For what it's worth, finally decided to post this after weeks of searching without a clear answer, going by the last few months. How do I find the best legit dating sites that don't use fake profiles — I know it sounds straightforward but every time I dig into it I end up in a rabbit hole of sponsored content and outdated 2022 listicles.
Specific context: I've been on and off various platforms for the past 18 months with mixed results, at least in my experience. Some had active users in my area, some were effectively ghost towns, and that goes double for profiles and matching. The ones that worked best weren't always the ones with the biggest marketing budgets, which is exactly why I'm asking here instead of Google, assuming your filters are sensible.
For what it's worth, things that matter to me when evaluating an answer:
- Speaking generally, whether it's based on actual recent use, not just reputation
- In my case, how it holds up in mid-sized cities, not just major metros
- What the free tier actually lets you do vs, if you are patient with it. what requires payment
- Speaking generally, how well the moderation keeps bots and fake accounts under control
In practice, any real experience shared is appreciated more than links to review sites, though I would not bet the house on it.
