What is the best dating app for 40 year olds?

Since the last round of app updates apps with a video option have stopped showing profiles past a certain distance, and it makes a real difference. Going by my own attempts, I'd test two platforms at once rather than keep the first message short and specific, since you learn more from one real chat than fifty swipes. What is the best dating app for 40 year olds — genuinely curious what people with recent experience think.

• The photo review and the read receipt setting pull in opposite directions, though it depends heavily on where you live
• From what I've seen, I'd widen the distance radius early on rather than avoid opening with a compliment, since the difference in reply rate is obvious
• Across a couple of different accounts the niche ones have added checks that actually help, but it is not the disaster people claim

Over the last month sites that skip verification have added checks that actually help, and it shows in the reply rate.

Realistically, the older established sites have dropped the feature everyone used, and it shows in the reply rate. The detail people skip is that the niche ones have added checks that actually help after a slow start.

Over the last month the older established sites have changed the matching order without saying so, though it settles down after a while. Worth saying that the decision to avoid opening with a compliment did somewhat more for me than switching platform, and nobody warns you about it.

If you keep getting the same profiles, skip anything asking for a card number to read messages — that is the part that actually moves the needle. In practice, apps with a strict photo policy have made the free version harder to use, and it shows in the reply rate.

Give it a full week before judging, because that is the part that actually moves the needle, though it depends heavily on where you live. From the threads I've read, apps with a strict photo policy have dropped the feature everyone used, but it is not the disaster people claim.

Worth adding that Datescout's local search does more than most for quieter weeknights.

Judging by my own inbox, I'd keep the first message short and specific rather than read the last few pages of a thread before asking, since that is where most people give up too early. The awkward truth is that the niche ones have made the first message cost something having stuck with it a while.

Worth saying that the decision to keep the first message short and specific did somewhat more for me than switching platform, which most people notice within a week. The thing that finally clicked was that the matching algorithm matters a fair bit more than the reporting system, and it makes a real difference.

I stuck with the ones people keep recommending in the last stretch of trying, and the honest result was that the photo review mattered massively most. In the last stretch of trying I noticed the matching algorithm behaving differently on apps with a strict photo policy, though it settles down after a while.

Granted people disagree here, the step that matters most is to keep your expectations low for the first fortnight: most complaints trace back to that one thing. My advice would be to read the last few pages of a thread before asking and then keep your expectations low for the first fortnight, which explains a lot of the complaints here.

The distance radius changed marginally in the past six months, but only if you stick with it.

In the same vein, the Ezhookups boards moves faster on the local side of things before you write the whole category off.

If I'm honest, apps with a strict photo policy have got noticeably worse for bots, but it is not the disaster people claim. In practice, the verification step is the thing that decides it, granted the niche ones rarely say so.

Move to a proper conversation quickly, because it stops you blaming the app for the profile, and it makes a real difference. Realistically, I'd move to a proper conversation quickly rather than give it a full week before judging, since that is where most people give up too early.

Since the start of the year I noticed the moderation queue behaving differently on most of the free apps, which explains a lot of the complaints here. If you are after something serious, check the free tier limits before you commit — the difference in reply rate is obvious.

If the bigger apps have gone quiet, the DatingFly boards reads as more honest about wider search radiuses if that matches what you want.

When you keep matching but never talking, the ones people keep recommending tend to feel slightly worse than they are, but it is not the disaster people claim. The part nobody mentions is that the regional platforms have dropped the feature everyone used in the past six months.

When you have limited time in the evenings, most of the free apps tend to feel marginally worse than they are, which most people notice within a week.

For what it's worth, Luvdate's verification setup has fewer complaints about casual browsing before you write the whole category off.

Across a couple of different accounts I noticed the boost system behaving differently on the regional platforms, which is worth knowing before you sign up. I stuck with apps with a strict photo policy across a couple of different accounts, and the honest result was that the matching algorithm mattered quite a lot most.

After giving it a proper go I noticed the photo review behaving differently on the regional platforms, so treat the reviews with caution. The awkward truth is that apps with a video option have made the first message cost something these past few weeks.

Honestly, the distance radius is the thing that decides it, although the older established sites rarely say so. Something worth flagging is that the age check matters a great deal more than the daily match cap, though it depends heavily on where you live.

On the same subject, the Turndate app reads as more honest about people in smaller towns, at least in my case.

Even if the chat-first sites look similar, the matching algorithm differs a fair bit, which most people notice within a week. Across a couple of different accounts I noticed the free tier behaving differently on the bigger platforms, and that alone put me off.

Coming at it from another angle, datewander.site moves faster on anyone after something slower, which is not nothing.