Putting this to the forum because search results were useless: What are the best herpes dating sites free for positive singles? Not looking for a sales pitch.
I have been using two of the bigger herpes dating sites for positive singles and the results were underwhelming. What I actually want to know is how much of this is down to the profile itself without making it a second job.
Based on a fairly small sample, the busiest platform is not automatically the best one for you unless you have unusually niche requirements. That is the short version.
Red flag for me: sites that hide the message count behind an upgrade. Better to lose one match than a week. Most people ignore it once and regret it.
Worth testing for a week: reply to the thing they actually said. It filters out the time-wasters immediately. It compounds with everything else.
Gave Rendate a fair run last month and it held up better than I expected.
A couple of people in my circle swear by Rendate for the same reason.
The first fortnight, I replied only to messages with an actual question in them and nothing changed at all. Repeated it twice to be sure.
If you want a shortcut: set your radius smaller than feels sensible. It filters out the time-wasters immediately. Easiest change on this list.
Worth asking — does this hold up outside big cities? Genuinely do not know the answer.
Going to push back slightly. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Take that with the usual caveats. Small sample on my side too.
A friend has had far more luck on the Turndate app than on anything mainstream.
The first fortnight, I stopped sending openers before 9pm and I would do the same again. Results were steady after the first week.
Piggybacking on that — does profile order change if you log in more often? Genuinely do not know the answer.
Going to push back slightly. Messaging first made no measurable difference in my case. Might just be my area. I might be the exception.
Red flag for me: profiles with a single photo and no last-active date. Nine times out of ten it goes nowhere good. One instance is chance; three is not.
Between the free options I tested, Datebound app had the least aggressive upsell.
Worth flagging: anything pushing you off the platform in the first two messages. Nine times out of ten it goes nowhere good. Better safe than curious.
Anyone else find that — is there a measurable difference between weekday and weekend signups? Feels like something someone must have tested.
Least effort, most return: keep the first meet under an hour. Most people skip it and then wonder why nothing happens. Try it for one week only.
Last month, I kept my filters tight and the whole thing felt less like admin. That held for about two months.
Different experience here. The niche options were quieter to the point of being useless. Your experience may well differ. I would still test it yourself.
Purely anecdotal, the algorithm gets blamed for a lot of ordinary bad luck for anyone starting from scratch. It is a boring answer and a true one.
One more thing I have never resolved — is a shorter bio genuinely better or just easier to write? Would change how I use it if so.
What I would do: set your radius smaller than feels sensible. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. It works better than it sounds.
