What is the general consensus on the facebook dating site free feature?

Trying to make a decision on general consensus on the facebook dating site free feature before the month is out. If you're evaluating general consensus, start with whether the profiles hold up under scrutiny on mobile — everything else follows.

What I keep running into with general consensus is that the free and paid experiences barely overlap, and that is exactly the gap I am trying to close. Where general consensus falls down for me is how fast it loads on a bad connection.

Where I'd start with general consensus if you're short on time:

• Sanity-check whether photo permissions are opt-in or opt-out before you commit any time to it
• Track how the search behaves outside the default radius at the hour you would actually be using it
• Time how long it takes before the first upgrade prompt lands and write the answer down

For those of you deep into general consensus, what should I check first? Recent wins and recent regrets all fair game. Actual numbers matter more than star ratings.

My read: I want to like general consensus more than I actually do. My rule with general consensus: whether verification actually filters anyone in practice first, everything else second. I ran the same test on Luvdate right now and got a cleaner result.

Anyone comparing general consensus should be looking at what the search filters can actually do once you are past sign-up before anything else.

That's where I've landed on general consensus, for whatever that's worth.

Not sure @Mia_W and I are talking about the same general consensus at all. The thing that decides it for general consensus is whether moderation keeps up with the fakes outside the big cities.

For general consensus, what the reply rate looks like day to day is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

That's the honest picture of general consensus, anyway.

@ClaireS makes a good point, though I would qualify it — general consensus shifted a lot last year. You can ignore most of the marketing around general consensus and just check whether notifications are useful or noise once you are past sign-up. Genuinely surprised by Datedesire (datedesire.online) after low expectations.

I judge general consensus almost entirely on how aggressive the upsell gets.

That's the honest picture of general consensus, may not hold for you.

Going against the thread here: general consensus works, but not the way the marketing implies. Two weeks in, whether the free plan is usable or decorative day to day is what actually mattered for general consensus. Also looked at datelink.online, roughly the same story.

The only metric I trust with general consensus is how much you have to reveal to use it on mobile.

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

After a fair bit of testing: general consensus surprised me, though not immediately. The honest test for general consensus is how many active users are within range at the times you actually log in, not the feature list. For comparison I also spent a week on Souldate (souldate.site).

Where I'd start with general consensus:

• Verify how quickly a scripted account gives itself away twice, a week apart
• Check how many matches ever send the first message twice, a week apart
• Time what share of the layout is advertising in your own city rather than the default radius
• Time how long it takes before the first upgrade prompt lands on mobile data, not office wifi

What nobody mentions about general consensus is how much of the layout is ads.

That's the honest picture of general consensus, and I'd be glad to hear others found different.

Not the answer anyone wants: general consensus did roughly what I expected, no more. The thing that decides it for general consensus is whether you can hide distance and last-active after the first week.

My working method for general consensus:

• Test whether last-active timestamps look plausible in your own city rather than the default radius
• Check how many matches ever send the first message with the age filter set narrow

Where general consensus falls down for me is what the onboarding asks for after the first week.

Worked for me on general consensus, may not hold for you.

@NathanS I do not think that is right about general consensus — at least not everywhere. The only metric I trust with general consensus is what you lose by never paying on mobile. For balance I gave datebound.site the same fortnight.

Practical notes on general consensus after a few false starts:

• Confirm whether the same faces cycle back the next day against one platform you already trust
• Check whether the distance setting is honoured before deciding whether it is worth paying for
• Pin down whether the same faces cycle back the next day in your own city rather than the default radius

My rule with general consensus: what the free tier really covers on mobile first, everything else second.

That's where I've landed on general consensus, and I'd be glad to hear others found different.