I once wrote a review about dating Indonesian girls and where to meet them. You can still read it here: Where to meet Indonesian girls? Most of the information on the review is still valid, but it certainly needs an update on the world of online dating through websites or social apps such as Badoo, Indonesian Cupid, Tinder, WeChat, Skout, Beetalk, etc.
If you are looking for a great girl in Jakarta, online dating is by far your best chance. 90% of the girls there are looking for a stable relationship. Another 9% is looking for money. And maybe less than 1 percent is looking for a one night stand (not the hottest girls usually). The fact that they are looking for a stable relationship does not mean they want to get married straight away. It means they want to feel a long term relationship is possible. For this reason, it may be more difficult for you to find a date if you are not staying in Indonesia and if you do not speak Indonesian.
Depending on which website or which app you use, you can pretty much chat with any type of women you could think of: Students, employees, executives, single mom, etc from any ethnicity or religion. There is such a diversity that it would be hard to generalize. To give you a better understanding, I will describe the specificities of each dating app or website below:
Tinder (Mobile app only)
When Tinder started in Indonesia, most of its users where either foreign or Western educated girls. Its base has now expanded, but it is still the most trendy app to use. For this reason, this is where you will meet the most girls who can speak English and who have well-paid jobs. This is also where the most girls are interested to meet foreigners.
Pros:
➝ Almost entirely free
➝ Easy to get several matches every day
➝ Thousands of Indonesian girls are using it, including many educated ones
➝ Not too many spam accounts or prostitutes or ladyboys
Cons:
➝ I find it difficult to manage once you have more than 100 matches
➝ You cannot see which girls are online
➝ You cannot chat with a girl if you haven't matched with her already
➝ You cannot like more than 50 girls per day (or you must pay)
➝ You must connect using your Facebook information and pics (your friends on Facebook who are using Tinder will know that you are also a user)
➝ You can only see girls around you (unless you pay). If you stay abroad, this means you cannot chat with any girl in Jakarta before you arrive.
➝ Generally speaking, girls on Tinder love to swipe but they aren't very good at sending or replying to messages
IndonesianCupid.com (website)
Indonesia Cupid is more traditional dating website which is part of a wider network: FilipinoCupid, Muslima (for dating Muslim girls), Thai Cupid, Vietnam Cupid, etc. It is an excellent site for those who are not in Indonesia but who are interested to chat with local girls.
Many Indonesian girls on IndonesianCupid are looking to meet foreigners and they won't turn you down if you say you are far away. The demographic of IndonesianCupid is more middle class compared with Tinder. Typically, you'll chat with employees, teachers, nurses, etc.
Since it is a website and not a mobile phone app, I find it much easier to write messages or browse profiles compared to Tinder. Even if you use it for a month or two, it is still easy to see which girls are online among those you've chatted with before.
You can register here: Sign-Up to Indonesian Cupid for Free. I recommend you to update to the premium version though (only 25$ per month) as it will allow you to send an unlimited number of messages. It will also give you the edge compared with the other guys in terms of visibility.
Pros:
➝ Between 500-1000 Indonesian girls online at any time, but thousands more who were active in the past week or month (you have filters to do that).
➝ Possibility to look for girls in other countries (Thailand, Philippines, etc)
➝ Good website interface, easy to use and fast.
➝ Fast chatting application
➝ Mostly serious girls who are interested in relationships
➝ Detailed profiles
Cons:
➝ The free version is too restricted (not a problem if you can afford 25$)
➝ No mobile app
➝ Many girls have limited English proficiency (especially outside Jakarta)
Badoo (Mobile app and website)
Badoo used to be the best dating website in Indonesia but it is clearly not as popular as it used to be. It still has a large number of users though: I checked on 15 December 2016 at 7pm and there were 522 women online in Jakarta (vs 537 on Indonesian Cupid). They also have a mobile app (called "Hot or Not").
Badoo attracts 99,9% of Indonesian girls, from all background. You can filter girls by age, location, status, body type, etc. More than half the girls can speak English and many are interested to meet foreigners. Online prostitution on Badoo is unfortunately a problem. Many "girls" on Badoo are in fact pimp looking for clients.
Pros:
➝ Lots of girls online
➝ Fun, colorful website interface with large photos (but also more slow to load)
➝ Both a website and an app with geo-localization
➝ You can send messages to 5 girls per day for free and you "like" as many as you want
➝ Cheaper than other websites
Cons:
➝ Privacy concern (they sent advertising emails to all my contact on my behalf saying I was inviting them to join Badoo)
➝ Many prostitutes
➝ Because it is cheaper, there are more guys on Badoo. This means it is harder to get girls' attention and your messages may be ignored. You can get seen/read before other guys but you need to pay extra money (even if you are already a premium user).
