# Soda - make new friends — user reviews > 25 indexed App Store user reviews of Soda by 9 Count, Inc., rated 1.42/5 from 2,554 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soda-make-new-friends/id6449960629/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soda-make-new-friends/id6449960629.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 218 · 4★ 37 · 3★ 28 · 2★ 41 · 1★ 2,230 ## What do users think of Soda? Overall sentiment: negative **Cons** - 🚫 Lack of chat/text option - 🔒 Potential for predators due to lack of profile visibility - 🤖 Fake/bot accounts - 💔 Loss of old friends/connections from Wink - 🙅‍♀️ Forced voice calls instead of optional - 🤔 Confusing app change with no warning **Commonly reported bugs** - Wink app no longer working - Lost access to old Wink data/friends **Most requested features** - Bring back Wink app - Add chat/text option - Allow profile visibility - Separate apps for voice and text-based features ## Newest reviews (13 of 25) ### 1/5 — Bring the old wink back *2023-07-16* Honestly it said “you won’t lose any of your old data” but i can’t talk to any of my old friends as there’s no more friends option so i can only talk to new people which is kinda annoying and it’s forcing you to video call if you want to use this app which is kinda annoying as well. Bring the old wink back. It’s a good idea but it’s better off as an option instead of being the main app. ### 1/5 — disappointment *2023-07-14* First of all you’re making it easier for pedophiles talk to kids easier second of all at least put the chat and the like pictures on instead of these fortnite avatar looking things. 3rd you’ve ruined wink for most kids and people on there bc now they can’t chat with their old friends promising that all of the data is passed upon eachojter where is it then? 4th calling is way worst then texting especially since you take gems during the call? which makes no sense. If a company like yours knew what teenagers 13-17 wanted then you woulda kept the original wink. ### 1/5 — Topic About App Change *2023-07-12* This sudden app change from Wink to Soda wasn’t exactly the smart option to do. I don’t understand why there’s only a calling choice. Not everyone feels comfortable with being on call, as someone who gets extreme social anxiety from calling, I prefer to use a chat system. Either way people don’t always want to call. I find it dangerous that you apparently can’t see who you’re talking to. There were predators already on the original app but now I think it’s easier access for them to attack minors over call. It’s really unfortunate that people lost friends due to this change. I think wink should be put back up or at least add more to the new app to make it interesting for users. ### 1/5 — THIS APP IS STUPID *2023-07-12* This new app is bad there are still some people that are sending me friend request from wink and it’s not fair how some people still are able to access the app and we are left with this bootlegged app I hate this app all u can do is voice chat u can’t even message anyone we don’t even have a option if we wanted this app they gave it to us without a warning that was so random and they lied about saving my data but give us the old app back we don’t want this!!! ### 1/5 — I hate this app *2023-07-10* Why can’t I login to wink any more you guys still have the app open and I’m still getting text from other ppl but I can’t go into bc it says it’s down even though it doesn’t say that on the App Store, like on other ppl app it still up and works but for me it says it’s down and that there soda . . Anyway for the actually review of this app it’s bad so you make a avatar and you call ppl with it like a v tuber, it’s nothing like wink and it doesn’t transfer over your old friends or gems so you lose all your friends from wink ### 1/5 — This is god awful *2023-07-09* You guys thought making a new app would make your company better but it’s not. The fact that there is ONLY voice chat is terrible. I don’t like to be on call with a stranger it gets awkward I know that might only be me in your reviews that’s saying this but I guarantee there are more people that stand beside me. And not for nothing, I had a TON of requests and messages I just never got to and just like that all of them are gone. PLEASE FIX YOUR FAKE BOTS TOO ITS GETTING OUT OF HAND. One of them hacked my SC account once ### 1/5 — literally there was no point in even taking down wink! *2023-07-09* please bring back wink!!! so basically i had wink and all that and i made a lot of good friends and then i opened wink to text my friends and then it tells me to download this so of course i did, and then all of my chats aren’t there there’s no way to get back into contact with my friends! this is VERY upsetting. please bring back wink!! please give me my friends back. i only had them on wink… which is devastating for me. with wink you could text the people you meet but no, this app makes you do voice chats and calls and it’s uncomfortable since i don’t know them enough to just start talking to them on voice. if you’re thinking of downloading this app just don’t. it’s not worth your time. ### 1/5 — BRING BACK WINK !! *2023-07-09* I hate this app. First of all I don't like voice chatting and I cant just come on to chat whenever now because of it. Second I have no way to talk to the people I met through wink and I was never even warned that this would happen and wink doesnt even work anymore?? Third, not being able to see who you’re chatting with is a terrible idea especially for an app made for teens. So many creeps