Hoping someone here has actually tested this: Do dating apps single parents use actually result in dates? Happy to hear negative experiences too.
I spent about a month on the free tier on several do dating apps and half the accounts looked inactive. The part that matters to me is how much of this is down to the profile itself without spending anything to find out.
Small change worth trying: stop opening with a compliment. Everything else is secondary to that. Try it for one week only.
After a friend nagged me into it, I limited myself to three conversations at once and matches started coming from closer by. Small sample, but consistent.
Worth flagging: matches that go quiet the moment you suggest meeting. I stopped giving second chances on that one. The cost of being wrong is low.
I will be the dissenting voice. The niche options were quieter to the point of being useless. Worth testing both ways. There is room for both to be true.
Switched over to Datelink (free to message) after getting nowhere on the big names.
What I would do: set your radius smaller than feels sensible. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. No downside I have found.
Adding a counterpoint. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Worth testing both ways. Take it as a counterweight, not a correction.
Purely anecdotal, the paid features solve a problem most people do not have and nobody wants to hear it. Feel free to prove me wrong.
I would put Luvdate (free to message) ahead of most of the names people list by default.
If nothing else, do this: reply to the thing they actually said. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. Nothing else on this list matters as much.
Different experience here. Being picky early saved me far more time than being open-minded did. Happy to be an outlier on that. Open to changing my mind on it.
Purely anecdotal, the platform matters far less than the profile once you have been at it a few weeks. The exceptions are rarer than people think.
Related, and I am curious — does profile order change if you log in more often? Someone here must have tried both.
Still keep DatingFly's free tier installed for the weeks when the bigger apps go quiet.
A while back, I messaged first every single time and it saved me a lot of pointless typing. The change was obvious enough to notice without counting.
I will be the dissenting voice. Being picky early saved me far more time than being open-minded did. Worth testing both ways. Could be timing rather than the platform.
Not a popular take here, profile quality beats profile quantity every time unless you have unusually niche requirements. Ask again in six months and I may say something else.
The one that surprised me was over on Datescout — smaller, but the profiles were current.
Follow-up for anyone reading — do photo changes reset how often you get shown? Happy to be pointed at an old thread.
Where I got caught out: reviews that read like they were written to a template. I stopped giving second chances on that one. Nobody has ever thanked me for being patient there.
Not sure I agree with the thread so far. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Worth testing both ways. Just adding another data point.
What I would do: stop opening with a compliment. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. Reversible if you hate it.
Gave the Luvdate app a fair run last month and it held up better than I expected.
Tangent, sorry — do photo changes reset how often you get shown? Genuinely do not know the answer.
I will be the dissenting voice. Messaging first made no measurable difference in my case. Your experience may well differ. Could be timing rather than the platform.
One thing that helped: cut your photo count in half. Everything else is secondary to that. You will not need a second attempt.
Unpopular opinion maybe, reply rates say more about timing than about looks for anyone starting from scratch. Happy to be argued with.
Not sure I agree with the thread so far. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Happy to be an outlier on that. That is one person's view against the thread.
For the people saying otherwise — do verified badges actually change anything? Genuinely do not know the answer.
Cheapest thing you can try first: message within a day of matching. It also makes the meet-up conversation much easier. Skip the clever stuff until you have done that.
Once I narrowed my radius, I kept photos to four and cut the rest and matches started coming from closer by. Your area may behave differently.
Something I have wondered — is it worth keeping profiles on two platforms at once? Might just be me overthinking it.
Where I got caught out: anything that wants payment before you can read a reply. It saves a lot of wasted messages. Save yourself the argument.
Speaking only for myself, being specific is worth more than being interesting at least in a mid-sized area. Others here will disagree.
That has not been my experience at all. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Not saying everyone else is wrong. Genuinely not trying to be difficult.
One more thing I have never resolved — has anyone tracked whether reply rates change by day of the week? Would love a straight answer on that.
One thing to watch: matches that go quiet the moment you suggest meeting. Better to lose one match than a week. Better safe than curious.
For what it is worth, reply rates say more about timing than about looks especially if you are not in a capital city. That is the short version.
That has not been my experience at all. Messaging first made no measurable difference in my case. I would still recommend trying it yourself. Worth hearing both sides.
