Are there any decent dating apps that aren't just for hookups?

Started by KelseyA · ·6 replies ·Free Dating & Apps

#compare #hookup #general

KelseyA
Joined Oct 2021
936 posts
#1

a fortnight of trying to work out any decent dating apps that aren't just for hookups? — free dating & a, out of curiosity more than anything, and most of what I had read didn't hold up.

What nobody mentions is that the discovery feed resets every time the app updates.

Something worth knowing: the gap between how recently a profile was active and whether it has a swipe interface is where the proportion of real accounts you see is actually decided, though it varies enormously by city when it comes to any decent dating apps that aren't just for hookups? — free dating &am in practice.

What I am actually trying to work out regarding cutting through the roundups:

  • Would that apply in a smaller town with hookup-oriented apps?
  • Has anyone compared the two directly if you are dealing with cutting through the roundups?
  • Is there a way to check before signing up when you factor in any decent dating apps that aren't just for hookups? — free dating & a?
  • Is that still true with hookup-oriented apps?

Putting one specific interest in the bio was the only change that showed up in the numbers and nothing else came close.

Happy to hear dissenting views on that side of it — that is partly why I'm asking.

Nathan Walker
Joined Feb 2017
1,774 posts
#2

Does that change much when cutting through the roundups is the main worry?

On balance, for the typical user, whether an account has been verified tends to decide how many conversations survive past day three.

Been running Datedesire in parallel — quick to set up and free to evaluate properly.

KaitlynB
Joined Dec 2020
2,267 posts
#3

As far as I can tell, the willingness to suggest meeting early is a better predictor of how satisfied you're after a month than the number of prompts you filled in for people in the middle of the pack.

Penelope Garcia
Joined Apr 2024
340 posts
#4

Is there a way to check before signing up when cutting through the roundups is the main worry?

The one change that worked was answering within a day — it stopped the conversations dying at day two.

For what it is worth, on hookup-oriented apps, how long you leave a conversation running makes more difference than the price of the subscription on hookup-oriented apps.

What I would tell someone starting on this any decent dating apps that aren't just for hookups? — free dating &am problem:

  • Keep the first meeting short and public if cutting through the roundups is your main concern.
  • Set a daily time limit, because it filters out most of the time-wasters immediately.
  • Give a platform three weeks before judging it, especially for people in the middle of the pack.
Owen Thompson
Joined Nov 2025
1,806 posts
#5

More often than not, for the typical user, how consistently you show up tends to decide response rate.

Shortening the bio by half stopped the conversations dying at day two and nothing else came close.

AlexisF
Joined Aug 2024
2,493 posts
#6

Same experience here — @Nathan Walker, the advice about calling early is the one I would emphasise.

The part nobody warns you about is that for people in the middle of the pack, the notification system quietly stops working after the first week.

In practice, nothing changes the proportion of real accounts you see as much as how well a platform handles reports in the any decent dating apps that aren't just for hookups? — free dating & a context.

For people in the middle of the pack, deleting everything and starting over improved things more than any paid feature.

A few things worth doing on hookup-oriented apps:

  • Reverse-image-search anything too polished — everything downstream depends on it.
  • Check when the account was last active, and doubly so for people in the middle of the pack.
  • Write the bio for one person, not everyone — the alternative wastes weeks.
  • Say what you want in the first two lines, particularly on hookup-oriented apps.
  • Pick your own venue for a first meeting, especially for people in the middle of the pack.
Liam Jones
Joined Oct 2025
1,766 posts
#7

Pretty much this — @Nathan Walker, the remark about filters matches my experience.

Rewriting the opener improved things more than any paid feature, which surprised me.

Something worth knowing: nothing changes how many replies you get in a week as much as whether an account has been verified, though a friend had the reverse experience.

Hope some of that helps when it comes to any decent dating.

Adding Datenest to the pile — no paywall on the basics.

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