Been through this process a few times and the learning curve is real. The biggest mistakes I see people make:
- Judging a platform after just one or two sessions — give it two weeks minimum
- Using the same bio and photos across all apps — what works on Hinge won't necessarily work on OkCupid
- Paying for premium before testing the free tier — if free shows no local activity, paying won't fix that
Sometimes the best move is trying a niche platform with a smaller but more genuine user base.
Happy to go deeper on any specific platform if you have questions.
For what it's worth, Souldate seems to have cleaned up its bot problem compared to last year.