If you live somewhere dense, test two platforms at once — the first week is never representative. My advice would be to read the last few pages of a thread before asking and then check the free tier limits before you commit, and it shows in the reply rate. In practice, I'd give it a full week before judging rather than report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them, since the alternative is a dead inbox.
The detail people skip is that the distance radius matters quite a lot more than the reporting system, and it shows in the reply rate.
- The awkward truth is that the reporting system matters a great deal more than the search filter setup, which explains a lot of the complaints here
- The read receipt setting and the free tier pull in opposite directions, though it settles down after a while
- Speaking personally, the niche ones have quietly changed how that works, so treat the reviews with caution
- The bit that caught me out was that the search filter setup matters a fair bit more than the free tier, but only if you stick with it
From what I've seen, if you are in a smaller town the answer is usually to keep the first message short and specific rather than say what you actually want up front. Though the ones people keep recommending look similar, the block list differs noticeably, which most people notice within a week.
When the replies dry up after one message, the swipe-based apps tend to feel quite a lot worse than they are, which most people notice within a week.