Ah, online dating. If you’ve dated in the past 20 years, you’ve likely encountered one – or all – of the myriad dating sites in some form. 

And as we’ve increasingly moved our lives online, digital dating’s finally shed the stigma it once carried, leaving people free to meet others however they choose.

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Julie Spira, dating expert and CEO of cyberdatingexpert.com says it wasn’t always so easy to meet people online. She would know: she’s been helping clients find love online since 1994.

“People didn’t have mobile phones and laptops, and the process was people would go home, log on slowly, see who had written to them and write back,” she says. “The courtship process was a lot slower, so it took quite a while to get from the first interaction to actually going on a date. Plus in those days, there was a stigma associated with online dating. You did not tell people you met your spouse, or partner, or even a date online.”

As we’ve changed, so has the online dating landscape. In the years since their initial launches, the forefathers of dating sites have forged ahead on mobile while holding on to their desktop roots.

Here are our top 5 dating site picks:

1. Best for international daters: Zoosk

What initially began as a Facebook app developed in 2007 has grown into a company with 35 million users in more than 80 countries. 

“Zoosk is fun and flirty,” Spira says.

Rather than asking its user for dating questions, Zoosk picks dates for its users based on a user’s on-site activity. If you shoot a message to Jake Doe, for example, Zoosk says it’ll use that action to determine which types of profiles to show you going forward.

“Zoosk is fun and flirty,” Spira says. “It does cater to a younger crowd – more of a millennial crowd.”

What you need to know:

• Zoosk is free to sign up, but you’ll need a paid subscription to interact with other users. The company also uses its own form of currency called Zoosk coins that are available for purchase. Daters can use these for features like adding a “boost” to their own profiles in search or sending another user a “virtual gift.”

• Users can browse the site on both desktop and mobile.

2. Best for all kinds of daters: Match

Before there were apps on which one could swipe right and left on a dizzying number of potential connections, there was Match. Yes, Match.com is the mother of all dating sites. Launched back in 1995, its decades in the business help it bring a ton of insight to the table for singles looking for all kinds of connections. 

“Match is the family brand,” Spira says.

And with its more recent push into mobile come a few new features that have helped make the ancient site more relevant, including its very own version of Stories, popularized by Snapchat and, uh … adopted by everyone else.

Match users can shoot little videos of their day or add voiceovers to photos and post them to their profiles for other users to check out.

“Match is the family brand,” Spira says. “It’s the one where someone could see their grandmother on, and someone could see their grandson on. It has the largest critical mass, and they have done a fabulous job of keeping up with the technology.”

What you need to know: 

• It’s technically free to build a profile and browse for matches, but users who want to engage in direct messaging with their matches will have to upgrade to a paid membership, which costs on average about $20 per month. There’s also a free trial option.

• Match users can browse on desktop and on mobile through its app.

• Match also recently added Missed Connections which, like the app Happn, tells users who they’ve crossed paths with recently.

• More than 25,000 new users join each day, apparently.

• Spira says it “spans a lot of different relationship types,” from casual to serious.

3. Best for those looking to get hitched: eHarmony

Founded in 2000 by Dr. Neil Clark Warren, eHarmony is the site for serious daters. A spokesperson for the site says it’s been used by 54 million people, and is apparently responsible for 4 percent of U.S. marriages.. Users answer a lengthy questionnaire that helps eHarmony determine what it calls a “a select group of compatible matches with whom you can build a quality relationship.”

Spira says she’s always seen eHarmony as a “matrimonial dating site.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re going to walk down the aisle, but it certainly means that you’re looking for a very serious relationship that may or may not lead to marriage. It may lead to living together or at least being in an exclusive, committed relationship.”

What you need to know:

• While it’s free to make an account, answer questions, and see your matches, you’ll need to select a paid membership to make contact. Prices start at $19.95 per month.

• It’s available on both desktop and through its app.

• It’s not recommended for users looking to date casually. “eHarmony will not cater to somebody who’s looking for a casual relationship or hookup– you will never see that on eHarmony,” Spira says.

4. Best for the opinionated: OkCupid

On OkCupid, users can offer a ton of information about themselves through the site’s Match Questions. Examples include: “Would you date someone who keeps a gun in the house?” or “Should the government require children be vaccinated for preventable diseases?” The answers to these questions help OkCupid determine which members might be a good match for one another. 

Of note: Per OkCupid’s own stats, liberal women in particular have luck on the site. And in 2017, the site offered users the chance to answer 50 “current events” questions that illuminate a user’s politics.

“OkCupid has been a favorite of mine for years,” Spira says. “I always liked OkCupid because they have a great critical mass and they have the thought-provoking questions that really allow you to think about how you feel about some of these issues, whether it’s politics or gun control, and how do you feel about your date’s answers. People spend a lot of time on site just perusing the questions that other people answer, and I like that. “

What you need to know:

• OkCupid is free for the most part, but does offer some paid upgrades for features like increased search abilities, a “free automatic boost per day during prime time,” or even the option to browse privately in “Incognito Mode.”

• It’s available on both desktop and mobile.

5. Best mostly-free site: Plenty of Fish

Plenty of Fish, sometime styled as POF, boasts 4 million daily active users, with 65,000 new users each day apparently, and claims users send 1 billion messages per month. After registering for POF, hopeful daters take a personality test that then helps POF determine what they call, “Your Relationship Needs.” Basically, it’s a way to make sure users know what they want from their love lives, and to ensure that it serves users with other profiles that meet that criteria.

