Local Sex is a hookup app that makes some wild claims. They say you’ll be able to chat with and meet local people near you who are tired of playing games on dating apps, and are serious about meeting new people. Is this really true? Does this app actually work better than other fuck search apps? We tested it to find out.

The app

Local Sex claims to have more than a million users. They say they’ve helped users find partners by connecting them with more than 250,000 local locals who are looking for a fuck buddy or one night stand.

They claim to be able to deliver this local sex experience without having to even leave the house. The app takes a lot of the guesswork out of finding someone who’s ready for a hookup.

It all starts when you download the app and create a profile. When you sign up, the first thing you’ll see is a list of users with their photos, name, age, distance and when they were last online.

The app in action

I downloaded the app, followed the on-screen instructions, and opened it. It’s very minimalist and minimal, so there’s not a lot to see.

Your name and photo are very clearly presented on a profile page, which is pretty much the only thing you’ll see on the app for the first several minutes of the download. Once the download is complete, you can use the app by entering your location.

How it works

Download Local Sex, optionally connect with Facebook, and you can browse through available users in your area. You can also search for users nearby with their matchmaking feature.

Once you find a person nearby, you can either message them or just add them to your “pool.” For the purpose of this review, we used the pool option and searched for potential hookups based on age, body type, distance, and whatnot.

We chose to look for someone who was near a certain area of our city to make the most of the limited time we had and hopefully make a connection. When you find a person nearby who interests you, it will ask you if you want to connect with them.

You see what people are interested in most when you enter their profile. It’s easy to see what they’re into, including what they’re looking for. People are generally very responsive and ready to hook up with little notice.

After logging in, you have the option of using a custom profile. This is the name that you use in the app, so choose carefully. The first option is your default profile, but you can change it if you want to present a slightly different view of yourself to prospective partners.

Getting matches

Local Sex is unique because the app only shows matches within a few miles. On Tinder, for example, you may have to swipe hundreds of miles around you before you start to see people who live in the same city or have a similar profile.

Local Sex doesn’t let you scroll around very much, but it doesn’t stop you from seeing profiles at all. When I started the app, I immediately got a match.

The first woman I saw was named Jessica, and she was three miles away from me. I chose to chat with her. Jessica said she was 29 years old, had blue eyes, and looked like the actress Rose Byrne. I also asked if she had a photo of herself, which she did. We started sexting, and then 15 minutes later she was already on her way to hook up with me. I’ve never gotten someone to meet and fuck so quickly on any other app, so I was blown away.

Sending messages

The first thing you’ll notice when you open up the app is how easy it is to write your messages. You can text anyone and everyone in your area with messages freely.

Selecting one of the “local” options gives you all the members’ names and photos you need to pick from. I often message people based on their profile pics alone so having a full face is always a plus. You can also write “hey” and even “you DTF?” if you’re feeling bold.

The verdict

I downloaded the app and suggested it to some of my closest friends, and we started exploring the app together. The website is clean and well-designed with plenty of options to choose from and your profile shows up as a watercolor-style photo, complete with cute caption.

In fact, the whole user experience is very pleasant, and overall it feels more like a hookup app than one for serious dating. The app opens up to a simple screen where you enter your name and age, and then you can browse local people or start using the matchmaking feature.

This app actually worked for me, and I was sexting local girls much faster than any other dating or hookup apps. If you’re looking to get laid fast, I can’t recommend it enough.

We make choices every day. For example, we decide whether or not we should start our homework…or take a nap (I’m guilty of opting for the latter).

As we get older and start to have romantic and sexual relationships, we have to make plenty of choices.

In my past relationships, I’ve definitely done things that I wasn’t comfortable with because I was worried that if I didn’t, my partner wouldn’t want to be with me anymore.

But as I got more in touch with myself and what I like and don’t like, I became more expressive about what was right for me.

It didn’t take me one day to figure this all out; I’m still working on it. I discovered that what you like or want is fluid. It can change over time, and this is OK.

Deciding what you are and aren’t comfortable with, communicating this to your partner, and realizing that it’s an ongoing process is all part of making choices about relationships and sex.

Making Choices

So how do teens make choices about what they are and aren’t comfortable with sexually? Maria, 19, from North Brunswick, NJ shares, “I make choices sexually based on what I deem safe, consensual and what I’m attracted to and aroused by.”

What Maria is saying about consent and comfort levels is important. Let’s say you’re willing to try something and then you decide you don’t want to try it after all.

It’s OK to change your mind. Don’t feel obligated to do what your partner wants you to do; mutual understanding and respect is important. If your partner says something like, “If you love me like you say you do, you would do this for me,” or your partner is pressuring you to do things sexually, that’s a warning sign.