are already on the og wink, but this just makes it easier for people like that to come after children. I think this was the worst possible decision and I want wink back. I was completely lied to when I was told my data would be saved. ### 1/5 — The worst change possible *2023-07-09* This is the dumbest change ever made in the history of app changes like there is absolutely no real reason to change apps it’s just ridiculous for all the people who made friends on the other app lost all of that just for you to turn into a Vtuber omegle it’s just dumb I don’t know who thought this was good idea but you need to fire them or something because all you did was get rid of over have of the usability on your app and you must be losing so much money at the moment and the rating shows that. Anyways to summarize this dumb change fix it before you need to file for bankruptcy. ### 1/5 — This app is terrible *2023-07-09* I don’t think I’ve ever written a review before, but please don’t get this. Wink was much easier to navigate, had more features, and even though the people on there weren’t always great, I’ve met a few people I’m close to now. There’s no pm chat, which I despise since I had being forced to call stranger to make friends. Texting was just easier and more convenient. This app doesn’t have any of the features that made wink what it was. TLDR; This app is terrible and I prefer texting ### 1/5 — From old wink app 💀 *2023-07-09* hi this is my op nd my op only anywho personally I know that y’all need to make a better app or jus bring back the old wink app.😒bc this is not the way it should be like first of this app isn’t even good. at all like where did u get the nerves to make this app💀 cus it doesn’t even have a chat option or a swiping option or non of that. and like nothing abt it is good, like we don’t even know what the other person looks like when we talk to them. like when u add sum1 u can’t even text them, like bsfr bro y’all need help like I’m not trynna hate or anything but fix this cus it’s not good, do better. 💀 ### 1/5 — Bring back Wink *2023-07-08* Wink was so much better then whatever this is. This was already a feature on wink, and I had used it once and there were only two people on there. The perk of wink was you can connect to people over text, this ruins the whole easy friendship making concept. On this new app, everyone skips each other, so not only are you not making any conversations but the conversation is way more awkward because it’s more like speed dating in the way that you just have to talk over audio for the first time. This is a huge mistake ### 1/5 — We should have a choice *2023-07-08* I personally think we should have the choice of calling or not. This app is horrible. I dont want to call to make friends. I want to know what they look like before I friend them they could be 45 and talking to teenagers this app isn’t safe. It has a horrible design and you need to bring back wink. I want to have a choice on if I should text or call someone to make new friends. Calling shouldn’t be the only option. I lost all my friends on wink and I can’t get them back because they shut down wink. Bring wink back and delete this trash of an app. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — We need Wink back! *2023-08-24* Come on! Are you going to ignore the fact that people are making a complaint about this app? I mean, why oh why did you get rid of this app? If we going to talk in this app, at least put the chat in so we won’t have to only talk through voice call. Plus, it’s a bad idea to use those animation icons whatever that is, because it will hide your real life looks, making it easy for predators to be in this app… There’s No way I’m going to use this app. It’s a definition of trash. Oh wait! Trash is actually useful ### 1/5 — Bring wink back *2023-08-04* I hate soda for us people with social anxiety this is an absolute nightmare, it is impossible do chat on the app so we are forced to speak with people we have never met which can be scary as well win was much better and judging by ratings other people agree I can see that you aren’t replying to these ratings which confuses me on what your next move is. I have no idea why you felt the need to get rid of a perfectly good app when you could have just made soda seperate this app won’t last and all you have done is push yourselves into a corner This is the worst app I’ve ever used and the AUDACITY to do this is so annoying anyways fix it ### 1/5 — Wink is better. *2023-07-31* I used wink for a lot of reasons, making friends, TEXTING, using the AI, but with this new app I can only call and make an avatar?? As someone who doesn’t like calling unless we’re friends or we know each other, this app isn’t useful to me at all, honestly I don’t know why the app change. Tbh I just want wink back and the AI I used cause I used the AI a LOT. And it was fun making friends too, i can’t really make friends on this app if I don’t call unless I know them already? Honestly this app is SO so disappointing. ### 1/5 — Why did wink have to go *2023-07-25* This app is one of the worst I have ever seen it’s sad to see such a good app go to waste now we have to voice chat with people and hope that their isn’t a predator on the other side of the screen I Lost all my friends I had on wink and they don’t even have a chatting feature on this app so you are forced to voice chat and hope you don’t get a weirdo i don’t know why they would make this decision to make soda because wink was one of the perfects apps to actually make friends on I met a lot of good people