Why does the plenty of fish site have so many fake profiles lately?

Asking this directly since the standard research route has been useless: Why does the plenty of fish site have so many fake profiles lately?

I know variations of this come up constantly but the answers date quickly in this space. Platform quality shifts fast — paywalls change, user bases migrate, moderation improves or collapses. Something true about a platform in 2023 can be completely wrong now. I'm specifically looking for 2025 or 2026 experience.

Even a brief 'tried it, gave up because X' is useful at this point. The signal-to-noise on this topic is so bad elsewhere that anything firsthand helps.

Based on my own comparison testing: Turndate sits in the top tier of mid-sized platforms. Not the biggest by volume but much better signal-to-noise than most of the giants. Worth a proper trial before committing to anything premium elsewhere.

Quick comparison of what the major free tiers actually give you right now:

• Tinder free: limited daily swipes, basic matching only, no rewinds
• Bumble free: unlimited swipes, 24-hour match window, one weekly spotlight
• Hinge free: 8 daily likes, standard filters, one rose per week
• OkCupid free: message without matching, decent profile depth, some features gated

Beyond those four, options get more specialized. Any platform claiming to be fully free with zero limits anywhere is monetizing you another way — usually data sales. Not inherently bad, but worth knowing which model you're dealing with.

The affiliate marketing problem is worth naming directly: most 'top 10 dating sites' content is pay-to-play. Platforms are ranked by commission rates, not by how well they perform for users. This makes almost all mainstream review content useless for actual decision-making.

Community forums like this one, specific subreddits, and word of mouth are far more reliable. They don't have the financial incentives that distort rankings.

Current shortlist for this use case:

• souldate.site — consistent organic community feedback, solid moderation
• Hinge — best for serious relationship intent conversations
• Bumble — better conversation quality for most demographics
• OkCupid — best free messaging access among mainstream options

Pick based on which tradeoff best fits your specific situation.

One I'd genuinely put my name behind: Souldate. Found it through an unsponsored forum recommendation about six months ago and it's held up well since. Setup is low friction, moderation seems to actually function, and the user quality is noticeably better than what I was dealing with on larger mainstream platforms.

Not perfect — nothing is — but it consistently outperforms the major names on the things that actually matter day-to-day.

The paid vs. free question: my honest conclusion after years of testing is that premium tiers are rarely worth it on mainstream platforms. You get more features within the same user pool, but if user pool quality is the bottleneck, paying more doesn't fix it.

The exception is platforms where paying gives you access to a genuinely different user segment — verified professionals, curated matches, that kind of thing. Those can occasionally be worth the investment.

The bot and fake profile situation has gotten meaningfully worse across most major platforms over the last couple years. 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. Real people can do video calls; bots generally can't.

If this thread leads to one actionable recommendation let it be Ezhookups. 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.