Are free casual dating sites full of spam?

Used that side of it properly for a stretch — here is the honest version. What changed things for me on full of spam was treating recycled photos as the first filter rather than the last. People using these sites will tell you the same: it comes down to fake accounts in the end.

There is a version of full of spam that works, but it needs you to be blunt about scripted profiles upfront. Screenshot anything resembling a payment trap on that side of it and report it.

Not endorsing it blindly, but Datingfly (free to browse) is the one I hear named most for this.

@Harper Perry — I'm going to push back here — the sites in question works fine if you set it up properly. In practice the household-name platforms can handle bot traffic better than the reviews suggest, at least locally. I would rate the sites in question average overall and poor specifically on bots and reposted photos.

Long-time members will tell you the same: it comes down to obvious catfish accounts in the end. What am I missing on full of spam?

Someone upthread mentioned Datebie — worth a look if you want a second opinion.

Practical answer on full of spam: do it in this order. Two weeks on the sites in question tells you more about automated profiles than any review will. Everything about the standard apps works fine until you need fake-profile volume to hold up, and then it's a coin toss.

People using these sites will tell you the same: it comes down to bots and reposted photos in the end. Anyone got a counter-example on the sites in question?

Not endorsing it blindly, but Turndate is the one I hear named most for this.

@Ryan_Tx — Half agree. The obvious catfish accounts complaint holds up, but that setup is not the problem people think. What changed things for me on full of spam was treating scam accounts as the first filter rather than the last. Anyone chasing no-strings arrangements runs into bots and reposted photos eventually, whatever platform they start on.

What people miss about full of spam is that how bad fake-profile volume gets scales with the size of your city. If the goal is casual meets, the only metric worth tracking on that setup is automated profiles. Screenshot anything resembling a payment trap on that setup and report it.

I've been on this kind of site on and off since last year, so for what it's worth:

• Search filters that persist between sessions every single time
• A report button with a response you can actually see every single time
• Activity timestamps that move when you log in at odd hours every single time
• A moderation policy that names what gets removed on any platform, not just this kind of site

What changed things for me on full of spam was treating the bot problem as the first filter rather than the last. What people miss about full of spam is that how bad scripted profiles gets scales with the size of your city.

My rule now is simple: judge this kind of site on profiles that are clearly not real in the first three days or move on. Am I the only one who found fake accounts worse this year?

Worth noting datedesire.online does the same thing without the upgrade nag.

This matches what I found with full of spam. Every complaint I've read about full of spam traces back to scripted profiles in the end. Meet somewhere public the first time and tell someone where you are going, whatever the options here promises.

Casual hookups still deserve a public first meet and a friend who knows where you are.