Chive Dating is powered by HowAboutWe.com. Here are some frequently asked questions. If you don't find the answer you're looking for here, please email us at theteam@howaboutwe.com or hit us up on Twitter at @howaboutwe.
If your question is not answered here, feel free to email us at theteam@howaboutwe.com with your username and concern. If your issue is technical in nature, please include as much relevant information as possible including your issue, browser, device you are using, and error messages.
HowAboutWe is the OFFline Dating Site.
HowAboutWe is the only dating site that actually encourages you to spend less time online and more time meeting people in the real world by focusing on the date itself. Just say what you want to do, find someone who wants to go (or let them find you), and get offline.
Return to topA few extra tips:
The more pics you post in your profile, the more attention you’ll get. Profiles with no pictures hardly get shown. For more helpful info, visit our Online Dating 101.
Return to topVisit our friend referral page and invite away! Why invite friends? Because:
You can add/edit info by visiting your profile at any time. Click the pencils to answer the questions and upload pictures in the “My Photos” section. Remember -- put your best foot forward. The more complete your profile, the more responses you’ll get. Let people get to know you!
Return to topWe designed a profile that would allow you to showcase your personality and basic info, while avoiding questions that are superficial, obvious, and misleading. In our view, things like eye color, body type and income are either (a) easy to figure out from pictures, (b) things that people tend to omit or exaggerate, and (c) trigger an overly aggressive “shopping mentality”. We want our profiles to focus on characteristics that will enhance the process of going on great dates. Over time, based on user feedback, we’ve added certain things to the profile like Race/Ethnicity and Children. You can also add custom questions to reveal telling details about your personality and interests.
Return to topWe are happy to change your username for you. Simply email theteam@howaboutwe.com and we will send you further information. Because your username is public, it's not advisable to include any personal information.
Return to topGo to your Account Settings, then click on the Dating Preferences tab. There, you can select the age range and gender of your desired dates.
Return to topWhen you visit someone else’s profile, we let them know that you were checking them out. Then they can message you or ask you out if they wish. And don’t worry, if you visit someone’s profile multiple times, you’ll only be shown once.
Return to topYou can upload a photo by visiting your profile and scrolling down to the “My Photos” section. From there, select “Upload a Photo” from your computer or import from Facebook. Be sure to upload a variety of photos. The more photos you post, the better your chances of getting responses. You must have at least one photo to be shown to other users.
When you scroll over a picture, you also have the option to delete that image or make it your profile picture.
Return to topYes! We don’t show picture-less profiles in the date stream, meaning you'll barely get any responses. The more pictures you post, the better. People who have at least three photos get twice as many messages as people with only one photo.
Return to topMake sure you put your best digital foot forward and upload clear, up-to-date photos. We accept JPEG, GIF and PNG files under 10MB. Make sure your photos are cropped before you upload them. For best results in your user thumbnail, keep your face in the upper left corner. Obviously, any pictures that are not of you or are offensive are not allowed and will be deleted.
Return to topFor more helpful tips, visit our Online Dating 101.
Return to topWhen you click “I'm Intrigued,” we send a short message to that user letting him or her know that you are intrigued by their date. Intrigues let people know you’re interested, so you can start a more serious conversation through messaging later on.
Return to topWhen you send a message, it goes to the user you sent it to through our messaging system. That person may also get an email message saying that he or she has a new message on HowAboutWe. Neither your email address nor the email address of the user you are sending a message to are ever revealed in this process.
Return to topThe best way to follow up with a specific user is to check out the other dates that user has posted -- you can find these in their profile -- and respond to one that interests you. You can also propose a new date via the Ask Out button, or send them a message from their profile.
Return to topIf you click the “Ask him/her out” button, you can send another user a date. In this case, ONLY that user sees the date -- no one else does. These get delivered just like messages. You can see all of these dates in the Private Dates tab in your profile.
Return to topRepost the date -- from you! And then wait and see who responds.
