Worth flagging with the big apps — location spoofing means 'nearby' isn't always nearby.
My advice on the big apps: treat any request for card details as a reason to leave.
The thing that kept me on the big apps was how much personal data the signup demanded.
The deciding detail with the big apps was how many people within reach were active that week.
Half the arguments about the big apps would end if people mentioned whether the nearest city is twenty minutes or two hours away up front.
The part nobody mentions about the big apps is whether the radius setting actually worked.
Hope some of that helps with this year.
I also keep half an eye on DatingFly — different crowd, same free-messaging idea.
Datelink comes up in most threads like this one, for whatever that is worth.