Name: Tandem: Conversation exchange
Rating: 4.61476 (29748 reviews)

User Reviews for Tandem: Conversation exchange

4.61 out of 5

29.7K Ratings

4 years ago, blub.blub.blub.blub

Incredible app

This is such a great concept for language learners on a budget. There’s no need for classes or a tutor when you can just talk to someone as eager to learn as you. I love how we can teach each other our native languages in such a casual way. I’d give this app 6/5 stars if I could! Update: I have had Tandem for a week and I already see noticeable improvements in my conversions Spanish! I especially love the voice text feature. It lets me practice my pronunciation without having to video chat, which can sometimes be difficult and awkward when you haven’t talked to someone long enough. There is one slight issue that I’m having with some conversations every now and then. Sometimes I’ll send a message or two, but they will only reach the blue outline circle and check to display that they were sent but not delivered. Usually they will eventually deliver after waiting a bit or sending a couple more. I wonder if there’s a fix for this, or if it’s just a problem with WiFi connection. I still love this app and appreciate the time the developers took to respond to my rating. It’s not exactly a substitute for my cancelled exchange trip, but it gets way closer than I had expected. This has made quarantine so much more enjoyable! Thanks devs!!

5 years ago, jacey.love.hate.you

5 Star app if glitches can be fixed. Still HIGHLY recommend!

I really want to leave more than three stars because this app is so fantastic in theory. The problem is that a lot of the time your messages are in accessible because you have to scroll up and then down and then up and then down and repeat about four or five times to actually get your messages to load. When I first downloaded the app I had gotten over 200 messages the first day and it made it really rough to talk to people and figure out who would be a good teacher and mentor and that I could help in the same way because with so many messages coming in and not being able to load more than the first 10 to 15 messages made it extremely difficult. Right now I have my free 30 day trial for pro and so far the pro options are really great. I would give this App five stars in a heartbeat if and only if we could get a little bit smoother interface and a better flow when trying to load Messages. This app has so much potential and you can really learn a lot there are many very helpful people I still highly recommend that you download this app and try to get to know people and talk with them about the languages you’re interested in because it’s still a very valuable app. I really haven’t had any issues with spammers or bots or Advertisements or anything like that which is great!

3 months ago, Nathansk8s

They just made the change that broke the app

So I have used the app since 2016 and also tried HelloTalk. HelloTalk changed their app to only allow users to contact 10 new users per 24 hours and with time zone differences sometimes you wouldn’t be able to find a language exchange partner for a day or two. Well Tandem never did that. You could talk with as many people as you wanted at anytime you wanted. They just changed the app. Even after paying for their Pro version that they changed the price on several times. You can contact 30 people per day. I know that seems like a lot but if you have ever tried to contact people from other time zones sometimes that is not enough. I know you have to combat people who are spamming but if you pay $35 for a year membership maybe you are interested in learning and would use that unlimited message opportunity to find language exchange partners. I think this could be just the beginning of more restrictions until they are like HelloTalk and eventually you will only be able to talk to a few people and pay for lessons after just a few messages. So I ask developers to change this and stay true to the original idea. Don’t be greedy towards your top paying customers. We know it’s important to keep things safe and efficient but also the flexibility with us is important as well.

7 years ago, The_Khwarezmian_Shah

Best way to learn a language.

I have tried many language apps, some rather expensive, and while they are good for reviewing vocab, they aren't very fun and they aren't very effective. However, with this app, you can have conversations with real native speakers who are trying to learn your own language! I have been conversing with several Russians over the last few days and I have learned more about the language and culture than I had in many weeks through less effective means. Not to mention I have made many friends who I can talk with every day! I just can't think of any negatives with this program: the ads are not annoying, it is rightfully simple and straightforword, and you have a nearly endless list of people who want to learn your language and teach you theirs! I must recommend this to anyone who is interesting in learning a language. It is an essential.

2 years ago, ToriLong

Great app, but needs some changes

As a woman and a native English speaker I get a lot of useless attempts at communication. There are a number of people just desperate to learn English that contact me that don’t even speak the language I’m learning. I learned today that if I delete these messages the other person can see. I’m not sure why that’s a thing. I wanted to clear out people I have no desire to talk to without blocking them since that seems harsh. Even some nice people that might be a good fit I can’t talk to once I have a few tandem conversations going. Instead I ended up getting cursed at today by a man for being “prejudiced” because he saw me delete his messages since I only want to talk to people that speak the language I’m learning. This absolutely needs to change as it makes no sense. And yes, by being female creepy men sometimes send creepy messages, but I love how easy it is to block them. But, it’s way less than I see on my Instagram so I’m not surprised that some random men on the internet break app rules here. Otherwise I actually do like this app. I’ve met some cool people that have been very helpful as I learn a new language. I like that you have multiple ways to talk in the app as well.

2 years ago, Ex-User and Professor

DO NOT PAY FOR THIS APP. They STOLE my money.

