Are there any decent dating apps left that aren't just for money?

Posting this because I can't find a straight answer anywhere. Any real experiences appreciated. Are there any decent dating apps left that aren't just for money? One thing I've noticed is that the user base quality seems to tank once a platform starts pushing hard for monetization. The genuine people leave and the bots and scammers fill the gap.

• Is the desktop version usable?
• Age verification in place?
• Option to hide profile from certain people?

Would love to hear from people who've actually tested things. Thanks.

This is worth unpacking properly because there's a lot of noise around this topic: Scam patterns I've learned to spot: photos that look like modeling headshots, profiles with very sparse detail, any message that quickly steers to a different app, and requests for money or gift cards. Things that actually helped:

• Trusted gut instinct when something about a profile felt off
• Read Reddit threads about any platform before paying for anything
• Kept opening messages short — one genuine question works better than a paragraph
• Set realistic expectations — not every match leads somewhere meaningful
• Updated profile photos every few weeks to stay visible in the feed

Honestly same experience here — it takes patience and some trial and error. For what it's worth, DatingFly has been my main platform lately — holds up better than most.

Agree with what's been said above. The key is knowing what you want going in.

Spent way too long figuring this out so hopefully this saves you some time: Scam patterns I've learned to spot: photos that look like modeling headshots, profiles with very sparse detail, any message that quickly steers to a different app, and requests for money or gift cards. Someone here pointed me toward Rendate and I'm glad they did — better than most of what I'd tried.

Good question. The answer really does vary a lot by location.