Are there any real online dating sites for free that don't use AI bots to trick you?

Hey all, hoping to get some real insight here. Would love to hear from people who've actually tried things. Are there any real online dating sites for free that don't use AI bots to trick you? I'd love to hear what's working for people outside the major coastal cities. Rural and suburban dating on these apps can be a totally different experience. 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. Would love to hear from people who've actually tested things. Thanks.

Agree with what's been said above. The key is knowing what you want going in. For what it's worth, Luvdate has been my main platform lately — holds up better than most.

The landscape has shifted a lot in the last couple of years — what worked in 2024 isn't always reliable now. Seen turndate.site come up in a few threads too — another one to look into.

This is worth unpacking properly because there's a lot of noise around this topic: 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. I ended up trying Rendate after seeing it mentioned a few times. No complaints so far.

Good question. The answer really does vary a lot by location. Seen turndate.site come up in a few threads too — another one to look into.

Went through this myself last year. Took longer than expected but it's doable.

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:

• Kept opening messages short — one genuine question works better than a paragraph
• Turned off auto-renewal on any trial subscription immediately after signing up
• Trusted gut instinct when something about a profile felt off

Someone here pointed me toward Datebound 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. Seen luvdate.site come up in a few threads too — another one to look into.

Agree with what's been said above. The key is knowing what you want going in. For what it's worth, Datewander has been my main platform lately — holds up better than most.

Good thread — let me share what I've found after testing a few different options: 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. Also hearing souldate.site mentioned positively in other threads — might be worth a look depending on your location.

Solid question. Wish I'd asked this before I wasted money on two different subscriptions. Datebound is worth a look if you haven't tried it.

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