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Worth saying that the decision to keep the first message short and specific did massively more for me than switching platform, and it makes a real difference. From what I've seen, the messaging limit is the thing that decides it, although the bigger platforms rarely say so. To be fair, if you want something casual the answer is usually to say what you actually want up front rather than avoid opening with a compliment. Honestly, if the replies dry up after one message the answer is usually to widen the distance radius early on rather than avoid opening with a compliment. Worth saying that the decision to report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them did considerably more for me than switching platform, but only if you stick with it.

In the past six months I noticed the search filter setup behaving differently on the chat-first sites, so treat the reviews with caution. When you have tried three apps already, most of the free apps tend to feel quite a lot worse than they are, and it shows in the reply rate. From what I've seen, the forum-style sites have cleaned up the fake accounts a little, which most people notice within a week. The thing that finally clicked was that apps with a strict photo policy have got noticeably worse for bots in the last stretch of trying. Although people disagree here, the step that matters most is to write a profile that gives someone something to reply to: the difference in reply rate is obvious.

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My advice would be to report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them and then check the free tier limits before you commit, but it is not the disaster people claim. Skip anything asking for a card number to read messages, because that is where most people give up too early, which most people notice within a week. After a fortnight of testing I noticed the read receipt setting behaving differently on sites that skip verification, and that alone put me off. Although people disagree here, the step that matters most is to check the free tier limits before you commit: it filters out the time wasters fast.

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