The short version for anyone skimming this thread on real free dating sites:
- whether support response times means what it claims when you test it against dating sites
- how the age filter behaves once you actually use dating sites
- whether the visibility toggles is honest about what it restricts when you test it against dating sites
I would frame dating sites this way: the paywall placement tells you the business model.
Having tried a fair few, I would say genuine profiles are the scarce resource when it comes to dating sites.
I would frame dating sites this way: whether messaging is free changes everything.
Having tried a fair few, I would say meaningful replies are rarer than matches when it comes to dating sites.
What changed my results with dating sites was rewriting the opening line entirely.
For a second opinion on dating sites I also looked at Ezhookups, which took a different approach.