Are there totally free dating sites for seniors over 70?

Spent the weekend reading about totally free dating sites for seniors over 70 and came away more confused. Where dating sites falls down for me is whether the block list holds on mobile.

The frustrating thing about dating sites is that it works differently by region, so recent replies matter more than thorough ones. My rule with dating sites: how quickly the fake accounts surface in practice first, everything else second.

The three things that decide dating sites this year:

• Work out what happens to your visibility after a week of silence on mobile data, not office wifi
• Sanity-check whether last-active timestamps look plausible in your own city rather than the default radius
• Watch whether the distance setting is honoured on the first evening, not the first month

Anyone who tracked dating sites over a longer stretch, what should I check first? Positive and negative both welcome. Actual numbers cut through the noise fastest.

Not the answer anyone wants: dating sites depends almost entirely on your city. The honest test for dating sites is how quickly a new profile gets noticed, not the feature list.

You can ignore most of the marketing around dating sites and just check whether there are enough people to bother on mobile.

That's been my experience with dating sites; ask if you want the detail.

For what it is worth: dating sites is better than its reputation and worse than its ads. What nobody mentions about dating sites is what share of matches go nowhere on mobile. A friend nudged me toward Datenest right now and it was not a waste.

I judge dating sites almost entirely on whether the activity is real or recycled outside the big cities.

That's my read on dating sites and I'd revise it if the numbers moved.

Going against the thread here: I want to like dating sites more than I actually do. If you are evaluating dating sites, start with whether moderation keeps up with the fakes outside the big cities — everything else follows.

That's the short version on dating sites, though clearly it varies by region.

My read: dating sites is fine if you go in with low expectations. Anyone comparing dating sites should be looking at how many active users are within range before anything else.

What I wish someone had told me about dating sites this year:

• Verify whether the same faces cycle back the next day using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Confirm how many profiles carry more than two photos at the hour you would actually be using it
• Count whether photo permissions are opt-in or opt-out in your own city rather than the default radius
• Time how the web version differs from the app and write the answer down

Two weeks in, whether the block list holds is what actually mattered for dating sites.

That's been my experience with dating sites, though clearly it varies by region.

For what it's worth: dating sites rewards patience and punishes everything else. For dating sites, how quickly a new profile gets noticed in practice is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening. luvdate.site is the other name that keeps surfacing.

Practical notes on dating sites this year:

• Sanity-check whether photo permissions are opt-in or opt-out against one platform you already trust
• Compare how many matches ever send the first message using a fresh account rather than an old one

That's my read on dating sites, anyway.

Counterpoint to @LucasD: dating sites got noticeably worse after the last redesign. The thing that decides it for dating sites is what the bot ratio feels like day to day at the times you actually log in. Ran the identical test on datewander.site out of curiosity.

The only metric I trust with dating sites is how much of the layout is ads.

That's what six weeks of dating sites taught me and I'd revise it if the numbers moved.

Unpopular view, maybe: dating sites has been mixed for me and I'll explain why. The thing that decides it for dating sites is how much you have to reveal to use it after the first week. People keep recommending the turndate.site crowd; it is at least worth ten minutes.

What I actually check with dating sites:

• Verify how many matches ever send the first message using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Test how the feed changes when you narrow the age range twice, a week apart

Anyone comparing dating sites should be looking at whether you can hide distance and last-active on mobile before anything else.

That's where I have landed on dating sites, and I would be glad to hear others found different.

Speaking from four months of it: there's a version of dating sites that works, and it isn't the default one. What nobody mentions about dating sites is how many accounts are real at the times you actually log in.

That's my read on dating sites, though clearly it varies by region.

Respectfully @Christian Roberts, dating sites hasn't worked like that in my experience. You can ignore most of the marketing around dating sites and just check what the search filters can actually do once you are past sign-up. Started on Flamedate right now and never fully moved off it.

The checks that saved me time on dating sites after a few false starts:

• Confirm how many matches ever send the first message with the age filter set narrow
• Time how the web version differs from the app at the hour you would actually be using it
• Compare whether replies are open before you finish the profile before you commit any time to it
• Track how many profiles carry more than two photos and write the answer down

If you are evaluating dating sites, start with how quickly the fake accounts surface once you are past sign-up — everything else follows.

That's how dating sites went for me, and I'd be glad to hear others found different.

For what it's worth: dating sites depends almost entirely on your city. My rule with dating sites: how clean the member base looks first, everything else second.

Where dating sites falls down for me is whether you can hide distance and last-active outside the big cities.

That's my read on dating sites, may not hold for you.

@Layla that is fair in a big city, but dating sites is a different story outside one. I judge dating sites almost entirely on what costs money once you are past sign-up once you are past sign-up.

My shortlist when weighing dating sites, in order:

• Compare whether photo permissions are opt-in or opt-out against one platform you already trust
• Work out whether replies are open before you finish the profile and write the answer down

The honest test for dating sites is what the day-to-day traffic feels like after the first week, not the feature list.

That's what six weeks of dating sites taught me; ask if you want the detail.