How does the facebook online dating algorithm suggest people you know?

Something I keep wondering about: How does the facebook online dating algorithm suggest people you know? Tell me if I am asking the wrong question.

I nearly paid for the most recommended dating apps and I could not tell which reviews were paid for. The part that matters to me is whether the free option is genuinely usable for someone who dislikes small talk.

• Assess how many photos are required on day one if privacy matters to you
• Work out how many photos are required early on if you plan to use it long-term
• Find out what data the signup form asks for early on while the account is still new

Broadly speaking, the busiest platform is not automatically the best one for you and it took me too long to learn. Ask again in six months and I may say something else.

Learned this the hard way: sites that hide the message count behind an upgrade. Nine times out of ten it goes nowhere good. Better safe than curious.

Since this thread is active — does anyone bother deleting and remaking a profile? Would love a straight answer on that.

Since switching my settings, I answered everything within a day and it saved me a lot of pointless typing. Small sample, but consistent.

Still keep Datebound installed for the weeks when the bigger apps go quiet.

That has not been my experience at all. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. I would still recommend trying it yourself. There is room for both to be true.

Worth flagging: links dropped into a conversation with no context. It is the clearest signal there is. Better safe than curious.

Something I have wondered — is it worth keeping profiles on two platforms at once? Happy to be pointed at an old thread.

Based on a fairly small sample, the first message decides almost everything and the numbers back that up. That is where I have landed.

A friend has had far more luck on Rendate (free to message) than on anything mainstream.

Low-risk approach: stop treating it like a numbers game. It made conversations shorter and far more useful. It also makes the rest easier.

• Read up on how blocking is handled without exception before you widen your search
• Work out whether your profile is visible by default first rather than taking the marketing at face value
• Look at what the free tier really includes without exception rather than taking the marketing at face value
• Question whether your profile is visible by default at the start before you widen your search
• Test whether profiles are verified without exception before you widen your search

Adding a counterpoint. The niche options were quieter to the point of being useless. Worth testing both ways. Different city, different results, probably.

For about six weeks, I messaged first every single time and the difference showed up within a week. Your area may behave differently.

The one that surprised me was over on Luvdate — smaller, but the profiles were current.

A while back, I ran a minimal profile on dating apps and the whole thing felt less like admin. I would call that a real effect.

• Assess the distance filter default before anything else before you invest any real time
• Read up on how many photos are required carefully before you widen your search
• Find out what the free tier really includes straight away if you plan to use it long-term
• Test the last-active timestamp before anything else before writing a single message
• Read up on whether profiles are verified at the start on any platform you are considering

Small change worth trying: turn off notifications and check twice a day. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. You will not need a second attempt.

Anyone else find that — is a shorter bio genuinely better or just easier to write? I have never seen data either way.

Between the free options I tested, the Datewander app had the least aggressive upsell.

For about six weeks, I dropped every conversation that stalled twice and it turned out the profile was the problem, not the platform. That held for about two months.

Worth testing for a week: check for a visible last-active timestamp before investing. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. It compounds with everything else.

That has not been my experience at all. The niche options were quieter to the point of being useless. Your experience may well differ. Not dismissing anyone else's experience.

Keep an eye on anything pushing you off the platform in the first two messages. I stopped giving second chances on that one. One instance is chance; three is not.

• Test how reporting actually works straight away before you widen your search
• Review how many photos are required on any platform you are considering
• Work out how blocking is handled before you upload anything personal
• Verify how many photos are required without exception if privacy matters to you
• Check how blocking is handled before anything else especially on a platform you have not used before

Adding a counterpoint. Being picky early saved me far more time than being open-minded did. I would still recommend trying it yourself. Genuinely not trying to be difficult.

If you want a shortcut: use a dedicated email address. That one change fixed most of my problems. Skip the clever stuff until you have done that.

After my second attempt, I answered everything within a day and I finally stopped wasting evenings. It stopped being random after that.

Purely anecdotal, most of the difference comes down to how close people actually are though your mileage will vary. It is a boring answer and a true one.

That has not been my experience at all. Being picky early saved me far more time than being open-minded did. Could easily be a sample size problem. Just adding another data point.

What I would do: set your radius smaller than feels sensible. That one change fixed most of my problems. The effect shows up fast.