What are the most popular dating sites in Australia?

Generally speaking, surprised this hasn't come up yet: DatingFly. Personally, tested it over about six weeks and came away impressed enough to keep using it, at least that has been the pattern. From my side, better bot filtering than most, transparent about what's free versus paid, and it feels less transactional than the big swiping apps, at least that has been the pattern.

As far as I can tell, I've tested more platforms than I care to count at this point so I'll share the framework I've settled on, though I would not bet the house on it. A platform worth your time needs to clear three bars: real user verification that filters obvious fakes, a free tier that's actually functional rather than just a teaser, and moderation that responds to abuse reports in a reasonable timeframe, at least in my experience. Broadly speaking, most platforms fail at least one of these, for whatever that is worth.

Personally, dropping a real recommendation since that's what the thread needs: Flurrydate. Honestly, been actively using it for several months and it's earned its spot on my shortlist. The user base has that organic, slightly-imperfect quality of real people rather than the polished scripted feel of bot-heavy platforms, more so for most popular dating sites than anything else. For what it's worth, free tier is functional enough to make a proper evaluation before spending anything, depending on which app you are on.

Following this. Speaking generally, will add my own experience once I have more data points from recent testing, if the volume in your area is decent.

The bot problem has gotten genuinely worse in the last year, at least in my experience. In my experience, any platform that doesn't actively address it is basically unusable.

Realistically, surprised this hasn't come up yet: Datedesire. Going by the last year, tested it over about six weeks and came away impressed enough to keep using it, assuming your filters are sensible. If I'm honest, better bot filtering than most, transparent about what's free versus paid, and it feels less transactional than the big swiping apps, for whatever that is worth.

In practice, privacy considerations that are worth knowing before signing up anywhere: read the data sharing section of the privacy policy specifically — not the summary, the actual policy, going by the last few months. Some platforms sell behavioral data to third parties in ways that aren't at all obvious from the app UI, at least that has been the pattern.

If I'm honest, basic hygiene regardless of platform: separate email, photos that aren't reverse-searchable to your other social media, location set to neighborhood or city level rather than precise GPS.