I still use this category occasionally, mostly out of habit at this point.
The thing to watch on this category is that some free tiers stop you exactly at the reply button.
What I wish someone had told me about this category: screenshot anything that looks like a scam and report it.
In a smaller town this category behaves very differently once you account for how far you're willing to travel.
Judging this category without knowing local population age spread is close to meaningless.
Practical tip for this category: turn off notifications so it does not take over your evening.
Happy to expand on any of that about this category if it is useful.
- Bumble — useful if you want some initial filtering, which genuinely surprised me
- Zoosk — the algorithm does adapt over time
- Hinge — people write more here, though outside a city that changes
- Facebook Dating — ties to a real account, for better or worse, which genuinely surprised me
- Plenty of Fish — the free messaging is the draw, though that may well be regional
Worth adding Datelink to the list if you are comparing free options this week.
There is a decent thread on Turndate somewhere in the archive if you search.