BlackPeopleMeet Review: I Tried It & Got 10 Messages in 2 Weeks

As a Black woman, I can attest that the mainstream dating pool isn’t always the easiest place to be. I’ve played the swiping game trying to find common ground and come up empty too many times. Niche sites like BlackPeopleMeet aim to change all that by bringing similar people together.

To be completely honest, BlackPeopleMeet wasn’t the first dating site that came to mind when I started online dating. I’d heard of it before, but I’d never really considered giving it a fair try until now. 

My goal was to see if the platform legitimately offered quality matches in my area (I live in the Midwest). I went in thinking the site may not provide as many dating options as I’m used to on the bigger apps — but boy, was I wrong! 

Joining in 3 Quick Steps

The site was welcoming and engaging from the jump. From the signup process to the welcome email, it was all so encouraging. It felt like I wasn’t alone. I appreciated the positive vibes because dating can get lonely, whether you’re new to the online dating scene or a vet. 

BlackPeopleMeet made my arrival feel important. It was easy to fall right into place. 

It took me approximately 10 minutes to create my profile. I asked Google (my bestie), and apparently it clocks the average time to sign up on BlackPeopleMeet at about five minutes. So I guess it really depends on how long you reflect on the questions. 

Here are the three steps involved to make your profile on BlackPeopleMeet.

Step 1: Signing Up

This was the fastest step for me. The questions were simple. It’s the basic questions asked by just about every dating site out there. My name, date of birth, email address, and ZIP code. That’s it. 

Yep, pretty straightforward. 

I liked how no muss, no fuss the first part was. BPM only asked for my first name, so it didn’t feel too invasive on my privacy.

Step 2: About Me

The next step involved a little bit of vulnerability on my end. The questions were a little more personal than I was expecting at times, particularly about my body type.

I thought it was extremely considerate that the site provides an option to skip whatever question for whatever reason. But I didn’t skip. I decided I was comfortable enough to share a bit about myself. 

Here are the questions asked:

• What is your height?
• How would you describe your body type?
• What’s your relationship status?
• Do you have any kids?
• What’s your education?
• Do you smoke?
• Do you drink?
• What’s your ethnicity?
• What’s your religion?

At first glance, the body type question gave me pause, but I can definitely see the reasoning behind it. Daters have certain preferences, and hey, that’s their prerogative. If a body type is going to be a dealbreaker, it’s better that we don’t waste time talking before finding that out.

These personal questions can help BPM ensure that your preferences are heard and that all the matches make sense.

I came to the realization that, as someone who has a Master’s degree, it would be nice to be paired with other individuals who value education and have a similar background. I take pride in my education journey, so BPM asking about it makes me feel good because that’s something worth highlighting on my profile.  

Of course, there’s more to me than just my body type and education, but I think overall BlackPeopleMeet does a great job in asking the right questions. 

They might not cover everything, but it’s enough for other members to get a glimpse of who I might be, which I find to be the perfect amount of tease. 

Step 3: What I’m Looking For

After answering so many questions about myself, I was so glad to see a different type of question pop up across my screen. Finally,  what am I looking for? 

There were four options to choose from: 

• Just see who’s out there. 
• Date, but nothing serious. 
• Start a serious relationship. 
• Don’t know yet. 

As someone who’s not looking for anything serious and wants to make friendly connections, it was refreshing to see I could be real about that. I selected “just see who’s out there.” 

Outright stating one’s dating intentions can be a good strategy because not all of us have it all figured out. Sometimes we just want to take a look around and wade in the shallow end of the dating pool…avoiding the wife/husband hunters who are more serious.

I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to play ring around the rosie about my intentions. If you’ve been in the dating game long enough, you know just how annoying it can be having to ask someone, “So what are we?” after months of hanging out. 

BPM ensures that honesty is a strong thread throughout the community. Every member’s dating intentions are publicly displayed on their profile. It may seem like a small detail, but I quickly learned it holds a lot of weight because it helped me judge if potential matches were on the same page as me.

I liked that the selections included “Just don’t know yet” as well, so you’re not forced to choose a direction. You can be undecided, and that’s OK.

People use online dating for all sorts of reasons, including just socializing and seeing what’s out there. I can think of single friends who may just want to fill their social battery up and feel connected. They may not know exactly what they’re looking for just yet. 

BlackPeopleMeet lets members be real and state upfront what they’re looking for — or say they aren’t sure yet what they’re looking for.

A lot of information goes into the tapestry of the BlackPeopleMeet profile, and I think mine did a good job of describing my personality and preferences.

My Experience With the Free Membership

I was always a firm believer in the phrase, “if it’s free, it’s for me.” Especially growing up and realizing that adults have to pay for everything… and I do mean everything. 

Free online dating subscriptions make it easier for young adults like myself who want to find long-lasting connections without having to pay a pretty penny.  

BlackPeopleMeet offers just that. 

It has a lot of free custom search filters to play around with, but I did find out pretty quickly that the more custom searches will limit local options. I’m not going to travel 100 miles just to meet the one guy who said he has a bird.

The free membership is just enough to get a feel for the space and see if it’s got attractive local people. It’s difficult to strike up real conversations, though, because of the mutual match rule.

What I Like So Far

I really didn’t have to pay for anything to start, and I liked that. I created my profile, browsed through profiles, and even got access to daily matches and suggested profiles.

The options seemed endless, and they were all near to my location. I was impressed. There were a few profiles that I came across of men who lived in other states like Ohio and Illinois. But for the most part, my suggested matches all were pretty close to me. 

I enjoyed reading different profiles and relished my power to like or skip. Some profiles made me laugh, like this person writing silly nonsense in their bio.

