Is free date com a legitimate site?

Started by Ben1989 · ·7 replies ·Free Dating & Apps

#safety #free #general

Ben1989
Joined Jan 2017
351 posts
#1

nearly a year of trying to work out free date com, after a long relationship ended, and here is roughly where I landed.

The thing I didn't expect was that for the general run of people, the reporting tool seems designed to keep you swiping rather than talking.

Specifically, on free date com in practice, what I would like input on:

  • Has anyone found the opposite for most people?
  • Is that still true in the region you set your filters to?
  • Has anyone had the reverse happen on zero-cost platforms?

Reading profiles properly before swiping cut the wasted time by more than half, which surprised me for most people.

After first-hand experience with current experience with free date com, not marketing copy.

Nathan Walker
Joined Feb 2017
1,774 posts
#2

My experience was almost the opposite. @Ben1989, the remark about filters is closer to the opposite in my experience.

Moving to a call early improved things more than any paid feature and nothing else came close.

Nothing changes whether it feels worth the time as much as the quality of your first message, which may say more about how I use them.

Does that change much across zero-cost platforms?

DylanF
Joined Jul 2023
259 posts
#3

Lines up with mine — @Ben1989, the advice about calling early is underrated.

What actually frustrates me is that the recommendation engine ignores about half of what you set, especially once screening before you meet comes into it.

For what it is worth, whether an account has been verified is a better predictor of whether it feels worth the time than the marketing on the homepage.

The parts that transfer across zero-cost platforms:

  • Pick your own venue for a first meeting — it is the single strongest signal you control.
  • Move to a voice or video call early, because nothing else moves the numbers as reliably.
  • Keep the first meeting short and public, and doubly so for the general run of people.
  • Move to a voice or video call early, which matters most on zero-cost platforms.
  • Never move money under any framing, particularly on zero-cost platforms.
DrewS
Joined Mar 2021
110 posts
#4

Does that change much where screening before you meet is concerned?

The thing I didn't expect was that the notification system ignores about half of what you set, which is the real problem with zero-cost platforms.

Jack Martin
Joined Nov 2019
385 posts
#5

Pretty much this — @DylanF, the timing observation matches my experience.

As far as I can tell, the gap between the quality of your first message and the size of the company behind it is where how many conversations survive past day three is actually decided, but people in bigger cities tell me the opposite for the general run of people.

The detail that ruins it is that the verification flow treats a fifty-mile radius as a suggestion, especially once screening before you meet comes into it.

The compressed version, screening before you meet included:

  • Ask one question, not four, particularly on zero-cost platforms.
  • Check when the account was last active, and doubly so for the general run of people.
  • Put something concrete in the opener — with free date com this is the difference-maker.
  • Screenshot anything odd before blocking, especially for the general run of people.
MarcusT
Joined Jun 2022
1,753 posts
#6

Something worth knowing: how quickly you reply explains more of response rate than the size of the company behind it ever did, but that was months ago and things move when it comes to free date com.

The parts that transfer across zero-cost platforms:

  • Read the profile before you send anything, particularly on zero-cost platforms.
  • Keep work and socials out of it early on — with free date com this is the difference-maker.
  • Let a stalled conversation go, especially for the general run of people.
  • Read the profile before you send anything, and doubly so for the general run of people.
LandonH
Joined Feb 2019
2,563 posts
#7

I want to gently disagree. @Ben1989, the advice about calling early held for a fortnight then stopped.

The one change that worked was reading profiles properly before swiping — it stopped the conversations dying at day two for the general run of people.

The parts that transfer across zero-cost platforms:

  • Swap the group photo for a clear one if screening before you meet is your main concern.
  • Read the profile before you send anything, and doubly so for the general run of people.
  • Stop apologising for wanting something specific — it is the one thing that transfers across every app.
  • Turn the notifications off, because it is the difference between a reply and silence.
Jake_NYC
Joined Nov 2021
3,061 posts
#8

Has anyone compared the two directly for most people?

The part nobody warns you about is that the account activity indicator resets every time the app updates, which is the real problem with zero-cost platforms.

In practice, on zero-cost platforms, how long you leave a conversation running does more for how many replies you get in a week than the total registered user count, which might just be most people for most people.

For a straight comparison, Datenest — sign-up is quick and the free tier is genuinely usable.

The other one people keep naming here is Datescout.

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