I have had an account for nearly 7 years. I had a paid account for the last few years. I recently renewed my paid account (this month) for a year only to realize I’ve been banned without explanation. I was one of the earliest users. I had a multi year record of people giving me public recommendations on my profile. And they ban me just like that for absolutely no reason right after I made a payment. That is theft. And it is immoral. If you ban someone days after they make a payment, at least offer them a refund. They do not value their community members and are clearly engaging in questionable business practices. They literally ban you and don’t give you an opportunity to seek information, ask questions, appeal or understand why you were banned. They don’t even give you contact info. Like you’re a nobody after 7 years of being an active, productive and contributing member. You all need to reevaluate who in your organization is making these decisions regarding users. You are losing business and alienating genuine users. I will never renew a paid account and will be disputing this charge with my credit card company. The quantity of trolls has ballooned on this app. It’s not the same as it used to be. They are not creating safe and inclusive spaces for their members. They seem to be doing the opposite whether they realize it or not.

2 years ago, Gray Ravelski

Tandem needs to be fixed

This is being given a one star because there are many bugs with the app. Firstly the sign in methods are horrible. I can’t sign in using my Apple ID via laptop even though I can on mobile? Also not having the ability to link the account with another phone number or email is pretty tiresome. Secondly, the app really needs a screening method for messages. I receive numerous messages at once and can’t find my chats from partners and friends because too many people message at once. There should be a feature of primary and general public messages. The party chat feature also has bugs. Sometimes the microphone feature has mute on but can still hear a person. And also the ability to not be able to check messages while In a party is very frustrating. It would be nice if there was a chat feature added into the party so that listeners can respond and react to the hosts. Something else that can be improved is the kick feature. If someone is being inappropriate it would be better to be able to kick them out of your entire party and not have them re-enter after being booted. And the block feature I should not be able to see someone on my block list in the same party as me; otherwise what is the point of blocking them ? Please fix these issues and I will change my stars.

5 years ago, L0v3b1t3s

Could be better

Honestly looking back at what I’ve written I’d move it down to 3.5 stars. I’ve had tandem for roughly 2 weeks. It’s a simple and fairly easy to use app. I’ve talked to multiple people online and have even tried out some of the tutors. Price wise it’s a bit expensive. If you want multiple tutors and keep the app monthly it adds up QUICK. On a smaller note I think there should be a better way that the app deals with tutors. It’s understandable that sometimes you’ll have to reschedule, but it’d be nice if there was some way to rebook or move a lesson around for both tutors and students. I’ve had to do that recently and I think my tutor is good for it, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have anxiety that I’ve just lost about $17 because my tutor just wanted my money. It’s also a bit annoying that you have to pay the full amount for just an introduction to your tutor. I get we are taking their time away from things and they do deserve to be compensated, but could their be some kind of mandatory 10min conversation either through their chat or something where you guys get a feel for each other before spending any money?

7 years ago, theclarest

Good app, with some improvements it will be great!

I only downloaded the app just today, so maybe that's not long enough to judge it, but I'm thinking of these things now. I really love having live conversations with people all over the world! I am mostly talking to people from the Spanish speaking world, but I can't figure out how to also search for and start a conversation with someone who speaks a different language (because I also want to improve my Korean). I have enjoyed my short text conversations, but I haven't used the video calls yet because of my schedule. Another problem I have with the app is that it has limited translation abilities, which I guess can be a good thing so you don't rely too heavily on built in translation, but sometimes it helps to move a conversation along faster if you can look up a word rather than ask "Cómo se dice "..." en inglés?" each time you don't know something. This app also has an option to play a language game with someone who is also active on the site at the moment, but it always says "connection failed" when I try to play a game, even over a strong wifi signal. If these small things are fixed, I'll definitely change my rating!

1 month ago, Blaheffingblah

Still chock full of glitches, and new time limit.

Make sure you check out Hello Talk first. It’s free and has a ton a of options. In spite of several recent claims that they had fixed the bugs, Tandem is even buggier than ever. And yet they keep asking us to update. LOL!!!! Show me a solid app to start with, then we’ll talk about upgrading. If it weren’t for that, I would give it 4.5/5. Update: with the newly imposed daily time limit, which seems to change every day, they have basically lost my respect. You earn people’s business by actually EARNING it by building a quality app that’s not chock-full of glitches. You don’t earn people’s business by forcing it on them. I cannot justify a good rating for this company. update: I temporarily subscribed, but the app is getting worse and worse. I will not be renewing my subscription until they fulfill their empty promises. The absolute nerve to impose a time limit when all we have in the first place is a glitchy app. I no longer can justify giving these people any of my money. Looking into other apps. I will post here if I find a good one. Side-note: i’m sure no one will read this, but if you’re not a native, don’t offer corrections. Non-natives often screw things up. App is now inundated with ads after recent update.

3 years ago, Mr.Fauna

Run like a prison camp

I was so excited when I originally joined Tandem and was looking forward to improving my foreign language which I have been working on for almost a year. I was a little surprised to be cajoled and messaged regularly to upgrade to their premium subscription. After about a week I had gotten a number of romantic type messages from different users which doesn’t really bother me but I wanted to focus on language so I changed my photo to something other than myself it was a humorous photo nothing inappropriate. About a week later I was messaging with someone and having a nice conversation and all of a sudden the conversation was gone and not only that I was blocked, I lost everything a half a dozen friends I was having conversations with everything gone. I have emailed Tandem repeatedly and they will not respond. Basically all human consideration and kindness is missing from the management. I have since looked online and found many similar experiences from tandem, this is why I have titled it run like a prison camp. It’s really unfortunate they don’t communicate with you if there is a problem they just cut you off like you are valueless garbage. I recommend Hello Talk which is a better app anyway and their support treats you like a real person.

