Is the plenty of fish app still full of fake profiles and bots?

Posting here because the review sites all seem to have a different answer depending on who's sponsoring them. Is the plenty of fish app still full of fake profiles and bots? — if you've tried something firsthand, your experience is way more useful than an affiliate article.

Main things I'm trying to figure out:

• Community moderation and safety
• Active user base size
• Free vs premium feature split
• Privacy and data policies
• Profile verification quality

Honest takes only — positive and negative both welcome below.

The key insight I've picked up: the platform matters less than people think, but it still matters. Flamedate 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.

To add something concrete: I've been through most of the options discussed in threads like this and luvdate.site comes closest to delivering on its promises. Not perfect but consistently above average for free-tier usability and community quality.

Went through a proper rotation of options before settling on a routine. Datebound 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.

The honest answer depends heavily on your location and what you're looking for. Apps that dominate in major metros often have almost no active users in smaller cities and suburbs. Testing two platforms simultaneously beats going all-in on one.

Someone in a similar thread pointed me to Datewander and the experience was noticeably different from the mainstream apps. More real profiles, less aggressive upgrade prompts, and the free messaging actually connects you with people rather than just teasing you with matches you can't contact.

One underrated tip: respond quickly when someone messages you. The engagement window on most dating apps is short — people move on within an hour or two if they don't hear back.

Happy to share what worked for me. Tried the obvious big names first, then went deeper. Datescout ended up being the recommendation I gave a friend last month because the free-to-message promise actually holds up.

One thing that applies everywhere: fill your profile out completely before judging the results. Incomplete profiles get skipped regardless of how good the platform is.

The bot and scam situation has gotten more sophisticated. Classic red flags still apply though — wanting to move to WhatsApp within two messages, suspiciously professional photos, messages that don't reference anything you actually said.

The bot and scam situation has gotten more sophisticated. Classic red flags still apply though — wanting to move to WhatsApp within two messages, suspiciously professional photos, messages that don't reference anything you actually said.

The bot and scam situation has gotten more sophisticated. Classic red flags still apply though — wanting to move to WhatsApp within two messages, suspiciously professional photos, messages that don't reference anything you actually said.

I keep a few platforms in rotation. Right now datebie.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.