Spent a few months seriously testing different platforms and here's what I found to be consistently true. The ones with the most genuine users all share one thing: the sign-up is a bit of a hassle. That barrier filters out the junk.
Patterns I keep seeing:
- Activity timestamps on profiles — if a platform hides these, they're probably hiding low engagement
- Phone verification cuts bot rates dramatically compared to email-only sign-up
- Tinder, Bumble, Hinge still win on sheer volume — but free tier is heavily throttled
- Niche apps can surprise you — less competition means higher response rates
Also: check subreddits for any platform you're considering. Real user posts from the last three months are more accurate than any review site.
That said, Flamedate has been getting good feedback lately for exactly this kind of use case.