I could use basic communication tools like winking to flirt with profiles. I used these sparingly. I wanted to play it cool. Let the fellas come to me. 

What I Don’t Like So Far

While browsing the site was fun, it certainly had its limitations. Interacting with other members was nearly impossible as a free member. I could send a like to make it known I was interested, but that’s as far as I could go, really. 

I received a pretty good handful of notifications (even some emails) that someone messaged me or viewed my profile. It was exciting news, but what wasn’t exciting was realizing I wasn’t able to see who did that. 

Trying to use likes to create matches and unlock messages was a serious guessing game. A guessing game that I wasn’t going to win if I stayed with the free subscription. 

As a free member, I was in the backseat, and the only option I had at the time was to express my interest through subtle likes, nothing more. 

My Experience With the Premium Membership

Upgrading was a bit of a no-brainer. Looking at profiles and waiting on messages can only entertain for so long. I wanted to get chatting, and the upgrade options were affordably priced.

BlackPeopleMeet has two paid options: Standard and Premium. Standard is a couple of dollars cheaper, but it only unlocks messaging; no other premium features are included.

As you can see, the longer the memberships have a cheaper monthly rate but a higher upfront cost. Its value really depends on how long you plan to be looking for matches on the site. 

BPM is upfront that all subscriptions automatically renew.

The Premium Plan takes things to the next level with read receipts, a monthly Boost, swiping Rewinds, and a weekly Super Like (which you use in the Highlights section).

I went for the Premium Plan to get as much out of the profile as possible.

Now that I was out of the free membership, I felt like I had a bit more power… because I did! The premium membership offered an entirely different experience. It gave me more accessibility to messages — it even gave me tips on how to start a conversation. 

I found the advice to be useful in trying to find my way online. I liked that it pointed out when other members had similar interests as me, such as basketball or comedy movies, so I didn’t have to think up an icebreaker from scratch.

Seeing who had liked my profile was another upside of being a paid member on BPM. I could see my likes and decide to make it a match if I wanted to. I didn’t have to swipe blindly and could pursue guys who’d already expressed interest.

BlackPeopleMeet’s premium features unlocked a lot of knowledge that helped guide me toward the best matches.

I Could Now See My Messages — Here’s What They Said

The messages were honestly the best part. Being able to see who messaged me made the experience feel more real — like I was actually online dating. 

I got 10 messages from men on BPM.

Not only did I have plenty of options, but I actually felt a lot of them were good options.

The majority of the men who reached out were around my age and had enough in common to interest me. I saw a lot of matches who marked themselves as Christian like me and had a similar educational background.

The suggested matches are great, but I wouldn’t say flawless. There were a few oddball older men who snuck their way into my DMs. I wasn’t interested. 

Like all online dating openers, it was a hit-or-miss for me. I gravitated more toward the messages that were subtle and sweet. I like it when guys aren’t trying too hard and giving off creepy vibes. 

One guy messaged me saying, “Hello, how are you doing? Your profile really caught my eye.” Which really made my day. Yes, it was short, but I felt it was genuine and nice. 

Meanwhile, other messages like “you’re a true cutie pie” from a 50-year-old man made me think of my grandpa. I passed on those conversations. 

I have to admit that although I do appreciate free services, I got a lot more from the premium membership, and I’d favor the paid route if I were to continue my membership. 

But at the end of the day, regardless of the free or premium version, I was given daily matches that were tailored to my preferences, so I can’t complain about the experience. 

The Safety Features Are Solid 

I felt pretty safe while being on the site. But as always, I made sure I had a safety plan just in case I did run into a situation that raised red flags. I kept identifying info from my profile and screened all matches carefully.

But I wasn’t alone in ensuring that my online dating experience was safe. BlackPeopleMeet had my back.

BlackPeopleMeet offers various safety features. The team let me know that every profile is scanned periodically and must go through a verification process. 

I had the option to block users, report any suspicious behavior, and change my visibility at any time.

As a paid member, I could choose to turn on Private Mode so that only selected profiles could view my profile. 

Some days when I didn’t want to receive any messages, I would put my profile as hidden and take a break. That meant only people I’d liked could view my profile, but I could still browse profiles and answer messages.

I like the control that BPM gives me to put myself out there as much or as little as I deem fit.

Overall, nothing really screamed a red flag, so I didn’t have to use any of the safety features or feel the need to take drastic measures to protect myself.

Pros & Cons

I was impressed with the number of people who reached out to me. Ten messages were a surprisingly good result for a niche site.

I also felt the matching algorithm did a good job. The profiles BlackPeopleMeet suggested were clearly based on my interests and met what I said I was looking for. 

I get that paywalls aren’t fun for anyone, but BlackPeopleMeet strikes a good balance of offering freebies and giving some chatting privileges. The site’s mutual match feature makes it so it’s not impossible to meet people with a free membership. Just harder. 

My Final Thoughts

My personal biases against niche dating apps stand corrected. Just because it’s a smaller dating site, that doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t still plenty of options. 

BlackPeopleMeet was launched in 2002 to help Black singles find meaningful relationships, and I’d say it is successful overall.

The free features are limited, so I suggest members invest in a premium membership to unlock more communication options. The upgrade isn’t too pricey either. 

BlackPeopleMeet is an overall safe space for Black singles to meet people who not only look like them but share the same interests as well. It’s a respectable dating site with a decent following. 

Whether you’re looking for matches near or far, BlackPeopleMeet has an interesting list of people ready to go. I would definitely recommend it to my single friends, my family members, or anyone seeking Black friends… or maybe even Black love.