Return to topWhen you repost a date, you are posting another person’s date idea -- from you. When someone sees your post, they’ll be able to respond to that idea. They’ll know it was reposted from another user, but they won't be able to see who originally posted it (except in the trending view, where we like to give credit to the clever date proposer!).
Return to topThe Date Ideas section is a dater's gold mine. Here, we’ve compiled all the top date ideas from around the country and in your neighborhood. Go ahead and repost these dates, or use them as inspiration in creating your own. You can also look at Trending Dates to get a real-time “pulse check” on what’s new. Need a warm weather date? A holiday date? A popular, sure-to-please date? This is the place to go.
Return to topDon’t worry about it! The key is to stay active. Post more dates, browse date ideas, and respond to people you like. Paid subscribers can also look at the “Subscribers You Might Like” sidebar for other users who have messaging privileges.
Return to topYes! Stay active on HowAboutWe with our mobile site or our free iPhone App, Android app, or iPad app, which let you find and respond to dates on-the-go.
Return to topIf you signed up for HowAboutWe in our app, you must turn off auto-renew within the app, not the website. Click here for detailed instructions.
Because of Apple's security restrictions, we are unable to refund payments made via iTunes. Please contact Apple to request a refund.
If you’d like to deactivate your account, you must sign into the Settings area on the website, not the app.
Return to topIf you signed up for HowAboutWe in our app, you must turn off auto-renew within the app, not the website.
To cancel on the device, open the Google Play Store application and tap Menu > My Apps > HowAboutWe Dating. Subscriptions will be listed at the top of the page. Tap "Cancel" to turn off auto-renew.
Speed Date is a fun game in which you can quickly express interest in going on suggested dates. Try Speed Date by clicking the “Play” tab on the top of your home screen. You can let other users know you’re intrigued, and if you’re not interested, they’ll never know.
Return to topSure can. Just click the star on the date or “save” in a profile to bookmark it for later.
You can find your saved items in your “Favorites” tab. Return to topWe have a host of features that help you focus on the messages and users you want. You can delete, archive, or mark messages as unread from your inbox and within a message thread. You can also choose to hide certain messages, like “intrigues” and those from users more than 150 miles away, without a photo, and/or outside of your specified age range.
Return to topIf you’d rather not see a particular user, you can click “Hide” in that person’s profile, or click the X on any date. When you do this, you will no longer see that person’s dates or messages.
All your hidden people are listed in the Dating Preferences area of your Account Settings and can be unhidden on this page as well.
Return to topAs a free subscriber, you can:
Checking out HowAboutWe will give you a sense of things and help you decide if it’s for you. In order to gain full messaging capabilities and other benefits, you'll need to upgrade your account.
Return to topMembership will get you more dates -- guaranteed. Member benefits include the ability to:
We don’t want to interrupt your service and communication threads with other HowAboutWe members, so all memberships are set to auto-renew. If you’d prefer not to auto-renew, you have complete control over your renewal settings in your Settings page.
Return to topWe offer various membership packages that fit with your lifestyle. The 6-month package is the most popular and the 12-month package is the best value. Memberships are purchased upfront with one lump sum.
Return to topAbove all, we charge because we think it makes the site better for the people using it. When users are paying, they are more committed to really using the site, which means that there aren't a lot of people whose profiles you can check out but who actually aren't using HowAboutWe or aren't serious about dating. Making HowAboutWe a paid service also discourages sketchy folks from joining. We also charge because we think that the site is offering something of real value -- an innovative way for people to meet and go on great dates.
All of this said, we do everything we can to keep the price of subscribing low. If you sign up for 6 months, it’s about the price of a movie ticket per month.
Return to topNot currently. You must be an upgraded member to receive and send messages.
Return to topWhile we'll be sad to see you go, you can deactivate your account by going to the Settings area and clicking on your account and subscription settings.
