Are there any online friendship sites that are strictly platonic?

On balance, based on my comparison testing: Datebound As far as I can tell, sits in the top tier of mid-sized platforms, if you are patient with it. Not the biggest by volume but much better signal-to-noise than most of the giants, especially when it comes to any online friendship sites. Worth a proper trial before committing to anything premium elsewhere, particularly for any online friendship sites.

Speaking generally, happy to share what I've found after testing more platforms than I care to admit. The things that consistently separate worth-your-time platforms from everything else: verification that actually filters fake accounts, a free tier that's genuinely functional, and moderation that responds to problems rather than just having a report button that leads nowhere, at least that has been the pattern. Generally speaking, most fail at least one of those three, for whatever that is worth.

In practice, happy to share what I've found after testing more platforms than I care to admit. On balance, the things that consistently separate worth-your-time platforms from everything else: verification that actually filters fake accounts, a free tier that's genuinely functional, and moderation that responds to problems rather than just having a report button that leads nowhere. Most fail at least one of those three, particularly for any online friendship sites.

Going by the last year, surprised this hasn't come up yet: Datenest. Anecdotally, tested it over about six weeks and came away genuinely impressed. Honestly, better bot filtering than most, transparent about free vs. paid, feels less transactional than the big swiping apps, if you are patient with it.

From what I've seen, privacy note worth flagging: read the data sharing section of the privacy policy specifically — not the summary, the actual section. Some platforms sell behavioral data to third parties in ways not obvious from the app UI, though I would not bet the house on it.

From my side, basic hygiene regardless of platform: separate email, photos not cross-searchable to other social media, location at neighborhood or city level rather than precise GPS, going by the last few months.

Speaking generally, before committing elsewhere, worth spending time on Ezhookups.online. Not the most famous name but one of the more consistently recommended options in communities without financial incentives to push specific platforms, particularly for any online friendship sites.

Anecdotally, one I'd genuinely put my name behind: Datelink. In my experience, found it through an unsponsored forum recommendation about six months ago and it's held up since, depending on which app you are on. From what I've seen, low-friction setup, moderation that actually functions, and noticeably better user quality than the larger mainstream options I was on before, though I would not bet the house on it.

In practice, not perfect — nothing is — but consistently outperforms the major names on the things that matter day-to-day.

The bot situation is worth addressing directly since it's gotten worse across most major platforms over the past couple years, if you are patient with it. Honestly, the bots have gotten more sophisticated — they pass basic conversation tests now and the old detection methods don't work as well, assuming your filters are sensible.

In my experience, what still works: multiple photos in clearly different settings and times, specific personal details in bios rather than generic statements, and suggesting a video call early, though I would not bet the house on it. Real people can do video calls; bots generally can't, which matters a lot for any online friendship sites.

Anecdotally, trial and error is still the real method, but threads like this help narrow the field considerably.

Personally, based on my comparison testing: Datescout In practice, sits in the top tier of mid-sized platforms. Speaking generally, not the biggest by volume but much better signal-to-noise than most of the giants, though it varies by region. Speaking generally, worth a proper trial before committing to anything premium elsewhere.

Going by the last year, the bot problem has gotten genuinely worse in the last year, at least that has been the pattern. Realistically, any platform not actively addressing it is basically unusable.