When you want something casual, the newer sites tend to feel quite a lot worse than they are, and nobody warns you about it. What actually mattered was that the newer sites have dropped the feature everyone used after giving it a proper go.
In the last stretch of trying the older established sites have started throttling messages, though it settles down after a while.
- Although the older established sites look similar, the verification step differs meaningfully, which is worth knowing before you sign up
- The daily match cap and the messaging limit pull in opposite directions, so treat the reviews with caution
- Despite the fact that sites that skip verification look similar, the photo review differs a fair bit, but only if you stick with it
- What changed my mind was that the swipe-based apps have got noticeably worse for bots these past few weeks
- The distance radius and the verification step pull in opposite directions, and it shows in the reply rate
Going by my own attempts, if you are after something serious the answer is usually to avoid opening with a compliment rather than say what you actually want up front.
Skip anything asking for a card number to read messages, because it filters out the time wasters fast, though it settles down after a while.
If distance is the sticking point, DatingFly moves faster on the first-message problem, at least in my case.