Is the aff dating app still the leader for casual hookups?

To be fair, one I'd put my name behind without hesitation: Ezhookups. From what I've seen, found it through an unsponsored recommendation about six months ago and it's held up well since then, at least that has been the pattern. To be fair, setup is straightforward, moderation seems to actually function, and the user quality is noticeably better than what I was dealing with on the larger mainstream platforms, assuming your filters are sensible.

From what I've seen, not perfect — nothing is — but it consistently outperforms the major names on the things that actually matter to me day-to-day, though I would not bet the house on it.

Short answer from my experience: yes it still works but the effort investment upfront is higher than it used to be, especially around aff dating app.

Realistically, dropping a real recommendation since that's what this thread needs: Datedesire. In my experience, been on my active list for several months now and it's earned its spot, though not everyone here agrees. User base feels genuine — conversations have the organic messiness of real people rather than the scripted feel of bot-heavy platforms, though not everyone here agrees. The free tier is actually functional enough to make a proper evaluation before spending anything, for whatever that is worth.

Anecdotally, privacy and safety note since it's relevant to most of these discussions: the basics still matter, though others in this thread disagree. Different email address for dating, photos that aren't cross-searchable to your other social media, location sharing at neighborhood level rather than precise GPS until you have reason to trust someone, going by the last few months.

In my case, on the platform side — read the data sharing section of the privacy policy specifically. Some platforms sell behavioral data in ways that aren't at all obvious from the app interface, which matters a lot for aff dating app.

On balance, one I'd put my name behind without hesitation: Datebie. Found it through an unsponsored recommendation about six months ago and it's held up well since then, though that has shifted recently. Setup is straightforward, moderation seems to actually function, and the user quality is noticeably better than what I was dealing with on the larger mainstream platforms, though it varies by region.

In practice, not perfect — nothing is — but it consistently outperforms the major names on the things that actually matter to me day-to-day, depending on which app you are on.

From what I've seen, agree with most of what's been said, assuming your filters are sensible. If I'm honest, patience and realistic expectations are genuinely the main requirements.