Putting this to the forum because search results were useless: Are there free friendship sites that are strictly platonic, no dating allowed? Bonus points if you have used it in the last few months.
I have had mixed results with the free tier on several adult dating platforms and I would rather not repeat the mistake. The bit I cannot work out is how long it normally takes before anything happens as someone coming back after a long break.
The thing that annoyed me most: anyone asking for a phone number before a proper conversation. Better to lose one match than a week. One instance is chance; three is not.
Not a popular take here, the paid features solve a problem most people do not have and I doubt that changes soon. Nothing controversial in that, I hope.
Two months in, I kept my filters tight and I finally stopped wasting evenings. Could be luck; it did not feel like it.
Hard disagree on one point. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Might just be my area. Take it as a counterweight, not a correction.
If you want a free option without the upsell, over on Datebound is where I would start.
I will be the dissenting voice. Being picky early saved me far more time than being open-minded did. Might just be my area. Just adding another data point.
Speaking only for myself, consistency beats any single clever trick at least in a mid-sized area. I hold that loosely.
Slightly off-topic but — does anyone bother deleting and remaking a profile? Feels like something someone must have tested.
Least effort, most return: read the profile before writing anything. It sounds trivial and it is not. You will not need a second attempt.
Gave DatingFly a fair run last month and it held up better than I expected.
I will be the dissenting voice. Messaging first made no measurable difference in my case. Not saying everyone else is wrong. Genuinely not trying to be difficult.
One thing that helped: reply to the thing they actually said. It is the only advice here I would give twice. Easiest change on this list.
For what it is worth, the paid features solve a problem most people do not have at least in a mid-sized area. That is my read, anyway.
Switched over to over on Flurrydate after getting nowhere on the big names.
I will be the dissenting voice. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Your experience may well differ. I would still test it yourself.
Not a popular take here, most of the difference comes down to how close people actually are unless you have unusually niche requirements. Happy to be argued with.
Since this thread is active — has anyone compared this against the paid options fairly? Could be worth its own thread.
Not sure I agree with the thread so far. The platform genuinely does matter if you are outside a major city. Your experience may well differ. Could be timing rather than the platform.
Having tried most of them, free tiers are usually enough if you actually use them and it took me too long to learn. That is the short version.
If nothing else, do this: write one sentence that only you could have written. Everything else is secondary to that. Easiest change on this list.
A couple of people in my circle swear by Turndate for the same reason.
