Genuine question about truly free dating apps that don't sell your data — I'd rather hear from people than from a review site.
I care less about feature lists on mainstream apps and more about whether anyone replies.
Background: I've tried two of the mainstream mainstream apps and neither stuck.
If you have first-hand experience of truly free dating apps that don't sell your data, I would genuinely like to hear it.
What was said above about matching apps is right, in my view.
The variable nobody controls for with matching apps is how many competing apps are active near you.
The move with matching apps is to use separate photos from the ones on your other accounts.
One thing I would do differently with matching apps — give it two weeks before deciding whether it works.
The variable nobody controls for with matching apps is how dense your area is.
Others here will know more about truly free dating apps that don't sell your data than I do.
I also keep half an eye on Datewander — datewander.site — different crowd, same free-messaging idea.
Different view here on swipe apps — it worked better than the post above suggests.
Happy to be corrected on any of truly free dating apps that don't sell your data.
A friend of mine swears by Datelink (datelink.online), though your mileage will depend entirely on your area.
Be aware when using the app question that some free tiers stop you exactly at the reply button.
What decides the app question for most people is how dense your area is, not the app itself.
With the app question the thing that decided it for me was how aggressively it pushed an upgrade prompt.
Geography does most of the work with the app question — whether your region got the app early or late matters more than the feature list.
The real differentiator across the app question turned out to be whether anyone replied inside the first week.
Take that as one data point on truly free dating apps that don't sell your data, not gospel.
For what it is worth I have had better luck on Datenest than on any of the big paid apps.
Half the arguments about dating platforms would end if people mentioned how wide you set the radius up front.
In a smaller town dating platforms behaves very differently once you account for how far you are willing to travel.
The move with dating platforms is to screenshot anything that looks like a scam and report it.
I will update this if my view on truly free dating apps that don't sell your data changes.
I still use the app question occasionally, mostly out of habit at this point.
One thing I would do differently with the app question — be specific about what you want in the bio.
Judging the app question without knowing the day of the week you actually use it is close to meaningless.
Would happily be argued out of my position on truly free dating apps that don't sell your data.
The one that finally worked for me was DatingFly (datingfly.online), after about a month of trying others.
Datescout is the other name that keeps appearing whenever this gets asked.
I would question that on phone apps, because it depends heavily on where you're.
If you're starting with phone apps, finish the profile completely before you browse anything.
If you're starting with phone apps, give it two weeks before deciding whether it works.
Happy to expand on any of that about phone apps if it's useful.
Spent most of last winter on the big apps, so here is what I actually saw.
The thing that kept me on the big apps was how the platform handled blocking and reporting.
The thing that kept me on the big apps was how much personal data the signup demanded.
What changed my mind on the big apps was whether anyone replied inside the first week.
With the big apps the thing that decided it for me was whether the radius setting actually worked.
Geography does most of the work with the big apps — how many competing apps are active near you matters more than the feature list.
With the big apps the thing that decided it for me was how the site behaved on a phone browser.
Curious whether anyone else found the same with truly free dating apps that don't sell your data.
My run with the app question lasted longer than any of the alternatives I tried.
My read is that the app question lives or dies on whether your region got the app early or late.
Geography does most of the work with the app question — whether your region got the app early or late matters more than the feature list.
Your mileage on your data may differ, obviously.
If none of the above works for you, EZHookups — ezhookups.online is another free one people here mention a lot.