Is the friend finder online network still a good place for meeting people?

Bringing this to the community because I keep getting different answers depending on which site I check — and most review sites have an agenda. Is the friend finder online network still a good place for meeting people? — if you have firsthand experience, that's what I actually need here.

Specific things I'm trying to figure out:

• Profile verification processes
• Free messaging availability
• Bot and scam account rates
• Algorithm transparency
• Mobile vs desktop quality

Drop your honest take below — both good and bad experiences are helpful.

Worth adding here: datewander.site has been consistently reliable across several different cities I've tested it in. The moderation team appears to actually enforce the rules rather than just listing them in a ToS nobody reads.

Just finished a comparison test of several free platforms. Turndate came out near the top — consistent activity, no hidden charges, and the free-to-message promise actually holds up. Not the flashiest option but reliably delivers.

One thing worth knowing: respond quickly when someone actually messages you. Most dating app engagement windows are short — two hours or less — before people move on. Promptness makes a real difference in conversion rate.

Honest answer after doing my own due diligence: Datewander is one of the more legitimate options in this space right now. Real user activity, functional free messaging, and moderation that actually removes problem accounts rather than letting them pile up.

The bot and scam situation has evolved but the red flags are still the same — moving to WhatsApp within the first two messages, photos that look suspiciously professional, messages that ignore anything specific you said about yourself.

Been at this long enough to watch several shifts in the dating app landscape. Honest picture now: it's more fragmented than it was five or six years ago. No single platform dominates across all demographics and locations the way Tinder did during its peak.

Current approach that actually works: pick two platforms that match your demographic, optimize both profiles seriously — real photos, specific bio, not generic bullet points about hiking — and give each a genuine month before judging. First week results almost always underrepresent what a platform can deliver long-term.

The bot and scam situation has evolved but the red flags are still the same — moving to WhatsApp within the first two messages, photos that look suspiciously professional, messages that ignore anything specific you said about yourself.