6 years ago, djdkdkkddk

Pretty good as language exchange apps go

Does have all the normal problems of language exchange sites, namely that it doesn't give enough prompting to start interesting conversations and you have to do all the work if you want to actually find practice buddies. I would love it if there were better search options, like self-assignable tags that allow you to search for people with similar interests. The existing search options also shouldn't be so limiting. I personally prefer to talk to non-natives learning the same languages as me because it's less intimidating. Also the "only show natives" and "only show perfect match" buttons shouldn't be mutually inclusive. I think the thing I dislike the most is the topic prompts. Almost everybody uses the dumb autogenerated topics like "I can teach you German grammar" or "Let's talk about what it means to be human", even if they have no interest in talking about that. It's a nice idea in concept but I think it at least needs more interesting, relatable prompts, and if possible just more incentivizing to customize your profile in general might go a long way towards more interesting conversations.

3 years ago, jay288436

This app Doesn’t respect your privacy. And steals your money!

I’ve been a member for a long time with a great reputation and received great reviews from native speakers. Now all of a sudden after all of this time, my account is getting taken down because Tandem wants me to reveal my entire face. I don’t show my entire face because I have a privacy concern. In the past I’ve personally had people steal my images and do things with my pictures (Which I won’t speak about). I don’t see what the issue is when you can see 80% of my face. My picture wasn’t offensive at all, and I received many compliments about my picture every other day. Whoever created this app should take into consideration that some people want to keep their identity private. What does me not showing my entire face have to do with learning and practicing languages? I’ve had this same image up ever since I had the app!!!! I don’t understand why it’s all of a sudden an issue after such a long time. Now I’m going to lose all of my good friends I’ve made on this app All because you can’t see 20% of my face. I’m very upset and disappointed, you guys have to do better. I want a refund now!

4 years ago, tetrachordfetuses

Good but needs improvement

This is a fantastic way to connect with people around the world and learn new languages. The idea is great but the execution is lagging. The biggest problem is that messages aren’t always delivered or received in a timely fashion. It makes it incredibly hard to have a conversation with someone when they don’t receive your messages or you don’t receive theirs until hours or days later. Despite you and someone else being active on the app, often your messages just sit in this ether of “sent” but not “delivered” for a long time. A lot of people I talk to also notice this and have told me they don’t often receive notifications from some conversations. It seems arbitrary when this kind of thing happens. It would also be beneficial to be able to search within conversations. I hope this gets fixed, especially because I paid for the pro membership. If it did I’d be inclined to give it five stars.

6 years ago, foupourfrancais

Wow wow wow

C’est super! This app does almost everything i want it too. I like the text functionality that allows you to correct & translate messages people send you. I also like that you can just send voice messages instead of calling each other. It’s much less pressure. Overall you get such a bang for your buck with this app and you get what you put into it. So far I’ve met many people who are serious about language learning. Very patient and willing to help you if you help them... the fact that you can skip the line and get a 7 day free trial for tandem pro (without entering any card information) is so nice. After only 2 days using pro I can say paying for a subscription is absolutely worth it. One functionality I’d like added is the ability to turn voice messages into text... at times if someone I’m chatting with doesn’t understand what I said in a voice message I write out everything I said. It would be nice if a speech to text feature was available for voice messages. Also at times I want to speak but I don’t know what words I want to say. The quick action translate button is handy for texting but not for speaking. This means if i toggle from a text translation to a voice message I lose what I just translated... and unless I have a great memory I forget what I wanted to say. If there was a way for the translation to still be seen on the screen where you record a voice message that would fix everything.

4 years ago, didibaobaoabc

Disgusting support team

I am a teacher, I helped a lot of people on this App learn languages. One day, this guy reached out to me and rudely asked me to teach him. I was annoyed by his attitude so I told him I didn’t teach on the App, I had my own online school. He then asked me if I would do it for free, I said no, I told him I would charge money. He then got upset and told me he would report me. He did. A day later, I got banned. I reached out to the support team and told them exactly what happened. I asked them why I got banned, and what I did wrong. I told them the guy was really rude, he asked me a bunch of questions, all I did was answer him. But they didn’t give me an explanation. They just simply told me the decision was final. I would never get my account back and I would never be able to get a new account either. How ridiculous is that? All the compliments and appreciation I got from others didn’t count, this one jerk said something bad about me, they listened. That’s so unfair and immoral. I am really disappointed in these people. They have no sense of justice. I am not gonna say anything anymore, god bless you all!