Royal, 16, from Lithonia, GA says, “I make my choices based on my intuition. If I’m feeling something, then I’ll do it. If I’m not, then my partner will know. I don’t do anything I’m not comfortable with. When I talked about this with my first partner, I felt nervous because it was something I had never done before.

I figured that no one really talks about what they are comfortable with and I didn’t know how to approach it. I told her anyways, and she was very understanding. After that, it just felt natural. I think that after you say it the first time and just rip the bandage off, it gets easier from there.”

When it comes to deciding what you want, intuition is important. Listen to your gut! You may have heard about what your friends have done with their partners and now you feel inclined to do the same thing. But you should do what’s right for you because you’re an individual. And that’s a good thing!

All or Nothing?

Sex isn’t all or nothing. Sometimes it can seem like it’s either abstinence or “all the way,” but there are levels of physical intimacy. You can hold hands with someone and have it go no further. You can kiss someone and have it go no further. You can touch and caress each other and have it go no further. You can have oral sex with someone but not vaginal or anal sex.

Keeping this in mind is important, as some people think sex is just about intercourse. There are all sorts of behaviors and different ways to practice safer sex and prevent pregnancy. These are all things you have to make choices about and communicate with your partner about.

There also isn’t anything wrong with waiting to have sex, especially if you aren’t ready. If you do decide to have sex, make sure that it’s what you want and you aren’t doing it for anyone else. Remember that masturbation is a totally normal outlet for sexual urges.

For instance, Jason, 18, of Washington, D.C. had to check in with himself when presented with a sexual situation “I haven’t had a lot of sexual experiences, and I’m not comfortable having my first time be with somebody I don’t really know,” he explains. “So when I was offered, at a party, to have sex with somebody who was attractive and not sober, I elected not to because I wasn’t comfortable both with the idea of having my first time be with someone I didn’t really know nor was sober.”

Jason points out two important things: one, his potential partner wasn’t sober and so couldn’t consent and two, he wanted his first sexual experience to be with someone he knew better. He was able to trust his intuition and stick to it.

Not Like in the Movies

Ever watch a sex scene in a movie and think it’s not like what happens in real life? In the vast majority of movies, the sex scenes don’t involve much talking or awkwardness (unless it’s being played for humor). No one asks, “Is this OK?” or says, “This is what I like and am comfortable with.” This implies that you don’t need to communicate because you and your partner are magically going to know what to do. This can set up expectations of what sex should look like: “perfect” without communication.

But to know what your partner likes and doesn’t like takes time. To know what you do and don’t like takes time, too. There isn’t a way that you’re “doing it wrong.” You aren’t doing it wrong if you’re communicating during sex. You aren’t doing it wrong if it doesn’t happen like in a movie. What works for you and your partner is more important than anything else and it’s also important to be able to talk about it.

Communication: An Ongoing Process

So why don’t people talk about sex that much even though it’s a part of most relationships? Revealing your wants, desires and boundaries can be scary; it can make you vulnerable to criticism or rejection. But a crucial part of any relationship is communication.

Joelle, 19, of Somerset, NJ shares, “It was hard for me to talk and communicate with my partner. I learned from more experience what I am comfortable with, but I was too shy to talk about it in case of rejection.

Over time, as I got more comfortable, I realized that I wasn’t having a good sex life because I wasn’t communicating.

So I impulsively talked about it to my partner one day, and that made it easier. It wasn’t ultimately perfect, but it was better than the beginning.”

You and your partner should talk about what you’re both comfortable with. Writing it down can be helpful as it allows you to reference it later during your discussion.

When it comes to making choices about your boundaries, go with whatever you’re comfortable with.

Not your best friend telling you what to do. Accept that your feelings about sex matter and are important enough to have a discussion about.

They shouldn’t be pushed aside and dealt with when the time comes. I know I’m making this sound so easy, but it isn’t something that happens in two minutes.

It’s an ongoing process and that’s OK.

Pay attention to what you want, what you like and what makes you feel safe. You can then communicate this with your partner.

This is important when it comes to choosing what you want to do and practicing safer sex, if you choose to have sex. Whether you write it down, email it or talk in person, express your feelings and boundaries.

Keep in mind that focusing on knowing yourself and deciding what you are and aren’t comfortable with is key, along with listening to what makes your partner happy and comfortable.

Talk to your partner and discuss consent. Remember that it’s a journey and there are going to be bumps in the road, but with communication and mutual understanding, you can get through it! You know yourself best.