Return to topOnce you deactivate, your profile is no longer visible to other members and cancels your paid subscription, if you have one. Your profile will remain invisible unless you decide to reactivate at any point. Please note, if you deactivate with a paid subscription, you forfeit the remainder of your subscription and cannot use that unused time upon reactivation or be reimbursed for it.
Return to topFor your convenience, all accounts are set on auto-renew. If you’d like to turn this off, simply change your status in your Settings under “adjust your account or subscription settings”. Otherwise, your subscription will be automatically extended for the same length of time as your original subscription length, at the current subscription rate.
App subscribers must adjust their subscription settings in-app. Click here for detailed instructions.
Return to topYou are eligible for a refund within 3 days of any transaction. If you’d like a refund, please email us at refund@howaboutwe.com with the reason for your refund request. Refunds are reflected in your account within 5 business days.
Auto-renewal fees are not refunded if requested more than 3 days after billing. If you wish to turn off auto-renew, simply visit Settings and adjust your account on the bottom.
If you deactivate your account before your subscription term has ended, you forfeit the remainder of your subscription term, and will not be refunded for the unused time.
Please note, per Apple’s developer restrictions, we cannot issue refunds for iTunes purchases. Click here for instructions on how to cancel your subscription in-app and request a refund from Apple.
Return to topYou can change your billing information at any time under Settings and “Subscription Status”.
Return to topYour email notifications can be removed or adjusted by clicking on “Email Settings” at the bottom of any HowAboutWe email or visiting your Settings.
Return to topFirst, we’re sorry you encountered this. To tell us about possibly inappropriate dates, you can click on the X icon in the date and select “Report as Spam.” You can also click “Report” on any person’s profile. When you do this, we are immediately alerted and a customer service associate will immediately address the issue.
Return to topTo make your profile private, and thus only viewable by users logged into HowAboutWe, visit the Settings page and select “Only let people who are signed into HowAboutWe view my profile”.
Date Ideas and the Date Report are public by default, so if you have commented or liked items in those areas, anyone can see those contributions.
Return to topOur #1 priority is creating a safe, fun, and positive environment for our community. We take user protection extremely seriously. We’ve designed a multi-tiered strategy to enforce this, including:
Note: We do not currently conduct criminal background checks on users.
Of course, as with everything on the Internet, we ask that you exercise caution when disclosing personal information and meeting people. For more details, see our Online Dating Safety Tips.
Return to topWe screen dates so that we can keep the community positive, safe, and focused on great off-site connections. Dates that do not follow our date guidelines will be removed. Please be sure that your date:
Whenever possible, HowAboutWe is best experienced using Google Chrome or Safari. If you are using Internet Explorer 6 or 7, you must upgrade your browser to a more recent version.
Return to topIf you're having a technical problem, please provide as much information as possible at theteam@howaboutwe.com. “Not working” oftentimes doesn’t cut it. These details will help us resolve your issue more effectively:
We want HowAboutWe to help define love in our time. If we do a great job, then millions of people will start their relationships with a HowAboutWe date -- what an amazing way for love to begin. To make this happen, we're constantly improving our site, building new features, and finding ways to get awesome people to join.
In that vein, please click here to let us know where you think we can improve. And help us spread the word by inviting your friends and talking about HowAboutWe.
Return to topYes. We want to build partnerships with services that will help make the HowAboutWe experience better for our users. And we want to build partnerships with people who can share the HowAboutWe idea with lots of people. If you have an idea for a partnership, contact us at theteam@howaboutwe.com.
Return to topUsers on HowAboutWe are constantly posting and going on dates. Our site has a database of great date ideas that our users can post with a single click. If you are in this database and your establishment or event is a great date, people will post it. It’s an awesome, organic way to advertise, and for now, it’s free. In return, we ask that you please spread the word about the date on HowAboutWe featuring your business. Just email us at theteam@howaboutwe.com and we'll talk.
Return to topPlease send pitches and links to writing samples to Date Report's Director of Content at melissa@howaboutwe.com.
Return to topClick here to submit your ideas and feedback. Thanks for helping us improve.
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