2 years ago, Wfait3

Bad user experience

My thoughts on the app. It is a great idea, and has the potential the be an excellent tool to learn another language. I had downloaded this because I was wanting to work on my conversational language skills. I have an app already to teach me the vocabulary. The app itself was very well laid out and intuitive. It was easy to navigate and gave me enough information on other users that I would be able to find the right person to practice with. I deleted though after a week because the first (and only) person that reached out to me directly was trying to phish me. They were native in the same language as I, and at first I thought they were wanting to practice the language I was wanting to learn. But after a couple back and forth as they asked for my WhatsApp handle, and when I informed them I didn’t have one they stopped talking to me. I think a service like this would benefit to only being a subscription. I get they want to provide language learning to the masses, but when you have the ability to directly communicate, that pay wall can act as a deterrent to scammers and phishers. The app design itself is what saved it. And they do have the ability to block/report people and warnings when things seem a bit… odd. All in all if the find a way to weed out some of the scammers prior to them trying to hook someone, then I think that it would go up I. Rating.

2 years ago, Jskxnxdi kckkdkc

Great app concept- could use improvements for women users

I have really been enjoying the app. I’ve been practicing the language I want to improve in and making cool connections. However, I wish the app had some additional settings in the profile to describe what you are looking for in connections. For example, something like “just learning, friendship, something more.” I had my profile up for only a few minutes before my inbox was blown up by men harassing me. I had to add in my profile that I am not interested in romantic connections right now and we shouldn’t treat this like tinder, but I still have people in my DMs not wanting to practice language… I think it’s great if people want to make romantic connections this way, but the app should sort this out so that the people not interested in connecting this way can avoid this. It can be difficult to be a woman in co-op online spaces like this and I would like to see this taken into consideration.

1 year ago, MJ2823

So much better than HelloTalk

After a horrible experience with HelloTalk, and a lackluster one on Speaky, I had given up on language exchange apps. Then I found Tandem. What a game changer! I have learned more in one day on this app than anywhere else I have tried combined! The features are amazing: correction tools that actually work, multiple ways to communicate, and best of all, very helpful users! So far, nobody has tried to use this as a dating app, and everyone only has interest in learning and sharing languages! I am thrilled with Tandem. They have a better application process to weed out fakes and scammers, and work hard to keep everyone friendly and professional. I love the set up. Made it so easy to find language partners and connect me to awesome people all over the world. Thank you Tandem!

3 months ago, JHicks31

Full screen ads are ruining the app

I loved Tandem. It has been a great place to meet with native speakers and practice speaking and texting with them. However, these full screen video ads have nearly rendered the app unusable. When you are trying to find new people to speak with, every time you click a profile, an intrusive video ad pops up. It’s the opposite of fostering a good user experience and a good learning environment. This need to get fixed or you’re gonna lose a large chunk of your users. Including me. EDIT: Tandem recently added save collection, where you can save messages like corrections to review and learn from. Problem is you can only save 8 unless you use the premium service. HelloTalk has had that functionality for years and unlimited saves on the standard, non-premium service. Seems like Tandem is just being greedy to the detriment of their own service. Especially since in other apps, these services are free to use and would be helpful for everybody’s language learning. Isn’t that the original point of the app?

7 years ago, molamolafromlisboa

Awesome way to practice a language

I always tell myself I should start getting comfy speaking a language, and really force myself to speak it without a translator. Tandem, thank you! This app is forcing me to practice my Portuguese, but this review will be in English. 😉 Tandem has an easy to use GUI, but I didn't know of all the features until I saw people I was talking to use them. There are built-in ways to comment and correct a message someone previously said that is very easy for them to read. For example, the corrections and edits are explicitly colored. It may be a simple feature, but I definitely wouldn't take it for granted. I wish there would be a way to correct on someone's "comment." Currently, my workaround is to copy the portion of the comment I want to correct as a new message, and correct it myself without the nice coloring.

2 years ago, 467?(5$$?4

Best free language exchange app I've come across

This app is great! Once you are accepted after the application review, you are allowed to choose from a multitude of different language learners from across the globe that are populated in the "community" queue based on what languages you have put down. People are allowed to message and follow you, and vice versa. The only drawback to this is when you get flooded with messages that you can't really stymie the flow of. You can remove messages and block users so that they don't contact you if you don't want to talk to them. Once you are in the groove of talking to a language learner, within the app you can send audio messages, pictures, make phone calls, and you can even correct messages with an in-house style. This is one of the best free apps out there for language exchange if you are looking for one.

2 years ago, screenwriter882

This app is a God send in case you don’t have family

Really God bless Tandem from saving from overall loneliness. I’m not close to family so the app has been a great help distracting me from what’s really missing from my life. It gave me some much needed purpose. Finally I can use my college English literature credits to use by helping others learn English in exchange for friendship and getting a good linguistic education. Of course there have been a few bad apples who think this is Tinder or WeChat and I had no problem reporting them and keeping everyone else safe on the app. Those that run it don’t play if you decide to break the rules. I haven’t met anyone close by worth seeing in person but those from another country : good people to talk to for the most part

6 years ago, enelson76

Good in principle, not great for learning

This app has the right idea, and has worked in helping me find good people to practice Chinese with. But here are the the main issues with this app. First, you NEED a better iPad version! It doesn’t rotate into landscape mode so I can use it with my keyboard. That’s a show stopper for me! Second, I love the in-place translation services to facilitate communication when you don’t now how to say something, but many times I’m told that the translations aren’t great. Third, and this isn’t the fault of the developer, but most people on this site are more interested in just chatting in their own language, than learning/teaching. It seems more like a hangout place than a learning app. So you’ll have to sift through many people to find ones that are truly interested in helping you learn. But overall, this is a great concept and I hope the app continues to refine and become a learning tool.

