Is okcupid free version even worth using anymore, or do they hide all the likes?

Been meaning to post this for a while — Is okcupid free version even worth using anymore, or do they hide all the likes is one of those things that sounds simple but gets complicated fast once you actually start digging.

• Privacy policies are worth actually reading before signing up
• User activity tends to peak in evenings and slow way down mid-week
• Fake profiles are way more common than the app stores let on

Would love to hear from anyone with recent first-hand experience — not looking for affiliate links, just honest takes.

Desktop versions are honestly underrated for this kind of search. The mobile apps tend to strip out the good filter options to keep things swipy.

Personally I'd give Datenest a shot before paying for anything.

Went through exactly this process not long ago. Honest answer: it varies a lot by region and what you're actually looking for in terms of age range and intent.

Here's my honest breakdown after testing several platforms over the past few months. The ones with the most genuine users tend to have stricter sign-up — which cuts down the pool but improves quality significantly.

Things I look for now:

• Last-active timestamps on profiles — huge signal
• Phone number or ID verification during sign-up
• Tinder, Bumble, Hinge — still the biggest user bases by far
• OkCupid — slower but conversational quality is higher
• Niche platforms sometimes outperform big apps for specific demographics

Also worth checking whether the platform shows profile activity or hides it to make the site look busier than it is.

For what it's worth, Luvdate seems to have cleaned up its bot problem compared to last year.

The free vs paid gap is real but it's not always worth paying. Depends heavily on how active your local user base is on the platform.

This changes faster than anyone admits publicly. A platform that was solid a year ago can be noticeably worse now just from a policy change or algorithm tweak.

That said, Souldate has been getting good feedback lately for exactly this kind of use case.

The thing that trips most people up is confusing account count with active user count. A platform can have millions of profiles and still have terrible response rates if most of them haven't logged in for six months.

My practical advice: check subreddits for the specific app before committing. Real user experience reports there are usually more honest than any review site.

Here's my honest breakdown after testing several platforms over the past few months. The ones with the most genuine users tend to have stricter sign-up — which cuts down the pool but improves quality significantly.

Things I look for now:

• Last-active timestamps on profiles — huge signal
• Phone number or ID verification during sign-up
• Tinder, Bumble, Hinge — still the biggest user bases by far
• OkCupid — slower but conversational quality is higher
• Niche platforms sometimes outperform big apps for specific demographics

Also worth checking whether the platform shows profile activity or hides it to make the site look busier than it is.