One unusual quirk: The site recently launched a feature that allows users to message others through Google Home.

Says Spira: “They have a large user base, are a free site, and are very popular.”

What you need to know:

• POF is pretty much entirely free, but does offer upgrades. Like Zoosk, POF offers “tokens” that let users “highlight” their profiles so that they stand out to other users, send a message that goes straight to the top of their inboxes, or send a “Super Yes” to users they’re particularly interested in.

• It has both a desktop site, and an app.

Alright, daters – get your beautiful faces out there.

The gaming community has rallied together following the shooting at a Madden event in Jacksonville, and now Electronic Arts has made a sizeable monetary contribution.

EA will donate $1 million to support the victims of Sunday’s tragedy, which it’s called the Jacksonville Tribute. 

SEE ALSO: EA CEO shares ‘shock and grief’ at Madden shooting, cancels remaining events

“We’re also working to set up a fund where others can contribute alongside our donation, and we will come back very soon with further details,” the statement reads.

“Contributions will go to the victims, including the families of Taylor Robertson, Elijah Clayton, and all those who were affected.”

EA will also host a livestream in tribute on Sep. 6, allowing the wider community to join together and  unite in play. 

On Tuesday, EA cancelled three remaining qualifier events which were scheduled as part of the Madden Classic tournament. EA CEO Andrew Wilson said it would run “a comprehensive review of safety protocols for competitors and spectators.”

“We will work with our partners and our internal teams to establish a consistent level of security at all of our competitive gaming events,” the statement added.

Competitors Taylor “SpotMePlzzz” Robertson and Elijah “TrueBoy” Clayton died at the Jacksonville event, while 11 others were injured in the incident.

There’s long been murmurs about Apple making its own augmented reality glasses, like Google Glass, and its latest acquisition is another step towards that.

Apple has acquired Denver-based AR lens startup Akonia Holographics, according to a report by Reuters.

SEE ALSO: iFixit cracks open the $2,295 Magic Leap One to inspect its guts

Founded in 2012, the startup focused on holographic data storage before shifting to smart glass technologies. 

Akonia’s HoloMirror smart glass utilises a single layer of media, and the company boasts “ultra-clear, full-color performance … [enabling] the thinnest, lightest head worn displays in the world.”

In a statement to Reuters, an Apple spokesperson (as per usual) didn’t give much away: “Apple buys smaller companies from time to time, and we generally don’t discuss our purpose or plans.”

An executive in the AR industry told the outlet that Akonia had become “very quiet” in the six months leading to the acquisition, indicating the deal happened earlier this year.

Back in April, CNET reported Apple was working on a combination AR/VR headset with the codename “T288,” supporting both AR and VR apps, that would launch by 2020.

Each lens would reportedly feature an 8K display per eye, for a total resolution of 16K. That would eclipse the likes of current VR rivals Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, which both only have 1,080 x 1,200 resolution per eye.

Of course, it’s still early days, and Apple’s headset dreams might just stay that way.

First, there was Dallas and Los Angeles. Now Uber wants a third city to fly its air taxi service, and it’s looking internationally.

In what feels like Amazon’s search for a second headquarters location, Uber this week announced its shortlist for countries the ride-hailing app would work with to launch its aviation project UberAir, a flight-sharing network with electric vertical take-off and landing (e-VTOLs) aircraft. The planes are expected to cruise at about 150 mph and reach about 2,000 feet. The electric planes will go 60 miles on a charge.

SEE ALSO: Flying taxis could be here by 2020 thanks to Uber

The countries were announced during the Uber Elevate Asia Pacific Expo in Japan. The list includes Japan and the cities of Tokyo and Osaka; India with Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore; Australia in Melbourne or Sydney; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Paris, France, where Uber already announced an Advanced Technologies Center to study and develop flying cars.

Uber already announced that Los Angeles and Dallas would be the first American cities to demo its flying taxi system in 2020, with flights expected to be offered to commercial fliers by 2023. Last year, Uber produced a slick, futuristic video (above) to preview what that might look like.

But first, Uber has to determine which international city will join in the company’s ambitious plans. 

During the expo in Japan, Uber presented potential flight paths for cities to show what it could look like when a customer orders a short plane ride from an app.

Here’s a proposed trip near Tokyo from Haneda to Narita airports:

Uber says its e-VTOLs would take under 20 minutes to cover about 40 miles (what is usually nearly two hours by car). Uber also showed potential routes in Delhi, Mumbai, Seoul, Sydney, and Taipei. 

Here’s what the Sydney route could look like:

Preference is being given to high density metro areas with more than 2 million people so that pooled flights make sense. Uber says it also wants “polycentric” regions (urban areas made up of multiple cities), and would rather work with cities that already cooperate smoothly with Uber on the street. Uber has a full list that goes deep into its criteria.

Separate from Uber’s search, Bloomberg reports that Japanese government officials are moving ahead to develop a flying car system. The country is in talks with Uber and other aviation companies to bring short-haul, commuter flights to the country within the next 10 years.

No word yet on when the UberAir finalist cities will be announced, but if it’s anything like the Amazon search for a second headquarters, this might take a while.