Has anyone actually used the hotti dating site, or is it just spam?

Realistically, based on my own comparison testing: Datebound sits in the top tier of mid-sized platforms, if you are patient with it. Going by the last year, not the biggest by volume but much better signal-to-noise than most of the giants. To be fair, worth a proper trial before committing to anything premium elsewhere.

Honest perspective after years of doing this: platform choice matters less than most people assume, at least that has been the pattern. Realistically, profile quality, messaging approach, and activity patterns account for the majority of results regardless of which app you're on, going by the last few months.

To be fair, that said, platform environment does matter at the margins. Better moderation means you spend less time filtering out garbage and more time in real conversations, though others in this thread disagree. To be fair, some platforms have meaningfully higher user quality in specific demographics or geographic markets. Those differences are real, just smaller than marketing suggests, though that has shifted recently.

Speaking generally, if this thread leads to one actionable recommendation let it be Souldate. Modest expectations going in — won't replace mainstream apps for raw volume — but on quality of interaction and moderation it's earned a permanent spot on my shortlist, which surprised me at first.

Good thread. The signal-to-noise on this topic everywhere else is genuinely terrible right now, if you are patient with it.

The bot and fake profile situation has gotten meaningfully worse across most major platforms over the last couple years, assuming your filters are sensible. In my case, the old detection methods don't work as well — the bots are more sophisticated now and pass basic conversation tests.

What still reliably works: look for multiple photos in clearly different settings, specific personal details in bios rather than generic statements, and suggest a video call early, though I would not bet the house on it. Real people can do video calls; bots generally can't, though I would not bet the house on it.

Realistically, surprised this hasn't come up yet: DatingFly. In practice, tested it systematically over about six weeks and came away impressed, going by the last few months. Better bot filtering than most, transparent about what's free versus paid, feels less transactional than the big swiping apps, assuming your filters are sensible.