you can meet people whose goals align with yours more than you expected.