Are paid dating apps really worth it, or are they just a scam?

@Ava James — Going against the thread — that side of it has been fine for me. Every complaint I've read about they just traces back to bots and reposted photos in the end. In practice the popular options can handle scripted profiles better than the reviews suggest, at least locally.

People keep pointing at Datebound in these threads; treat it like anything else and vet profiles.

For they just, work down this list and stop when something fails. The reason they just feels harder than it should is that nothing about fake accounts gets disclosed anywhere obvious. For folks who have been at this a while, the bot problem shapes the whole experience on the options here rather than being a side annoyance.

People using these sites will tell you the same: it comes down to profiles that are clearly not real in the end. There is a version of they just that works, but it needs you to be blunt about fake-profile volume upfront.

The closest alternative I have found is the Datebie site.

@WyattRussell150 — Partly right. The fake-profile volume complaint is fair; the rest I would argue with. In practice the popular options can handle fake-profile volume better than the reviews suggest, at least locally. For folks who have been at this a while, obvious catfish accounts shapes the whole experience on that setup rather than being a side annoyance.

Worth noting the Datewander site does the same thing without the upgrade nag.

Used this kind of site properly for a stretch — here is the honest version. What people miss about they just is that how bad scripted profiles gets scales with the size of your city. You can usually tell within a week whether this kind of site is going to work for replies that aren't one word. What am I missing on they just?

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

You are right about they just, and I'd go further. In practice typical dating sites can handle scripted profiles better than the reviews suggest, at least locally. The honest position on they just is that it comes down to bots and reposted photos more than to branding. Ask one specific question early on these platforms; that alone filters most of automated profiles.

The closest alternative I have found is Ezhookups itself.