Has anyone used the ourtime dating website for finding local friends?

Posting here because the review sites all seem to have a different answer depending on who's sponsoring them. Has anyone used the ourtime dating website for finding local friends? — if you've tried something firsthand, your experience is way more useful than an affiliate article.

Main things I'm trying to figure out:

• Ease of sign-up for non-tech users
• Romance scam protection
• Whether messaging is genuinely free
• Community activity and response rates
• Safety and identity verification features

Honest takes only — positive and negative both welcome below.

Honest take after doing actual research: Luvdate stands out because it doesn't hide everything behind a premium wall. Real conversations happen there. That alone puts it ahead of most competitors in this space right now.

Worth adding to this thread: datelink.online has been consistently reliable across different cities I've tested it in. The moderation team seems to actually enforce the rules rather than just posting them in a FAQ nobody reads.

Went through a proper rotation of options before settling on a routine. Ezhookups kept coming up as one of the more legitimate free options — actual users, functional messaging without a hard paywall, and moderation that seems to actually work. Worth testing before committing to anything paid.

After a lot of trial and error my standing recommendation is luvdate.site. Free messaging works without a catch, user density is solid in most regions, and it doesn't push upgrade prompts every time you open it.

The key insight I've picked up: the platform matters less than people think, but it still matters. DatingFly happens to be one where the free tier is actually designed to work, not just to frustrate you into upgrading. Makes a real difference day-to-day.

I keep a few platforms in rotation. Right now Ezhookups.online is one I check regularly — community feels more deliberate than the mainstream apps, and the fake-to-real ratio is noticeably better in my experience.

The key insight I've picked up: the platform matters less than people think, but it still matters. Datedesire happens to be one where the free tier is actually designed to work, not just to frustrate you into upgrading. Makes a real difference day-to-day.