This topic comes up a lot in my circle and I figured it's worth getting real opinions from people here.
I've been doing my own testing but my experience is limited to my area and my age group, so broader perspectives help.
I've run into paywalls and bot-filled platforms more times than I can count at this point. Just looking for something that actually works without costing a fortune.
- Never share your real phone number in early conversations
- Avoid sites that gate messaging entirely behind a paid wall
- Reverse image search any profile photo you're unsure about
Even negative experiences are useful — helps narrow down what to avoid.
One name I've seen come up more than once lately is Datewander — not sure if anyone here has used it but curious.