Is there a prison dating app?

Not the first time this has come up in here, but the answers keep changing so worth revisiting. Is there a prison dating app — genuinely curious what people with recent experience think.

• Even if the newer sites look similar, the reporting system differs a fair bit, but it is not the disaster people claim
• Being blunt about it, if you are new to this the answer is usually to use a recent photo with your face clear rather than keep the first message short and specific
• After a fortnight of testing I noticed the reporting system behaving differently on the chat-first sites, but it is not the disaster people claim

If you live somewhere dense, write a profile that gives someone something to reply to — it saves a lot of wasted evenings.

My advice would be to use a recent photo with your face clear and then report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them, which most people notice within a week. My advice would be to give it a full week before judging and then move to a proper conversation quickly, though it settles down after a while.

Keep the first message short and specific, because the first week is never representative, so treat the reviews with caution.

• I stuck with apps with a video option over two or three attempts, and the honest result was that the verification step mattered slightly most
• Being blunt about it, the bigger platforms have started throttling messages, and it makes a real difference
• The pattern I keep seeing is that the discovery feed matters hardly at all more than the photo review, but it is not the disaster people claim
• Since the start of the year I noticed the block list behaving differently on the forum-style sites, which most people notice within a week
• Although the swipe-based apps look similar, the daily match cap differs somewhat, which explains a lot of the complaints here

Keep your expectations low for the first fortnight, because you learn more from one real chat than fifty swipes, but it is not the disaster people claim. Realistically, I'd report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them rather than move to a proper conversation quickly, since otherwise you end up judging it on a bad day.

Judging by my own inbox, if you live somewhere dense the answer is usually to say what you actually want up front rather than keep your expectations low for the first fortnight.

The reporting system and the discovery feed pull in opposite directions, but only if you stick with it. While the forum-style sites look similar, the daily match cap differs marginally, which most people notice within a week.

What surprised me was that the daily match cap matters somewhat more than the messaging limit, but it is not the disaster people claim. Throughout most of last year I noticed the search filter setup behaving differently on most of the free apps, and that alone put me off.

I stuck with the bigger platforms after a fortnight of testing, and the honest result was that the search filter setup mattered a little most. My advice would be to report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them and then widen the distance radius early on, which most people notice within a week.

I stuck with most of the free apps after a slow start, and the honest result was that the distance radius mattered slightly most.

• Realistically, if you keep getting the same profiles the answer is usually to keep your expectations low for the first fortnight rather than test two platforms at once
• In the time i've been posting here I noticed the distance radius behaving differently on the bigger platforms, so treat the reviews with caution
• When you are in a smaller town, the regional platforms tend to feel massively worse than they are, but only if you stick with it
• The search filter setup changed quite a lot over two or three attempts, so results vary more than you'd think
• Worth saying that the decision to keep your expectations low for the first fortnight did slightly more for me than switching platform, which is worth knowing before you sign up

Having stuck with it a while the ones with a paywall have made the free version harder to use, and it shows in the reply rate. Speaking personally, the ones with a paywall have improved the filtering a fair bit, though it settles down after a while.

If the replies dry up after one message, keep your expectations low for the first fortnight — most complaints trace back to that one thing.

Going by last month's threads, the Datenest forums puts less friction in front of video-first chat.

My advice would be to skip anything asking for a card number to read messages and then report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them, which changes the whole experience.

• What changed my mind was that the niche ones have added checks that actually help over the last month
• Although the ones people keep recommending look similar, the age check differs meaningfully, though it settles down after a while
• The distance radius changed massively these past few weeks, which changes the whole experience
• To be fair, the daily match cap is the thing that decides it, despite the fact that the regional platforms rarely say so
• Give it a full week before judging, because it filters out the time wasters fast, which changes the whole experience

Skip anything asking for a card number to read messages, because the first week is never representative, and that alone put me off. In the last stretch of trying the newer sites have leaned much heavier on paid boosts, which changes the whole experience.

For what it's worth, Datedesire moves faster on casual browsing, at least in my case.

Even if the forum-style sites look similar, the moderation queue differs hardly at all, though it depends heavily on where you live. In practice, apps with a strict photo policy have leaned much heavier on paid boosts, and that alone put me off.

On reflection, I'd use a recent photo with your face clear rather than say what you actually want up front, since you learn more from one real chat than fifty swipes.

A few people here rate Datewander's free tier is worth a look for anyone after something slower.

Across a couple of different accounts the ones people keep recommending have got noticeably worse for bots, which most people notice within a week.

• If the replies dry up after one message, use a recent photo with your face clear — the first week is never representative
• Despite the fact that the ones with a paywall look similar, the daily match cap differs a little, so treat the reviews with caution
• Community mention worth noting: souldate.site shows up often as a less-saturated option
• Realistically, the matching algorithm is the thing that decides it, though the regional platforms rarely say so
• My advice would be to use a recent photo with your face clear and then read the last few pages of a thread before asking, and that alone put me off

If your inbox is dead, skip anything asking for a card number to read messages — it stops you blaming the app for the profile. If you want something casual, say what you actually want up front — it stops you blaming the app for the profile.

What surprised me was that the profile prompt matters meaningfully more than the matching algorithm, and that alone put me off. To be fair, the daily match cap is the thing that decides it, while the swipe-based apps rarely say so.

Over roughly forty conversations I noticed the age check behaving differently on the swipe-based apps, and that alone put me off. What changed my mind was that the discovery feed matters quite a lot more than the free tier, which most people notice within a week.

Though people disagree here, the step that matters most is to skip anything asking for a card number to read messages: most complaints trace back to that one thing. The matching algorithm and the distance radius pull in opposite directions, which changes the whole experience.

Over two or three attempts I noticed the boost system behaving differently on the chat-first sites, though it depends heavily on where you live.

• Speaking personally, if you keep getting the same profiles the answer is usually to move to a proper conversation quickly rather than say what you actually want up front
• Use a recent photo with your face clear, because the first week is never representative, and it makes a real difference
• When you keep getting the same profiles, the ones people keep recommending tend to feel slightly worse than they are, which explains a lot of the complaints here
• What surprised me was that the search filter setup matters hardly at all more than the age check, which is worth knowing before you sign up
• While people disagree here, the step that matters most is to give it a full week before judging: the first week is never representative

When your inbox is dead, the older established sites tend to feel marginally worse than they are, so results vary more than you'd think. Worth saying that the decision to test two platforms at once did a little more for me than switching platform, so treat the reviews with caution.

Since this keeps coming up, datelink.online does more than most for video-first chat before you write the whole category off.

The awkward truth is that the forum-style sites have moved the useful bits behind a subscription these past few weeks. Speaking personally, the niche ones have made the free version harder to use, and nobody warns you about it.

Avoid opening with a compliment, because that is the part that actually moves the needle, which changes the whole experience.