4 years ago, Summer.Verano

Tandem changed my life!!!

This app has literally been a life changer for me. I’ve used Tandem on-again-off-again since 2016! It truly was the main factor that helped me to become bilingual!! This app also helped me to overcome my fear of speaking a second language. Apart from this, it also has helped me meet many new people from all over. Tandem has given me more perspective on the culture’s of the world and I never would have been able to connect with people like this otherwise. I even took a trip to South America just to meet my Tandem BFF!! I am forever grateful for this app, and will continue to use it in all of my language learning endeavors. I recommend it to ANYONE wanting to become FLUENT in a language. Speaking to natives is truly the best way to learn!! I love love love this app and you will too! 🌎🌍🌏

2 years ago, Tokyo Fever

DO NOT PAY

FRAUD: Horrible customer support coz there’s literally zero support. I sent 4 messages so far and all of them are ignored. I’m so sad I have to write a review so there might be a possibility that they might reply. I paid for YEARLY VIP membership and the app stopped working less than a month. DO NOT PAY for this app. One day everything (all the previous messages, followers and following) disappeared on my account and I stopped receiving messages from anybody. Seems like my profile is hidden or something coz I used to have many visitors every single day and now it’s ZERO. It’s not like there’s little thing that causes me some inconvenience but the app isn’t functioning at all. When you paid for yearly VIP membership and they ignore everything when I can’t use the app isn’t acceptable. I lost in touch with all the people I made friends with as well and can’t find them anymore coz I have no history. I asked for a refund coz the app is not working at all but they ignored. Seriously DO NOT PAY.

3 years ago, Leeabarreto

New friends ❤️ But so much to do!

I really love this app. I’ve had it for a few months now. At first, I was trying to improve with the languages I’ve been learning. Now, I can do that while saying that I’ve made a lot of sweet friends. It’s a great place to learn/practice languages with other people while also bonding. The only problem I have is that there are too many great people! I just can’t keep up sometimes. I’m wondering if Tandem can make an option to stop people from messaging you. Like new people. I know that’s an option for another app I had a few years back. To stop accepting new people so you don’t feel overwhelmed with all the messages. That would be so helpful.

5 years ago, Appreciate49

High potential but flawed

Wonderfully designed app to connect with language learners, in multiple ways. Unfortunately there is very little effort to deal with the fact that many sleazy people use the app to carry on inappropriate sexual conversations. I know I can simply and quickly block these callers, but Tandem does not seem to make an effort to discourage the high prevalence of this behavior in the first place. Also, there is slow and ineffective support. You are only allowed to have Tandem on one device at a time. But if your device is broken or lost, there is no instruction on how to switch to a new device. •••After submitting this review, I received a “developer response.” Thanks developer for listening. Unfortunately the response suggested that I contact Tandem Support, the same fine group that I complained about in my review for their lack of effective support. So, I contacted them again and they gave me the same advice that has never worked before. Thanks for asking me if I’d like to revise my review. Still 1 star.

1 year ago, Rob the Slob

Great in general, with a couple recent bugs

I’ve been using the free version of Tandem for a couple of years now, and have found many great language partners through it. I recommend the free version highly. Recently a couple of bugs have shown up I wish could be fixed. I’m getting notification badges on the icon on my home screen—on both my phone and my iPad—that are randomly changing, “1” one time, “6” after I use the app, “2” next time I pick up my phone . . . which never correspond to actual new messages. This has only begun happening in recent weeks. Also have been recently getting warning messages mid-conversation about “suspicious” texts from people I’ve been chatting amiably with for a long time. I expect this is some algorithm that’s recently gotten touchier in response to customer complaints about harassment and phishing. Hoping it’ll be dialed back down soon. The customer support, I’m afraid, is abysmal. You send e-mail about a specific problem and may or may not get a response, but if you do, it’ll be at least a week later. All that said . . . ha! the app is really very good for finding native language speakers to practice with. I highly recommend the free version.

4 years ago, Emmak0

Would try again if updated

This app seems like an amazing way to improve my language skills, however, I decided to delete it about 10min after making my account because I was immediately flooded with messages from men and had a shocking amount of notifications. I’ve seen this issue repeatedly mentioned in other reviews. To fix: 1. Ensure that the “same gender” option is very obvious, I could not find it in the free version. 2. Limit communication, I should not be receiving a free for all of messages, both people should agree that they WANT to message BEFORE anything is sent after they read each others profiles. The fact that anyone can message you on the app is an issue that makes me unwilling to use the app and is frankly dangerous and unsafe. I experience enough harassment as a woman in my day to day life, I will never choose to add more of that into my life on an app where I’m simply trying to learn. If these changes happened I would happily give this app another try.

3 years ago, DogeDemention3000

Horrible Horrible They’ll take your money!

