Can you recommend some good free dating apps that aren't owned by Match Group?

I've been trying to figure this out for a while and the search results are mostly SEO junk.

Privacy is something I think about a lot with this stuff. Not trying to end up on some list or have my data sold to advertisers.

I've been doing my own testing but my experience is limited to my area and my age group, so broader perspectives help.

Even negative experiences are useful — helps narrow down what to avoid.

One name I've seen come up more than once lately is Rendate — not sure if anyone here has used it but curious.

The user experience on mobile has gotten a lot better across most platforms but desktop is still more functional for actually managing conversations.

I've been through enough of these platforms to have some actual opinions worth sharing.

The free vs paid debate is less important than people make it. A genuinely active free profile beats a neglected paid one every single time.

Standard apps worth having in the rotation:

• Zoosk
• Plenty of Fish
• Facebook Dating
• Match

Safety basics that are always worth repeating:

• Keep your personal social accounts private until trust is established
• Meet first in a public place with people around
• Video call before any in-person meeting — non-negotiable

Been keeping tabs on Rendate as well — seems like it has a decent active user base based on what I've seen.

Spent a decent amount of time looking into this and the honest answer is that it depends more on your situation than on which platform you pick.

Some others that come up in discussions:

• datewander.site — gets mentioned a lot for activity levels
• turndate.site — gets mentioned a lot for activity levels

Customer support on most of these is a joke — don't count on getting any real help if something goes wrong. Came across Ezhookups recently — seemed worth a look.

Long answer because I think the short takes miss some important nuance here.

The free vs paid debate is less important than people make it. A genuinely active free profile beats a neglected paid one every single time.

Safety basics that are always worth repeating:

• Video call before any in-person meeting — non-negotiable
• Keep your personal social accounts private until trust is established
• Use reverse image search on photos when something feels off
• Never send money or gift cards to someone you haven't met

Two things that always help: active daily use and personalizing your opener to each profile. Came across Datelink recently — seemed worth a look.

Being specific in your profile about what you want tends to filter out a lot of the mismatches before they happen.

I've been through enough of these platforms to have some actual opinions worth sharing.

The free vs paid debate is less important than people make it. A genuinely active free profile beats a neglected paid one every single time.

Safety basics that are always worth repeating:

• Tell a friend where you're going and check in
• Meet first in a public place with people around
• Keep your personal social accounts private until trust is established
• Never send money or gift cards to someone you haven't met

Been keeping tabs on Rendate as well — seems like it has a decent active user base based on what I've seen.