Instagram
Yes, Instagram can be considered a dating website in Indonesia. I know some guys who've met dozens of girls using it.
Of course, you need to create an Instagram account and to upload interesting pictures regularly. If you are an expat who visits nice restaurants and hotels, it shouldn't be too hard to add at least a great photo every two days.
You can then follow some Instagram accounts of girls you like and write comments on their pictures.
Pros:
➝ Free
➝ There are more girls on Instagram than on any other dating websites (especially in Indonesia)
➝ You can search for girls who have special interests using the location or tags (for instance, if you want to find a girl who went to the Djakarta Warehouse Festival, you can search the tag "DWP 2016").
➝ It is easy to find a topic to start a conversation (just comment a photo)
Cons:
➝ You need to create and maintain an interesting Instagram account
➝ Many girls are not single or not actively looking for a boyfriend
➝ Time consuming
WeChat (Mobile app only)
WeChat has a "look around" feature which allows you to add girls located within a few kilometers from you. If they accept your invitation, you can start chatting with them.
Many ladyboys and prostitutes use that feature so it can be quite annoying if this is not what you are looking for. You will also probably receive a lot of invitations from other guys. Girls using this feature do not always speak English very well. It is popular with the Chinese community but your chances of getting a reply is low unless you speak Chinese.
Pros:
➝ Free
➝ Location based
Cons:
➝ I don't think you can meet a normal girl using it.
Beetalk (Mobile app only)
Beetalk users are mostly Indonesian and young. It has a "look around" feature as well which is quite invasive as it tells you the exact position of the people around you. If you use it in popular malls like Grand Indonesia or Central Park, it will probably tell you a list of person within a very close range, sometimes a few meters only.
Few girls using Beetalk speak good English so it is more appropriate for those with a basic knowledge of Indonesian. It is a good app but not the most effective for foreigners.
Pros:
➝ Free
➝ Location based
➝ No competition from other Westerners
Cons:
➝ Very few girls who can speak English
➝ Not many replies from girls
Skout (Mobile app and dating site)
Skout is similar to Badoo but it does not have as many girls online. The ads are quite annoying so I didn't like using it.
Tagged / Hi5 (Mobile app and website)
Tagged and Hi5 are the same service since they merged in 2011. It used to be one of the most popular social networks in Indonesia but it is struggling now. It is still a relatively interesting website to try as the number of Indonesian users is quite large. I would say that girls on Tagged are usually a bit older: They made their Hi5 account 10 years ago and they haven't closed it yet.
Adult Friend Finder
This is a paying hook-up website popular with swingers and those looking for one-night stands. I never used it but a friend of mine did and he met several open-minded couples. He also managed to meet a few single girls but it is more rare.
Note that the website is currently blocked by the government so you'll need to download a VPN to access it. I've written an article here Best VPN in Indonesia to help you with it.
Pros:
➝ If you are not looking for dating but for sex, this is the best website to use
➝ Number 1 hooking website in the World
Cons:
➝ 90% guys and 10% girls so you need to make a really neat profile to succeed. Being handsome would help.
➝ You won't get very far with the Free Version so you'll need to buy a premium membership
➝ Block in Indonesia: You must use a VPN to access it freely.
Conclusion
All these dating apps and websites are free but you have to pay if you want to get some VIP features. For instance, becoming a paid member will generally entitle you to send more messages, to see who clicked on your profile or to be seen first by girls.
There are probably some scammers too so you should naturally always make sure the person you are talking to is real. I would recommend asking for the girl's facebook or skype.
There are other services that I haven't tried but they might work well. If you have used one of the following to find a date in Jakarta, it would be nice if you could write a comment about it below:
OK Cupid: Popular dating website (same group with Match.com and Tinder) but I don't think it is available in Indonesia at this moment.
Zoosk: One of the most popular dating apps in the world but I read some negative reviews about their privacy policy so I did not want to try it.
Ask.fm: Very popular social media in Indonesia, mostly with the younger crowd. It is not a real dating website but it is used as such by many Indonesians to make friends or get a date.
Wavoo is an Indonesian dating app which just started. It does not have a very large database of users at the moment.
Setipe is an Indonesian dating website which could be promising but it is still new and I encountered some problems to register.
Photo Credit: The photos are from Kucluk Oye.