Are there any legitimate free ts dating sites that aren't just for adult content creators?

Been lurking for a bit and finally decided to ask. Looking for honest takes, not marketing copy. Are there any legitimate free ts dating sites that aren't just for adult content creators? Location matters way more than most reviews mention. A platform with millions of global users might have almost nobody in your actual area, which makes the whole thing pointless.

• Is the desktop version usable?
• Can you export or delete your data?
• Option to hide profile from certain people?

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

Happy to weigh in since I've been through a very similar situation: Privacy tip: use a dedicated email address for dating app signups. Don't link your Instagram or Spotify, and keep location to approximate rather than precise. Flamedate came up in my research repeatedly and I can see why — straightforward setup, real people.

Honestly same experience here — it takes patience and some trial and error.

Honestly same experience here — it takes patience and some trial and error. Rendate is worth a look if you haven't tried it.

Spent way too long figuring this out so hopefully this saves you some time: The people who seem to have the most success are patient, specific about what they want, and keep their early messages short and conversational rather than writing essays.

Spent way too long figuring this out so hopefully this saves you some time: The biggest thing most people don't realize is that the 'free' tier on most apps is designed specifically to frustrate you into paying. It's not really free — it's a demo with artificial limits. Things that actually helped:

• Turned off auto-renewal on any trial subscription immediately after signing up
• Used a separate email for sign-ups to keep spam under control
• Always met in a busy, public place for the first meetup

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. Things that actually helped:

• Turned off auto-renewal on any trial subscription immediately after signing up
• Always met in a busy, public place for the first meetup
• Updated profile photos every few weeks to stay visible in the feed
• Trusted gut instinct when something about a profile felt off

One platform worth checking out is Datelink — the free tier felt genuinely usable and the profiles seemed real.

Good thread — let me share what I've found after testing a few different options: 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:

• Always met in a busy, public place for the first meetup
• Trusted gut instinct when something about a profile felt off
• Set realistic expectations — not every match leads somewhere meaningful

Also hearing datingfly.online mentioned positively in other threads — might be worth a look depending on your location.