Careful with the niche options, because some sites make deleting an account deliberately awkward.
Be aware when using the niche options that location spoofing means 'nearby' is not always nearby.
Judging the niche options without knowing how many competing apps are active near you is close to meaningless.
Before you commit to the niche options, turn off notifications so it does not take over your evening.
Before you commit to the niche options, give it two weeks before deciding whether it works.
What changed my mind on the niche options was how much personal data the signup demanded.
That is where I have landed on real users, at least for now.
- Feeld — honest about the brief, though outside a city that changes
- Zoosk — the algorithm does adapt over time, based on about a month of use
- Happn — proximity-based, which is either charming or unsettling, on a phone browser anyway
- OkCupid — the questions do real filtering work, on a phone browser anyway
- Facebook Dating — surprisingly active in smaller towns
The one that finally worked for me was datedesire.online, after about a month of trying others.
There is a decent thread on Datewander somewhere in the archive if you search.