and to see this app change just really isn’t for me I hope they bring back wink or at least make some changes with this new app ### 1/5 — Bring back wink *2023-07-24* The fact y’all see people don’t like the app but continue to ignore how we feel really shows how much u guys really care about your community. I’d have no problem with the ft option if I was given a choice but I have no choice. It’s either face cam or nothing. And on top of that I was recommended people WAY older then me then I expected. Maybe if they were separate apps, but you littearly took away the one everyone likes to give us something we don’t, then ignore everyone who tells you they don’t like it ### 1/5 — BRING BACK WINK *2023-07-22* i miss wink. as someone who prefers texting over then voice messaging and all the stuff especially when talking to strangers i wish there was this option. also we can’t even see the other persons face. there are so many predators on this app. yes there were predators on wink as well but you could easily figure out who was a real person and who was a bot etc. many people hate this app and want wink back. BRING BACK WINK. you are basically asking for young kids to get groomed by predators on this app. this is not a safe app as you claim it is. wink was safer. BRING BACK WINK ### 1/5 — PLEASE BRING BACK WINK *2023-07-18* I hate this so much like what was the reason of doing this you could of still made this app but still have wink a the same time we could have both y’all can’t see that y’all are losing followers and people from your apps I would think you would want to bring wink back because you’re losing more people by the second, please bring back Wink that’s all we want you made the app for us to make friends and more that’s what we did but you took it away from us, and we have no way to tell them what happened ### 1/5 — Sadly bad reviews and bad news *2023-07-18* As a user of Wink, I've been disappointed by the recent updates. I really miss the old version of the app, which felt more intuitive and user-friendly. It's frustrating to see the app change in ways that don't align with what we, the users, want. I hope that the creators of Wink will take our feedback seriously and consider making changes that will bring back the features we love. BEWARE OF THE CREEPERS ON THE NEW APP TOO MANY CATFISHES !!! ### 1/5 — I miss wink *2023-07-17* I originally downloaded wink, its unfortunate to see that it isnt here anymore. I tried using soda to see if itd be better in some way. I was completely wrong. I feel like wink should be brought back, no one seems to like soda and wink is better anyways. Its extremely nerve racking when trying to talk to people on there because its like a live facetime. If youre gonna keep soda i feel like you should at least make an option for a regular chat for those who dont feel comfortable being on a live chat. I also didnt like the fact that even though i put in my age i was given facetime recommendations of people way older than me. Wall i did get some people near my age i think there should be a settings option asking which age range youd like to talk to. ### 1/5 — BRING BACK WINK BRING BACK WINK BRING BACK WINK!!!! *2023-07-17* as someone who becomes extremely overwhelmed with voice chatting with strangers, this app is absolutely garbage, there are so many predators in these apps made for teens, and making it to where we can’t see who we are talking to, let alone have the option to show our faces makes it an even better target for predators. yes in the old wink there were predators aswell, but not as much as there is on this “ soda “ app. it’s actually pretty unsettling to know that you creators of soda are aware that there are minors on here, and you made it to where again we can’t see who we are talking to, not even a profile picture so we can get a little idea of who we are talking to. you guys have a ton of bad reviews over this app, and you are still choosing to keep wink down, i think at this point you are looking for children to be groomed. you say this is a safe app, but how are we supposed to feel safe when we are talking to a stranger, not knowing what they look like. please, for the sake of all of your users, bring wink back. ## Most praised reviews (2 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Bring back wink *2023-07-08* This is a complete joke, it’s like a worse Omegle, bring back wink, it was so much better, made lots of friends like that. I loved the subscription features especially. I’m canceling my subscription already cause there’s nothing to gain with this. Wink already had the whole soda feature in the app so I don’t know get why make a separate app for that. Besides instead of using avatars use our profiles, I want to see first who I’m talking. But still I prefer the whole swiping, seeing who likes you and chatting. ### 2/5 — This app is horrible, give us back WINK *2023-07-09* This app is just stupid, everything is stupid. These creators or whatever needs to read the reviews. First of all, where is the fun in looking at people putting up a bio to get what you what you are looking for. Second of all, having the option(not even an option tbh) to video is useless, nobody wants to meet people by video calling. Thirdly, what about the people we met on wink the good convos we had on wink and the friendships building on wink, they should all js disappear. Why y’all didn’t give a warning or a heads up two days so people could exchange socials or something. This is unacceptable we want back wink. 😤😮‍💨 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*