Tried free-to-message sites twice, years apart, and the second attempt went much better.
The real differentiator across free-to-message sites turned out to be whether the radius setting actually worked.
Practical tip for free-to-message sites: treat any request for card details as a reason to leave.
With free-to-message sites the thing that decided it for me was whether the match volume held up past the first week.
Worth flagging with free-to-message sites — anything asking for card details to 'verify your age' is a scam pattern.
One thing I would do differently with free-to-message sites — finish the profile completely before you browse anything.
Practical tip for free-to-message sites: message within a day of matching rather than sitting on it.
Curious whether anyone else found the same with a scam.