Inner Circle: Dating Community Reviews

by StevieNotNix

The problem is NOT paying for an app if it delivers what it claims it can do but wasting money to figure out if can actually deliver. There is zero communication on the free level. I’ve seen endless profiles that suggest to the people viewing their bio to find other means of contacting them because they don’t use IC. The more I search this empty space, the more I believe that if I pay, I’ll be paying to send messages that no one can see (which I could have done with my money still in my pocket).

In theory, the site seems promising. However, if this were reddit, *AITA* for making 2 of my friends join this based on my word. Now I look silly for this baseless recommendation 🥴🥴🥴

by Sinist3r2

I am a software engineering manager. I was approved in minutes but, upon approval I found most of the users to be scammers asking for money and to log into phishing websites (which the company states they handpick people for the site which certainly is not the case)

InnerCircle is a complete scam and definitely read their privacy policy. I have contacted my attorney as well to look it over for any violations. I don’t even trust their customer service (if it is a real person with a response)

I highly recommend everyone to NEVER use InnerCircle. I have also recommended to the Bay Area tech companies that I work with to not use the service as well, as they will be scammed. I am thinking about also contacting Apple to have InnerCircle removed since I know some of the engineering managers there as well.

Even customer support had a poor response, "We understand that there may be scammers but, we do our best to ensure a great pool as we hand pick them" It seems this company is very deceptive and I will also be watching my bank statement and looking to make sure most of my data has been deleted from their locations.

A company full of scammers that seek to steal money from professional people like myself.

by Jmtorresnj

There is nothing I like less than wasting my time. And that makes Inner Circle not liked at all. After almost two years, I've recommended Inner Circle to a few friends of mine, but it was NOT because I recommend InnerCircle. It was only to be able to read and respond to messages I had from other members. I didn't care if they were potentially going to have success, because I sure wasn't and wasn't enjoying the misery InnerCircle put me through just to even use InnerCircle at all. After I had no ability to log into my account, because they are so bad with allowing members to even have that ability, I still had a full membership that they didn't even let me use because of their Toxic policies on memberships. If you only have access to a mobile device and not a computer, do not use InnerCircle. Not all of us sit at a computer all day. If they remove your mobile device access, for any stupid reason, like they did to me for over 8 months, and you still have full memberships, you're completely screwed and don't bother trying to get those memberships back, whether you paid for them or recommended friends. They won't care and they will screw you, just like they screwed me.
I don't recommend InnerCircle.

by Emjayy77

I really wanted to try InnerCircle because a friend recommended it but honestly from the time of downloading it and having to wait to be approved plus not being able to read my messages it’s really ridiculous. On top of that having to refer friends to be able to read my messages it’s awkward.!

Update: so this is the response I get “"Hi Emjayy77, the reason that we ask you to invite your friends (definitely no 'must'), is because we really like to create an 'inner circle' on our dating app of mutual friends an likeminded people. And besides, isn't it fun searching for the love of your life, together with your single friend!" No it’s not fun telling your friends you’re dating online, I go out with my friends on the weekends that’s good enough. On top of that I’m really annoyed because although I got accepted I cannot see my messages or likes or anything and my friend that recommended me said she was able to read messages and everything right away so what’s the deal! Plus there’s no cute guys and it always rotated through the same guys!! Ughh back to tinder!

by Greenstripes22

This is my first review ever, I don’t write them but felt so inclined for InnerCircle-

Created a profile and quickly realized I can’t do anything but swipe unless I pay $40 for a membership. I emailed customer service to make sure this was correct (Or if I was doing something wrong). She said you either have to pay or get two friends to sign up and then you can access InnerCircle . OR! She said I can come here and write a good review and she would give me 2 months free
Told her how can I write something good when I haven’t even been able to use InnerCircle ? She said she would give me 2 weeks free to try it out. I logged back in and she didn’t give me two weeks free- I still was unable to do anything on InnerCircle except swipe on people (and if we matched I couldn’t view their profiles, see their messages, etc).

I told her to just delete my profile bc this was getting annoying. She said sure and assured me it was deleted and removed from the site. I double checked last night- it’s still up there. In the meantime I tried to hide my profile and make it “inactive” - nope, you can’t even do that without paying for a membership. InnerCircle is terrible and not worth it. All I want is my profile removed from this terrible site!

