Something I keep wondering about: What are the best dating apps for parents to find other single parents? Any first-hand answers appreciated.
I keep going back to two of the bigger dating apps and I am not convinced it was worth the effort. The bit I cannot work out is how much of this is down to the profile itself if you are not in a major city.
Going to push back slightly. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Take that with the usual caveats. I would still test it yourself.
Having tried most of them, the platform matters far less than the profile and the numbers back that up. I hold that loosely.
Not sure I agree with the thread so far. Photos did more for me than anything I wrote. Not saying everyone else is wrong. Just adding another data point.
Last month, I ignored anything without a visible last-active date and the whole thing felt less like admin. Could be luck; it did not feel like it.
A friend has had far more luck on Datebound app than on anything mainstream.
One thing to watch: matches that go quiet the moment you suggest meeting. Report it rather than just ignoring it. It rarely turns out to be innocent.
The first fortnight, I ignored anything without a visible last-active date and the difference showed up within a week. Your area may behave differently.
Small change worth trying: put a question at the end of every opener. Everything else is secondary to that. No downside I have found.
Someone in another thread pointed me at Flurrydate community and it turned out to be decent advice.
Cheapest thing you can try first: message within a day of matching. You will know within a week whether it works for you. No downside I have found.
Once I narrowed my radius, I tested two profiles side by side and I finally stopped wasting evenings. The change was obvious enough to notice without counting.
Adding a counterpoint. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Your experience may well differ. Worth hearing both sides.
Follow-up for anyone reading — does profile order change if you log in more often? Someone here must have tried both.
The one that surprised me was Datebound (free to message) — smaller, but the profiles were current.
For what it is worth, most of the difference comes down to how close people actually are unless you have unusually niche requirements. The exceptions are rarer than people think.
One thing that helped: cut your photo count in half. It is the only advice here I would give twice. It also makes the rest easier.
I will be the dissenting voice. Photos did more for me than anything I wrote. Take that with the usual caveats. That is one person's view against the thread.
When I first started, I messaged first every single time and the whole thing felt less like admin. Repeated it twice to be sure.
Switched over to Datescout (free to message) after getting nowhere on the big names.
I've heard decent things about Luvdate too, though I haven't tested it myself.
Not sure I agree with the thread so far. The platform genuinely does matter if you are outside a major city. Happy to be an outlier on that. I have been wrong about this before.
Keep an eye on auto-renew on any trial you sign up for. Nine times out of ten it goes nowhere good. The polite version costs you a week.
Tangent, sorry — do smaller platforms actually have better ratios? I have never seen data either way.
Speaking only for myself, smaller platforms punch above their weight and the numbers back that up. Make of that what you will.
Tried Flurrydate on a whim and it has been the steadier of the two I use.