I downloaded this app excited to learn a language. After using for awhile, I paid for a subscription to receive extra benefits. Then suddenly without warning, my account was banned! I contacted Tandem and it took an entire week for them to respond. They said the reason why they banned my account is because I didn’t show my face in my profile picture. ITS AGAINST MY RELIGION TO SHOW MY FACE!!!!!! Tandem refuses to give me my money back too! I will never recommend an app that takes your money and bans you for not showing your face. I see many other profiles that don’t show their face but they didn’t get banned so why did I?? I thought this was tandem not tinder?? I will not go against my religion SHAME ON YOU TANDEM! This is ignorant and disrespectful to those who seriously want to learn a language!! Don’t buy the VIP because you won’t get your money back!! I’m glad for hello talk because I don’t have to show my face to practice languages.

1 year ago, gastdruck

Great App but difficult to continue conversations due to a lacking feature

This app is excellent for developing your language skills but the inability to filter for conversations you’ve replied to/accepted makes it almost unusable for the long term. This app would be 5 stars if there was a feature to distinguish messages from ‘friends’ who I’ve already responded to, and those ‘new contacts’ which I haven’t responded to or engaged. I would rather have more in-depth conversations with fewer people and right now the app doesn’t facilitate that. I find myself not using the app because it’s difficult to talk to the people I want and have the energy to talk to. There are Apps with the ability to do this, notably Instagram has this distinction within the chat: messages from users you do not follow go to a different tab and can ‘accepted’

2 years ago, happy 11th grader :3

Good idea... but more like a dating app.

This idea was really cool, but I disliked certain things about it so much this is the first review I've ever written. IF YOURE A GIRL READING THIS, there are really creepy people on this platform. It is explicitly said to not be a dating platform and online dating is not tolerated there but it happens anyway of course. (see 4th reason) First of all, you never really go back to talk to someone after saying goodbye on the first day. Second of all, you must put a profile picture that must have a face in it, your first name (and you can't change it later), your age, your birthday, and your location. I was stupid enough to put everything but my real birthday and location but I still felt very exposed. Third, structured like a dating app. Fourth. I am a girl. Like 7 out of 8 people that messaged me were boys/men, and there were so many people messaging me I could not keep up. In the two weeks I used this app, I received texts from 4 creepy guys - one sent me a picture of his chest and stomach, one asked me to be his girlfriend, another called me my lady multiple times, and the last messaged me with "Hola gringa hermosa," or "hello beautiful white girl." I never experienced something like this before, but now I know where all these creepy stories come from. I know *why* I must be more careful in the future - it just took a mistake to learn that.

7 months ago, spensahomez

US, Israel, westerners…be aware

Degenerates more and more as the war in Israel progresses. Users gather in affinity groups around their ideology. They use tandem to exchange telegram contact info. On telegram they target everyone from pro-Israeli supporters to those that just attempt to give voice to dialogue (both sides). If you get targeted, you’re in a list (of sorts). The same users will look for any opportunity to misconstrue a violation of tandems community standards; and report you. The more you’re reported the higher chance of consequence. Tandem typically issues a warning (with no evidence given) for these reports. You can see how this system is vulnerable to a mob-attack. Keep in mind, you only get ONE warning before they ban you. Imagine trying to host a language learning or cultural exchange “party” after such a warning. Hosting parties is difficult, and you can’t control what people say. Sometimes it’s a balancing act between respect, language/cultural barrier, and discernment. Sometimes the audio doesn’t work and you can’t hear what your guests are even saying well enough to moderate them. For all of these reasons, Tandem is quickly becoming irrelevant as a language learning app. Many users have serious questions as to why the platform has been allowed to be overrun by abusive behavior. Tandem, please save your patronizing response. Your fangs are showing.

2 years ago, Old Man Dancing

Pretty good minus

This is a pretty good language app in most ways. I was able to quickly establish contact with several people, which is something that I was unable to use with the previous app of its sort. It’s one major failure keeps it from being more highly rated by me. “Pretty good” would get at least three stars in or possibly even four, but I dropped this app to two stars because of this failure. I listed the language that I am learning as Spanish. Then I decided that I wanted to add some certificates, so I bought what I thought was the test for beginning Spanish. Only when I started to take the test did I realize that I was taking the test for beginning ENGLISH. White, exactly, would be the point for me testing in my native language?! Now, not only have I wasted money buying the wrong test, I can’t even FIND where to buy the correct test, i.e.Spanish.

1 year ago, dashj1

Best language learning app to ever exist

I truly believe language learning is more about connecting with others than consuming information in an academic way. This app enables us to do just that. They have a large user base that allows people from all corners of the earth to connect at all times. It’s truly a marvel. My one suggestion would be when leaving a language party, the tabs resets. Which means if you are in Langston for a language with few chats you have to keep scrolling back to the language you were previously in. It would be great if this information was persisted so that you can continue searching in the language tab that you were previously in.

2 years ago, VanillaPandai

My Experience after 3 months

When I first downloaded this, it was a bit hard to keep up with the 14 hour difference time zone of the country I wished to learn. People drop very easily. But while visiting South Korea, it updated my location and I got a lot more people who responded to me and made at least 3 long term friends as well as practice partners! I wish there was a feed area where I could post my stories there similar to instagram to share all the pictures I took. It also warns you when it feels like you should be careful which I like. Correcting and receiving corrections is extremely easy to do and understand. I like that method a lot. I’m grateful for the apps creators.