Guessing they are so desperate to act like the have users? Honestly, don’t waste your time. Plus it’s probably the same guys as all the other apps- and those apps are so much easier to use.

by Blahbadeeblahblahh

Unfortunately couldn’t experience InnerCircle because it apparently takes multiple days for site administrators to approve photos. I was on day 4 or 5 before I gave up and resigned to the fact that InnerCircle was probably a sham. If it takes multiple days to get your photo approved then I can only imagine how that would impact the adoption rate of potential users, leading to low inventory of possible matches, let alone anyone actually willing to engage in a conversation. Too bad, so many bad dating apps out there and this one decided to be a part of that group. Can only imagine what it’s like to be an employee for this company. Good luck trying to disrupt the dating game fellas!

Looking forward to the canned response from the developers.

by NaoCayasso

I rarely make time to write reviews but InnerCircle is so bad, its justified.
I’ve been waiting for 4 days and haven’t been approved. I’ve invited friends. I’ve filled every inch of my profile and I still can’t get pass the first screen. My friend who did get verified couldn’t read her messages until she payed or invited friends. When she finally ‘unlocked’ the feature by inviting some friends, she could see some messages but couldn’t reply.
After reading some of the reviews and my short experience with it, I will be closing my account because InnerCircle is just not worth the hassle. It seems there is no way to enjoy InnerCircle at all unless you pay and apparently even after you pay it’s still not better than some of FREE available options out there.
I get the “exclusivity” thing but this is just ridiculous. If you want my money, make a decent app that is worth paying for.

by Lizzielosangeles

Tried this out for a week or two, and was underwhelmed across-the-board: selection, interesting-ness of members, quality of profiles or conversations started.

I deleted my account shortly after... or thought I did. A couple weeks later, I get a message that says I should sign onto my account b/c I’ve gotten X many views and X many winks. Are you serious? This is my worst nightmare- to have have open dating profiles and be totally unaware. This could be very problematic for people in so many different ways! I wrote to customer service, and it took nearly a week to hear back. Their response was a canned here-are-the-instructions-for-deleting-your-account response. Um, thanks IC. After further back and forth they assured me they deleted it, but my confidence in their customer service and platform is pretty shot at this point, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I heard from a friend that they saw me on there in two years.

by LizbethGray

If you pay the initial $10 I recommend IMMEDIATELY going to my account and turning off the renewal option based on what other members have said about the charges. Try it for a week, see if you like it. In my opinion, InnerCircle is just uggo guys with better jobs. I was accepted in under 24 hours, which I'm sure is due to the way I look (I am not active on FB or LinkedIn because I hate social media), but I do go to an exclusive graduate school. After being tired of men trying to shove their tongue down my throat, groping me, and expecting sex on the first date (after wanting to split the bill mind you), I want to try something different. I'm disappointed by the men on here and offended that women have to pay for this service. That said, I'm traditional and maybe that's anti feminist... I don't care. Successful attractive women should be courted, not asked to pay for a service of let's face it guys who think their jobs entitle them to women and don't seem to be screened rigidly (seriously there are some GROSS guys on here). However, I don't think that the men should have to pay so much for InnerCircle. Why can't singles get a reasonably priced exclusive dating app with slightly better standards? It's slim pickins out there... 🎤

by Mekare117

I had several issues with InnerCircle. First, there are very little options for free users. I couldn’t even read messages sent to me unless I either paid for a membership or added friends to the site. Why would I want to add friends to a dating site? I don’t even want to be on dating sites tbh! I’m not going to torture my friends!

Second, only certain cities are listed..so InnerCircle will list you as living in a city that is over an hour away from your real city if that is the closest city on their list of cities. This makes finding close matches confusing. There is a map option that lets you see the area the people were last in so you can kind of figure out if they are nearby but you don’t see that till after you open their profile.

