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BENGALURU: Bengaluru may soon become synonymous with online dating. According to mobile app Tinder, the city ranks as its second highest user after Delhi in India.

A Tinder study ranked Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chandigarh after Bengaluru. But the study also looks at another feature -- which cities are swiping right more often (or sending more requests to potential dates) and Pune tops the list. Bengaluru is at No.6 (showing the city is slightly more conservative or picky in choosing dates). Last year, Tinder became the highest paid user app in India, according to App Annie.

Tinder also lists Bengaluru in its top 5 destinations globally -- for usage of special features like Tinder Passport which lets users virtually travel to another city in India or overseas like London, New York or Mumbai and interact with potential dates.

Anita Donghre, a 28-year-old software engineer in the city, says her experience has been largely positive, with many dates proving to be fun, exciting and decent. Among the downers is the presence of a lot of married men on the platform. "There are quite a few sleazy married men out there. Many try to hide this fact. It can get a little creepy. I wish there was an Ashley Madison in India to keep married people out," says Donghre.

Male users say the city does have a vibrant crowd -- with girls from various professions, ethnicity and languages to be met. But the negatives include being approached by hookers, pimps and scamsters. "I was talking to a girl who claimed to be from the banking industry on a short secondment in France and would return soon to Bengaluru. She sounded genuine though a bit clueless about banking," said Bharat G, 38, banking professional.

Feeding on his sympathy, she pretended to have nose bleed, chest pains and a scheduled heart surgery. "She called me saying her insurance in India doesn't cover such emergencies. And she wanted Rs 4.5 lakh. I got a little suspicious and called up the hospital she claimed to send pictures from and realised it was a con. There was no such patient," said Bharat, who reported the girl on the platform and blocked her.

Users say the vast majority of their experience has been positive. For one instance, a user met her "forever" on the app. Indonesian Erny Bucharest (36), who currently lives in Romania , met her fiance Raj (35) using Tinder. They plan to get married later this year.

