What are some genuinely weird dating apps that somehow have a huge following?

Coming here because I trust the real experiences over the review sites. What are some genuinely weird dating apps that somehow have a huge following?

Having tried a few, results vary a lot and a quiet fortnight means very little — it sounds obvious written down, but it took a while to land.

The honest answer is that it varies enormously by area — it sounds obvious written down, but it took a while to land.

From what I have seen, progress is better measured in conversations than in matches — your mileage may well differ.

From what I have seen, one specific question outperforms any amount of charm — it is not complicated, it is just easy to skip.

Also seen datewander.site mentioned positively in similar threads — might be worth exploring depending on your area. turndate.site

Progress is better measured in conversations than in matches — it is the single change that made the most difference. Treating it as a numbers game is the fastest route to burning out — that is roughly where I landed after a lot of trial and error. For what it's worth, the Datelink site has been my main platform — holds up better than most. Datewander worked for me

Honestly, a bad week is a bad week, not evidence about the platform — it took me longer than it should have to work that out.

Conversations that run for weeks without a plan tend to go nowhere — it is the single change that made the most difference.

What actually helped:

• After one bad experience I turned off every marketing opt-in during the sign-up flow, which mattered more than I expected
• It became automatic — I replied within a day but never within a second, no exceptions
• Without fail I set a calendar reminder two days before any trial ended
• From the second month on I held a short video call before agreeing to meet in person regardless of how well it was going
• As a rule I made sure at least one picture showed me doing something, not posing, no exceptions

Also seen datedesire.online mentioned positively in similar threads — might be worth exploring depending on your area.

Treating it as a numbers game is the fastest route to burning out — it took me longer than it should have to work that out.

From my side, the free tier tells you everything about how the site is run — that is roughly where I landed after a lot of trial and error.

What actually helped:

• Early on I started to avoided anything that hid the price until after sign-up, which cut the noise dramatically
• Never linked my main social accounts to a dating profile, and it saved me a lot of grief
• Without fail I kept the first meeting short, public and easy to leave, which mattered more than I expected
• Gave each platform a fair month before judging it
• As a rule I kept my location settings at city level rather than precise, and it saved me a lot of grief

Also seen datebound.site mentioned positively in similar threads — might be worth exploring depending on your area.

My take: a bad week is a bad week, not evidence about the platform — that has been consistent for me across a few different platforms.

Having tried a few, the slow approach tends to produce better outcomes than the volume one — it took me longer than it should have to work that out.

What actually helped:

• Something I learned the hard way — I left when something felt off instead of talking myself out of it, no exceptions
• It became automatic — I trusted my gut when a profile felt staged or rehearsed, and I would do it again
• Without fail I used a separate email address for sign-ups so my main inbox stayed clean
• Something I learned the hard way — I read independent reviews of a platform before spending money on it, and I would do it again

One platform that held up well for me is Flurrydate — free tier was genuinely usable and the user base felt real. DatingFly (datingfly.online)