The people don’t seem any different from people on any other apps. I put off adding InnerCircle for a while because I don’t use LinkedIn and I don’t list my job on Facebook (I’m a teacher so it’s just not a good idea). I figured I wouldn’t get approved because how would they check that I had really been to college or had a career? There was no way they could have checked since it’s not on my Facebook...but I still got approved in less than an hour so I’m not sure anyone is really vetted all that well.

by Elev8ted09

I gave it a shot, knowing that it is a fairly new app in the dating scene. Definitely not enough people on the site yet. Either there are a lot of bots, or once someone creates the account, they don’t get back on.I paid for premium access, but it’s not worth it. Within 50 miles of where I live, in Houston, Texas, there is all but 28 users. Anytime I check who is online, there might be one or two users. That’s about it. When I reached out to customer support, they said they cannot offer a refund, because it is through Apple. Half the time, notifications don’t show up, and within my first week of using InnerCircle , I ran into about six or seven fake profiles. I have much better luck on Bumble, Tinder, or dare I say it, POF. This seems like a great concept, I love you for someone like me, he works 14 hours a day, and doesn’t have time to go out. What they promise, isn’t at all there. The site is lacking, and it needs major improvements to be up to par with other dating sites.

by Charlie's Ninja Girl

I’ve encountered so many issues with InnerCircle. First of all, you pretty much have to pay to do anything. If you don’t pay, here’s what You get:
1) You can only see blurred pics of the ppl who liked you.
2) When you get messages, you can’t read any of them; however, I’ve randomly been able to open 1-2 on sporadic days. Not sure if this is a glitch. Some days the profiles are blurred and others times not blurred, but still can’t message them.
3) I was able to check profiles sent my way for 2 days. Now, it’s just a blank white canvas. I can’t swipe on anybody bc no one appears.
My friend is paying and it seems things o KU work if you pay. Not sure what the main difference is between this and most other free apps like Bumble, Tinder, Hinge... If the quality of ppl is better then sure; but no one knows that. It’s just been 1wk and I’m not impressed enough to pay yet. 🤷🏻‍♀️

by Bexcellence1!

I’m not sure what the real purpose of InnerCircle is. It seems their primary focus is getting users to pay for a membership instead of delivering a quality product. I’ve had a lot of issues using InnerCircle. Glitches Glitches Glitches. They also limit free users so much that it defeats the point of it supposedly being a dating app. There’s little to no way to connect with people unless they put their social media account on their profile. Free users can’t view messages unless they pay for a membership. The only thing free users can do is swipe for people but can’t actually connect with anyone on InnerCircle . I also don’t like InnerCircle shows me users from all over the world. Why would I want to potentially date Jose in Brazil and I’m in the US? Not to mention, all of the trouble you go through during the process of getting invited, being verified etc. just to finally join and the quality of men on InnerCircle (looks and interest) is Ehh at best. It’s not worth it. InnerCircle needs work. Suggestions: market to more people so there’s a diverse board group of people, fix glitches, allow more free access to features (you can still promote membership without limiting all features), allow users the option to search for ppl in their own area.

by Jjnick21

You can’t make any progress unless you pay a membership or refer friends. There needs to be something users can do if they don’t want to pay $9.99 or more a month besides sending a heart to someone and not being able to read their message. Plus I had to put that I was in an area 45 minutes away because instead of typing your city, there’s a finite number you can choose from.

I assume InnerCircle is useful when purchased, but I think every app like this needs to have some initial time for the user to decide if it’s worth it. The payment plan, too, isn’t reasonable. $20/month, $14/3 months, or $10/6 months. They should have a trial period and/or an option to pay, for example, $5 for your first month on InnerCircle and then go from there. I bet there’s a lot of people who skipped out on InnerCircle, just like me, because they’re forced to pay to have a benefit.

This is a review from someone who did not purchase InnerCircle (for those that don’t wish to waste their time downloading if they don’t want to pay).

by Nextchapter08

I have only accessed the free version and I do like the set up and the fact that I can choose which city to have my search (which is great for traveling!). I’ve tried Hinge and Bumble and I am seeing a different selection of people on Inner Circle! It’s seems as if they have a good amount of people on InnerCircle . I like that they vet your profile before you are allowed to use InnerCircle . I am looking forward to seeing how I like it with the full membership, which gives access to likes and messages received.

by Syazd

A friend of mine recommended I join this site so I downloaded InnerCircle and started filling out my profile. Everything is straightforward and you can list all of your requirements that you are looking for. The only complaint I have is that I wish that the location of some of the people you meet is more specific than just “San Francisco” or “San Jose”.
They even have a lot of events that hopefully will be able to start up again soon.

