Tandem

Is Tandem safe?

Tandem is safer than most apps where you chat with strangers, but it is still an app where you chat with strangers. We score it 52/100, ahead of HelloTalk (47), its closest rival, and well below course apps such as Duolingo (61) and Babbel (63), where you never meet another learner.

The idea is simple: you teach your language and practise theirs with a native speaker, by text, voice notes or video. Tandem adds group Language Parties, translation and correction tools. What makes it different from HelloTalk is the door policy. Nobody can message anyone until Tandem's team has reviewed their application, and nobody under 16 gets in.

Who you meet on Tandem

Tandem calls itself a curated community. The terms say you become a full member only after your application is reviewed, and the help centre says the team checks the onboarding answers, wants a real name and a genuine photo, and holds back anyone under 16. The privacy policy adds that profile photos are compared, in hashed form, with images that scammers are known to use.

None of this stops determined scammers, and Tandem is open about it. Its safety page describes three common patterns:

• Romance scams. Fake profiles, often a lonely, wealthy man on an oil rig, declare feelings fast and then need money for customs fees or medical bills.
• Investment scams. Profiles posing as young women from China or Hong Kong, often "crypto analysts" or traders, show interest in your economy and pitch investments.
• Fake tutors. Self-styled teachers ask for payment up front through apps such as Alipay.

The same page warns of sextortion: a scammer who agrees to a video call may record you in a compromising moment and then demand money. The common thread is a push to move the conversation to WhatsApp, Line, WeChat, Instagram or Telegram, where Tandem cannot ban them.

Tandem uses automated detection and member reports. Its Community Safety Team reviews every report, and a second violation within six months usually leads to a ban. But the terms say Tandem does not monitor messages or calls, so it learns about abuse mostly when someone reports it. Blocking stops messages, though a blocked person can still see your profile in Language Parties.

Teenagers on Tandem

Tandem's floor of 16 is higher than many rivals: HelloTalk accepts users from 12. The App Store rating, 16+, matches the terms, and Apple's listing notes that Tandem uses age assurance. Members are placed in an under-18 or adult group from their birth date, and they cannot move between the two without contacting support. Under-18s are kept out of Language Parties altogether. The age check still rests largely on the birth date entered at sign-up and on what the reviewers spot.

How much data does Tandem collect?

Apple's label is short: only usage data is listed as used to track you, with location, contact info, user content and identifiers linked to you. Google Play's data safety section says Tandem shares nothing with other companies.

The privacy policy, last updated in April 2026, describes more:

• Advertising. With your explicit consent, Tandem shares age, gender, location and device identifiers with AdMob, AppLovin, Google DoubleClick for Publishers and Meta Audience Network, and KLIPY may show ads inside GIF search. Adjust, Firebase and Meta's conversion tracking measure installs and usage.
• AI. OpenAI processes names, gender, profiles, location and message content, including images and audio, as a backend provider.
• Storage. Messages are kept on AWS, Google Cloud and Azure servers. Data goes to the US, India and China under contractual safeguards, and a Beijing-based provider, CapitalOnline, speeds up traffic to mainland China.

Tandem is a German company under the GDPRGDPRThe EU's General Data Protection Regulation, which sets rules on how organisations collect and use personal data and allows large fines.More in the glossary, and the consent model is better than at most free chat apps. Still, the labels leave out the ad networks and the AI provider, and we score the policy.

How to use Tandem more safely

1. Refuse ad consent when asked, or switch ad personalisation off in settings.
2. Never send money, crypto or payment-app transfers to a partner or "tutor".
3. Before moving to another app, do a short video call inside Tandem; end any call that turns sexual.
4. Keep your surname, workplace and phone number out of chats until you know the person.
5. Use Download my data before deleting, and ask support to remove sent messages if they matter.

How we scored it

Regulatory record (86) is Tandem's highest factor: no fines, though no regulator has looked at the app. Privacy (45) and security (45) are the lowest, because messages are stored without end-to-end encryptionEnd-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary, sent to OpenAI and covered by ad sharing the store labels do not show. Scams and harmful content (50) weighs documented scams against application screening and a 16+ floor.