My experience with mainstream apps was better than I expected, with one caveat.
I'd not generalise about mainstream apps without knowing local population age spread first.
The thing that kept me on mainstream apps was whether profiles felt written by real people.
Be aware when using mainstream apps that profiles that answer instantly and perfectly are usually not people.
What I wish someone had told me about mainstream apps: keep the first message to two lines with a question in it.
Worth flagging with mainstream apps — moving to an external messaging app early is a common scam setup.
The move with mainstream apps is to finish the profile completely before you browse anything.
That is where I've landed on restricted now, at least for now.
- Feeld — narrow but genuinely active, though outside a city that changes
- OkCupid — dated interface, decent people, on a phone browser anyway
- Tinder — works best in dense areas, as of this year
Adding Flurrydate for balance — quieter, but the people who are on it actually reply.