3 years ago, MTGuti

Definitely a helpful app

I’ve been using Tandem for almost a year now. I’ve learned so much being able to communicate regularly with native speakers of the languages I’m trying to improve. I love that my experience on the app has been just about people trying to learn and make possible friendships and has not been about creepy hookups. The only thing I wish this app had was like a group chat feature or group channels. It can be difficult to keep communication up between two strangers so messaging kind of dies off after awhile. Other than that I really love this app and will continue to use. I’ve told almost all of my inner circle about it! Thanks for this app!

6 years ago, paperpoppet

Every app is Tinder when you’re a toxic dudebro.

When signing up for the app there are several warnings that this is “NOT A DATING APP” and threats of lifetime bans should this or other rules be violated. With such strong warnings I foolishly thought there was no need to toggle the “my gender only” switch on when setting my account up. How very Pollyanna of me. Needless to say, my chat inbox immediately became so flooded with pathetic horndogs wanting to know where I live and if I have a boyfriend that I had to delete the account. Like, seriously. In less than two hours. “Safe” is apparently a relative concept. So, women, do yourself a favor and hit that “my gender only” switch as fast as you can. Or not. I actually improved my Spanish considerably in the two hours I spent finding creative ways to tell perverts to kick rocks. This app’s developers need to pull their heads out of the sand and include better filtering and blocking options.

6 months ago, Ifhdvufeg

Best App for Language Exchange

I have used a number of apps, but Tandem has been the best for me. In fact, I have been using it for over 7 years. The interface is very user-friendly. So many useful tools and resources have been added since I first joined. Most importantly, there is an abundance of users on Tandem. On other apps that I’ve used, it’s really difficult to practice with certain native language speakers as many of them do not use those apps. This has not been an issue for me with Tandem. I’ve made lifelong friends using Tandem, and will continue to use it to meet great people while learning their languages and helping them learn mine!

2 years ago, ahakdlfhsjalalfjskald

Amazing Concept, Just One Problem

I love that this app allows you to practice your second (or more!) language! The people you talk to are very nice and also want to practice their language. The problem is that it’s not clear the language arrangements that are meant to be spoken. Being from the United States, I want to practice my Spanish. The app matches me with native Spanish speakers, but they are on the app to practice their English. I have heard from many native Spanish speakers that native English speakers only want to speak English. I think this is because there isn’t any indication that they should do otherwise. I have gotten around this problem by directly offering to speak Spanish to the people I match with, while they respond in English. It would be helpful to have two buttons when you first talk to someone: one for what language you want to practice and one for what language you would like your partner to speak to you in. If your partner doesn’t select the same options as you, you have an indication right away that it’s either not a good match, or you might opt to trade off which languages you speak to each other.

4 years ago, Saucy92

No communication from Tandem. Awful.

This is in response to an Interview I had with Tandem. I was applying for their Senior Product Manager (Growth) role and spoke to their Head of Operations Tijana and their Co-Founder Arnd. Very broadly, I had a good interview. But post the interview, I had to wait for more than 3 weeks to get a response. And the response was a bland ‘unfortunately, we are not able to make you an offer at this time..’ I’m not hurt by their rejection, but when I asked for specific feedback on why I didn’t make it, there was a complete radio silence. It’s awfully painful when after putting in so much effort and energy for the interview, all we get is a canned rejection letter. I’ve reached out to the both of them multiple times, but to no avail. If there’s anything that irks me the most is the lack of accountability, a total lack of transparent communication, and a very sub-standard work. Dodged a bullet? You tell me.

9 months ago, Lareina L

Problems feedback

1. When I use iPad to type on a comment to a friend, why can't I type as long as I want? I get limited every single time by certain amounts of words. But my friend don't have this problem. 2. When I use my Huawei phone , there always has a network problem, I have to press the retry button again and again until it runs as normal. And when I use VPN it doesn't show anything! 3. When I use my Huawei phone, the messages can't be sent successfully for one time, I have to try again and again then they can be sent successfully . And the page will spontaneously roll to the latest message when I browse the old ones. Please fix these as soon as you can!!!

6 years ago, Qman_15

Best way to make friends from around the world!

I love this app. It is so easy to meet fun, interesting people and practice your language skills at the same time. I also appreciate how hard the Devs are working on it, too, with updates like the recent World Cup feature. One recommendation I have is to add the ability to send gifs or pictures from the text chat like you can in GroupMe. This would change the game because emojis can only take you so far. One bug I noticed is that no matter how many times I approve/grant tandem access to my Facebook likes, I can never get them to show on my profile, and I can’t see others’ Facebook likes either. Still, overall, great, quality app.

4 years ago, JJBJ98

LOVE this app (but with one minor complaint)

I recently redownloaded this app after taking a break from learning languages and I couldn’t be happier that I did. I didn’t realized how much I missed learning about other cultures and languages from native speakers. My only problem with this app is that there is no way to “mute” or “hide” yourself after you feel like you have enough tandem partners to work with. I am constantly flooded with messages and it gets hard to separate who I’ve been talking to regularly and someone that just found my profile. Despite this, it is definitely worth downloading if you want to take your language learning to the next level.

