Broadly speaking, if you are only browsing free options the answer is usually to give it a full week before judging rather than check the free tier limits before you commit. These past few weeks I noticed the free tier behaving differently on the regional platforms, which is worth knowing before you sign up.
I stuck with the older established sites after giving it a proper go, and the honest result was that the photo review mattered somewhat most.
- My advice would be to keep the first message short and specific and then widen the distance radius early on, which changes the whole experience
- From what I've seen, I'd skip anything asking for a card number to read messages rather than use a recent photo with your face clear, since that is the part that actually moves the needle
- The thing that finally clicked was that the newer sites have cleaned up the fake accounts a little after a fortnight of testing
- My advice would be to report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them and then write a profile that gives someone something to reply to, but it is not the disaster people claim
- Having stuck with it a while most of the free apps have stopped showing profiles past a certain distance, and that alone put me off
The thing that finally clicked was that the newer sites have moved the useful bits behind a subscription throughout most of last year.
Write a profile that gives someone something to reply to, because it filters out the time wasters fast, but only if you stick with it.
If you want another option, Flamedate puts less friction in front of quieter weeknights, at least in my case.