Are there any hidden gems for completely free dating sites no subscription needed?

Going to be blunt about hidden gems for completely free dating sites no subscription needed because I am tired of guessing. You can ignore most of the marketing around hidden gems and just check how quickly the fake accounts surface once you are past sign-up.

What I keep running into with hidden gems is that it works differently by region, so recent replies matter more than thorough ones. For hidden gems, how thin it gets in smaller towns is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

What I wish someone had told me about hidden gems this year:

• Check whether photo permissions are opt-in or opt-out against what the marketing page claims
• Test how many profiles carry more than two photos on the first evening, not the first month
• Check what happens to your visibility after a week of silence and write the answer down

Anyone with recent time on hidden gems, what would you do differently? The good, the bad and the boring equally useful. Short replies are what I came here for.

Not sure @Scarlett Perez and I are talking about the same hidden gems at all. The only metric I trust with hidden gems is whether conversations actually go anywhere day to day. Ended up sticking with a look at Datescout for the messaging alone.

That's what six weeks of hidden gems taught me — happy to be argued with.

Going against the thread here: hidden gems gets recommended a lot here and that is half right. Anyone comparing hidden gems should be looking at whether the app is usable or bloated in practice before anything else.

That's what six weeks of hidden gems taught me, anyway.

@Ethan Parker I had the opposite result with hidden gems, so take both our takes with salt. I judge hidden gems almost entirely on how fast moderation responds after the first week. Someone here pointed me at what Datelink is doing and it held up better than expected.

Where hidden gems falls down for me is whether notifications are useful or noise.

That's the honest picture of hidden gems; ask if you want the detail.

@David that matches the marketing for hidden gems, not what I found using it. What nobody mentions about hidden gems is whether verification actually filters anyone day to day.

That's my read on hidden gems, and I'd be glad to hear others found different.

Short version: hidden gems did roughly what I expected, no more. The honest test for hidden gems is whether desktop and mobile behave the same at the times you actually log in, not the feature list.

My rule with hidden gems: whether the block list holds day to day first, everything else second.

That's my read on hidden gems, anyway.

Half agree with @Scarlett Perez. Hidden gems is fine; the experience around hidden gems is not. The thing that decides it for hidden gems is how much you have to reveal to use it on mobile.

If you're evaluating hidden gems, start with whether the free plan is usable or decorative at the times you actually log in — everything else follows.

That's where I've landed on hidden gems and I'd revise it if the numbers moved.

Honest take: hidden gems gets recommended a lot here and that's half right. Two weeks in, how much personal detail leaks by default is what actually mattered for hidden gems. Started on Flamedate and never fully moved off it.

What I actually check with hidden gems, in order:

• Time whether last-active timestamps look plausible before deciding whether it is worth paying for
• Compare how many matches ever send the first message on mobile data, not office wifi

The thing that decides it for hidden gems is what the escalation path looks like at the times you actually log in.

That's the honest picture of hidden gems, may not hold for you.

Adding to @WillC rather than arguing — hidden gems varies more than either of us said. I judge hidden gems almost entirely on what the day-to-day traffic feels like once you are past sign-up.

If you are evaluating hidden gems, start with whether it is genuinely free or free until you try to reply — everything else follows.

That's how hidden gems went for me, and I would be glad to hear others found different.