6 years ago, Mast3r Click3r

Good App

I have 2 ideas that would improve the experience. Have a range of 1-5 when people sign up to show how much they desire to learn the language. Or how much time they will give daily/ weekly. Then people can be paired with others who are willingly to spend a similar amount of time with each other. This has been a problem because some people don’t want to give that much time. Or too much time. Also, have an option to pair people with their same level of language, which would require a range of 5 options for language level, not 3. Being paired with somebody at the same level has worked out the best for me. This would result in people using the app more and relationships lasting longer. Maybe some people would like to be paired with others who have the opposite skill level too. Both of these ideas could be a filter for when searching for learners to chat with. Give sample structures and ideas on how to go about learning. Ex. One person translates their language sentence into the other using google etc. They read it in the new language and the other listens and corrects. And they can switch.

5 years ago, Polarisphere

Banned…for life? 😡👎🏽

There’s no way to validate any credibility of any reports. The company just processes them from face value, which by itself is invalid and unsound. There should be an investigation of both parties before any lifelong verdict is administered. Anyone can simply report anyone for fraudulent claims and that person can be blacklisted without any way to plead their innocence/defend themselves. It’s simply unfair this system of yours. Numbers aren’t enough justification here. Set up a probation/correctional period instead of banning any or everybody forever. Have them monetarily pay to regain access if that suits your business. Whatever! But this lifelong ban will definitely hurt your business in the long run.

3 years ago, Batinwazahir

This app is not made well.

If you receive many messages, then this app will prove difficult to use for you. The unread messages tab only show the last ten or so messages, if you receive more, then you must scroll down, down, down, every time you want to reply to someone. It’s a big hassle and makes me not want to use the app, despite having already spending money on a premium subscription. It would also be nice to have an option so that your profile is only viewable to the gender you want to talk to because there are many men who use the app like a dating site. Also if someone comments on one of your messages, you can’t use the translation function on the app and instead need to copy and paste into google translate. Other than that, it’s a very nice concept.

3 years ago, Hubert Gavin

Need a flag indicating the will to receive a voice or video call

Tandem is a extremely helpful APP that allow peoples from different countries in different languages to communicate with and learn from each other. Well, we all know the most efficient way is to have a voice or video call, yet we have to ask first and maybe get a no answer at last, I think if there is possible to add a flag indicating that the current status of the user would like to chat in voice or video, this future definitely will make this APP even more effcient and helpful and make it more attractive to be a VIP member.

1 year ago, L (Lx)

I have a problem

As a teenager. I’m not all that comfortable with sharing my full name and face online. I understand why they want you to share your face to make sure you aren’t a creep or anything, but when I tried to set my picture to something else they didn’t let me. I put my first name as my nickname which is only one letter long, and unfortunately they would only take names up to two letters. I typed an x after that letter and it allowed it, but I feel like it’s taking longer to process my application. Is that normal or are they annoyed with me? Because if they try to make me give my full name and face that’s just like me asking for some crazy person to find me irl. And I’m just not comfortable with that.

Description

**Tandem language exchange is the process of joining forces with someone who is a native speaker of the language you want to learn** Languages are a 'learn by doing' kind of thing. This particular method is at the heart of Tandem, the global language exchange community. Connect with native speakers, start chatting and finally reach fluency in the language you’re learning! Learn, connect, and share with 1-to-1 chats or try out Parties, the ultimate group learning audio space. There are millions of Tandem members with just as many interests, so find your people – and start speaking their language today! Reach fluency in 300+ languages, including Spanish, English, Japanese, Korean, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and 12 different sign languages, including American Sign Language. Why Tandem helps you to practice and learn languages: BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY For the times when you’re struggling to find the correct words, our in-app translation feature helps you compose a message or translate an incoming one. PERFECT YOUR PRONUNCIATION Fit in with the locals and improve your speaking skills using voice notes, audio and video calls. GRASP THE GRAMMAR Help each other grasp the difficult parts of language learning with our message correction and comment features. TANDEM YOUR WAY Forget strict schedules and learning by the book. Embrace your personal language learning style—whether that’s messaging, calling, or even meeting in person. DOWNLOAD TANDEM AND MASTER ANY LANGUAGE NOW! ______________ What is language exchange? Tandem language learning is the process of joining forces with someone who is a native speaker of the language you want to learn. Through conversation with your Tandem partner, known as language exchange, you improve your language skills and develop intercultural competence. Tandem’s core value is to unite people across borders through language learning. Languages hold great power for unity, inclusivity, and equality. Language and cultural exchange are keys to unlock global understanding in our increasingly interconnected world. How to learn languages on Tandem: 1. Select the language(s) you want to learn in the app 2. Tell us about your language learning goals and your ideal Tandem partner 3. Search for native speakers of your target language in the community 4. Kick-off your language exchange experience by sending your first message 5. Share topics with the Tandem community so you can have meaningful conversations about what interests you 6. Keep up the conversation with your new Tandem “pen pal” and speak like a native in no time! Got a question? Contact us on [email protected] Licenses: Tandem – Language Exchange is licensed by Tandem Fundazioa (http://tandemcity.info) www.tandem.net/pages/termsofservice