Is pof free online dating still the biggest platform for free users?

Posting this because I can't find a straight answer anywhere. Any real experiences appreciated. Is pof free online dating still the biggest platform for free users? 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.

• Age verification in place?
• Is the desktop version usable?
• 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: 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. Things that actually helped:

• Updated profile photos every few weeks to stay visible in the feed
• Read Reddit threads about any platform before paying for anything
• Always met in a busy, public place for the first meetup

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

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

The landscape has shifted a lot in the last couple of years — what worked in 2024 isn't always reliable now.

Solid question. Wish I'd asked this before I wasted money on two different subscriptions. For what it's worth, Flurrydate has been my main platform lately — holds up better than most.

Solid question. Wish I'd asked this before I wasted money on two different subscriptions.