by Propertyjoe

This is the most comprehensive and user-tunable dating app out there, at least in the opinion of this experienced (unfortunately) dating app user. I’ve tried most of them, and while you do have to earn the way or pay for an upgraded membership, the features and ways to connect are great. Bottom line- I’ve had the greatest number and the best dates as a result of InnerCircle over all of the others. For that reason, 5 stars because I think it’s in the first class of the dating app category

by N5834

Really good app. I’m able to specify my settings and able to meet guys from around my area. Which is a really important feature for me. I had a problem once with InnerCircle and they were really helpful. Replied to me in 24 - 48 hours (which is really fast) and they helped me right away. I love that they want to hear users opinions so they can use it positively to improve our experience while using InnerCircle . Would definetly recommend it!

by DatingInTheBigApple

I’ve tried quite a few dating apps throughout the years and think that IC is one of the better ones. It’s broad feature set, coupled with a friendly and an appealing design, facilitates many ways of connecting to people— whether it’s over travel, desired activities or “liking” each other. There’s also a lot less fake accounts than what I’ve seen on other dating apps. IC does a good job identifying mutual interests which is super helpful when you’re messaging a stranger on the internet :)

by Kikimonde

IC is better than other dating apps. First of all, I travel a lot and live half of my time in another country. People on IC seem to have more international mind and for me it’s easier to talk to. I can talk to many topics on business, travel, philosophy as well as casual chat. Never attended any social gathering but once this COVID is over, I would like to attend those. I highly recommend this apps if you are sick of single minded serial daters on other apps.

by Hugtfgjknejih

I was curious to see if this was diverse. I am a black woman and I prefer to date black man, but like to keep my options open as I am looking for something real. When I scroll through the preview images I don’t see any faces of color in for me that’s a problem on a dating app. I’ve been on the waitlist over a month, I look in the mirror every day and know I’m attractive (fine as hell actually) and I have a great paying job (although I did not put that on my profile because of privacy concerns). In all of my pictures I present myself class as I do in my real life, but nothing. Anyway, I’m over InnerCircle. I just have a feeling that if you are a person of color, you are not on InnerCircle. I could be wrong, but probably not.

by Artemaeus

There’s a plethora of dating apps out there - but IC’s differentiator - abandoning “come one come all” for exclusivity based on subjective terms such as “Inner Circle” and “High Quality” a strategy that no doubt fosters a culture inherently prone to isms - class, race, religion, age and otherwise. It’ll be hidden as all isms are under the guise of “cultural fit” or fear mongering. There was a giant that started this way “Uber” - rife with good ol’ boy frat like culture - I would hope the folks at IC don’t repeat that mistake. There’s nothing more classy or high quality about InnerCircle than it’s title and tag line - both which read hollow. In a world of come one come all dating apps, IC is exclusively BS - I’ll take my chances at the apps up the way; there’s no line, mostly free and full of millions of interesting people inside.

by Kelsey_Kitty

I’ve never used a dating app, but the exclusivity was a draw - at least I would know everyone in the community is gainfully employed and likely a notch above the rest in looks. While this did seem to be true after flipping through a few profiles, I find it ridiculous that there is no way to contact others on InnerCircle without a membership (or referring 2 friends to app before you have even used it). Dating apps are literally and exclusively meant to connect people, but they put up a pay wall right before you could actually make a connection, it just doesn’t make any sense! If it is a paid app, just say so from the get go so I’d know to expect it.

by Mschultz

It was fun and innovative when it came out, but now it’s just a vastly overpriced photo album wasteland with limited free functionality (other than seeing profiles and a pathetic “wink”), a roster that’s limited to a paltry handful of cites (and if you’re not in those cities, don’t waste your time), and premium features that they randomly and without notice grant and rescind at will.

One day I can see likes, the next I can’t. One day I can I can see matches, the next I can’t. Frustrating and aggravating.

An oh, apparently, you better not be 5’ 11” because their developers can’t figure out how to convert that from centimeters, so you have to be 5’ 10” or 6’. No, really. It’s that dumb.

I’d give a subscription a shot but based on its hyper-limited roster and tired features, it’s STUPIDLY OVERPRICED; they’re on some kind of crazy pills thinking people will pay that much for InnerCircle.

Check it out… but you’ll delete it.