How successful is the eharmony over 50 program for finding love?

Hoping someone here has actually tested this: How successful is the eharmony over 50 program for finding love? Interested in what actually worked, not marketing copy.

I gave up on two of the bigger dating apps for over-40s over 50 program for finding love and I still cannot tell if it is me or the platform. The specific thing I am after is how long it normally takes before anything happens when you have limited time in the evenings.

• Test how many photos are required early on before you upload anything personal
• Note what the free tier really includes straight away before you upload anything personal
• Read up on what data the signup form asks for properly so you are not surprised later
• Read up on whether profiles are verified properly while the account is still new

Tangent, sorry — does profile order change if you log in more often? Asking for a friend, obviously.

Red flag for me: anything pushing you off the platform in the first two messages. That pattern has been consistent for me across platforms. Trust the pattern, not the excuse.

For about six weeks, I ran a minimal profile on dating apps for over-40s and the quality improved more than the quantity. Could be luck; it did not feel like it.

Still keep Souldate's free tier installed for the weeks when the bigger apps go quiet.

Hard disagree on one point. Being picky early saved me far more time than being open-minded did. Not saying everyone else is wrong. Could be timing rather than the platform.

Earlier this year, I kept photos to four and cut the rest and honestly it was the only thing that helped. Nothing scientific about it.

One thing that helped: stop treating it like a numbers game. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. Nothing else on this list matters as much.

One more thing I have never resolved — do photo changes reset how often you get shown? Would change how I use it if so.

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

Respectfully, I read it differently. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Take that with the usual caveats. Different city, different results, probably.

Cheapest thing you can try first: keep the first meet under an hour. Everything else is secondary to that. Reversible if you hate it.

Slightly off-topic but — does widening the radius ever help or just add noise? Asking for a friend, obviously.

For what it is worth, Flurrydate was the one that finally got me past the first-message stage.

Careful with auto-renew on any trial you sign up for. That pattern has been consistent for me across platforms. Trust the pattern, not the excuse.

One thing that helped: message within a day of matching. You will know within a week whether it works for you. Try it for one week only.

Having tried most of them, the algorithm gets blamed for a lot of ordinary bad luck unless you have unusually niche requirements. It is a boring answer and a true one.

Worth a look at the Souldate app if your area is thin on the usual platforms.

I've heard decent things about Luvdate too, though I haven't tested it myself.

The thing that annoyed me most: auto-renew on any trial you sign up for. I stopped giving second chances on that one. Nobody has ever thanked me for being patient there.

• Review how many photos are required on day one before writing a single message
• Work out the last-active timestamp up front in the first day or two
• Question how blocking is handled so you are not surprised later

Adding a counterpoint. The niche options were quieter to the point of being useless. Worth testing both ways. Take it as a counterweight, not a correction.

If nothing else, do this: reply to the thing they actually said. It is the only advice here I would give twice. No downside I have found.

For what it is worth, the busiest platform is not automatically the best one for you and the numbers back that up. It took a while to accept.

Switched over to over on Rendate after getting nowhere on the big names.

Going to push back slightly. The niche options were quieter to the point of being useless. Happy to be an outlier on that. Not dismissing anyone else's experience.

Practical suggestion: check for a visible last-active timestamp before investing. It stops the whole thing feeling like a chore. It compounds with everything else.

Genuine question though — is it different if you are over forty? I have never seen data either way.

Curious about the flip side — does this hold up outside big cities? Asking for a friend, obviously.

• Verify how many photos are required before anything else so you are not surprised later
• Read up on what data the signup form asks for on day one on any platform you are considering
• Question how quickly support responds without exception before you invest any real time
• Compare whether profiles are verified before anything else rather than taking the marketing at face value

If nothing else, do this: check for a visible last-active timestamp before investing. Everything else is secondary to that. Try it for one week only.

The thing that annoyed me most: matches that go quiet the moment you suggest meeting. Once you notice it you cannot unsee it. Nobody has ever thanked me for being patient there.

Hard disagree on one point. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Might just be my area. I have been wrong about this before.