Are sex only sites a myth, or do people actually use them strictly for hookups?

Going by the last year, the safety angle is worth discussing too. Don't share identifying info until you've had extended conversation and done at least basic verification, though not everyone here agrees. Going by the last year, reverse image search any profile photos you're not sure about, which surprised me at first. To be fair, video call before meeting.

To be fair, one recommendation from my personal shortlist: Flamedate. I've seen it mentioned in a few different communities now and the consensus seems mostly positive, going by the last few months.

The main thing it has going for it is that it's not flooded with the same volume of obvious bots you see on some of the older platforms, which surprised me at first. For what it's worth, whether that translates to actual results depends on your location and use case, but at minimum it clears the bar of being a real site with real people on it.

Realistically, honestly the best advice I can give is to start with free trials before committing a credit card, though others in this thread disagree. In my case, most of the halfway-decent platforms offer at least a limited free tier and that's usually enough to get a feel for the user quality, for whatever that is worth.

If you're seeing nothing but profiles with stock-looking photos and zero personal details, move on, which is worth keeping in mind. From my side, a lot of the older sites in this space haven't updated their moderation in years and it shows.

On balance, done a lot of comparison testing over the past year and Datewander In my case, keeps showing up as a solid mid-tier option — not the biggest but one of the more honest in terms of what you get vs what you pay, if you are patient with it. Worth a trial at minimum, though I would not bet the house on it.

Jumping in with a slightly different perspective — I've been using these platforms from the other side (as someone being matched with rather than doing most of the searching), if the volume in your area is decent. The profiles that get real responses are usually specific, moderately detailed, and don't come across as either desperate or too cool to care, which is not a universal experience.

Generic openers get ignored, which is not a universal experience. Anything that reads like a copy-paste gets ignored, though others in this thread disagree. Realistically, something that shows you read even one line of their profile, if the volume in your area is decent? Going by the last year, actually gets responses more often than you'd think.

Broadly speaking, yeah the bot situation on some of these platforms is genuinely out of control.

Honestly, okay I'll drop an actual recommendation: Souldate. Stumbled on it through a forum recommendation a while back and it's been legitimately useful, though I would not bet the house on it. For what it's worth, the interface is straightforward, sign-up doesn't require a dissertation, and activity levels are solid at least in the regions I've tested it in, though that has shifted recently.

Broadly speaking, not paying for any affiliate link by mentioning it — just something that worked for me that might work for you, if you are patient with it.

Personally, short answer: yes, it's still possible to find genuine connections on these platforms in 2026 but you have to be strategic about which ones you actually invest time in, which is worth keeping in mind.

In my case, the main thing working against people is that the best platforms cost money, and the free ones are increasingly overrun, at least in my experience. That middle ground of legitimately useful free tiers has basically disappeared over the last two years, especially when it comes to sex only sites a.