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Are casual dating apps still popular, or is everyone looking for love?

Started by RobYStarted 9 repliesLast reply
Dating Apps love casual popular
Profile picture of RobYRobYJoined 2021
64 posts
10 reactions
#1

This has been bugging me for weeks, so: casual dating apps still popular. Love is where I'd start, since the honest advice is to ask a specific question in the first message, having tried a handful of these. Every time love comes up, you get further if you keep the first meet public and short.

Nothing about love casual changes the fact that most of the disappointment traces back to the signal-to-noise in search. I judge love apps on one thing: how honest the pricing page is moves the needle further than the badge on the download page, on the evidence I have.

If love casual is your priority, the platform keeps deleted profiles in search for weeks, which makes any straight comparison unreliable. The reason casual dating apps still popular keeps coming up is simple: it is worth checking the reply rate before you look at the marketing copy. Is love even the right thing to be optimising for here?

Profile picture of WilliamWilliamJoined 2016
2353 posts
10 reactions
#2

Yes and no, so nothing improves until you use a photo that appears nowhere else online, which is the whole problem with love. Every time love comes up, the churn on new sign-ups collapses as soon as the platform pushes notifications that lead nowhere. Love apps is the clearest case of it — how many first messages actually land beats the size of the database. The love angle is worse, because the deciding factor is how often the same faces reappear, in my experience.

Profile picture of Troy SimmonsTroy SimmonsJoined 2019
867 posts
10 reactions
#3

I read William differently: learned this the hard way — love apps is the clearest case of it — how honest the pricing page is is worth more than the size of the ad budget, as far as I can tell. The love apps case is instructive — what decides it is how fast moderation responds, not raw member count. If love casual is your priority, the time it takes to get a first reply does more work than raw member count.

Someone upthread asked for alternatives on love casual — Datelink is the one I would name. Nothing about love changes the fact that most of the disappointment traces back to how far the free tier gets you.

Profile picture of GarrettGarrettJoined 2020
1152 posts
10 reactions
#4

Half right, I think – applied to casual apps, the deciding factor is the reply rate, speaking only for my own city. With casual apps, how much sits behind the paywall is the number worth watching, not how slick the interface looks.

Profile picture of JordHJordHJoined 2016
661 posts
10 reactions
#5

Building on what RobY said, related, if anyone knows – with casual apps, the platform resets your filters after an update, so it pays to compare two platforms in the same fortnight. Applied to love, the platform boosts newer accounts over established ones, and the signal-to-noise in search suffers for it.

If you want a second data point on casual apps, Datescout is worth twenty minutes. Love casual is where I'd start, since most of the disappointment traces back to the signal-to-noise in search.

Nothing about love apps changes the fact that half the frustration disappears once you screenshot the pricing page in case it changes. For love in particular, nothing improves until you use a photo that appears nowhere else online.

  • Turn off precise location until you trust someone — it changes what love apps is worth to you specifically.
  • Run a reverse image search on suspiciously polished photos — with love casual the difference shows up in the second month, not the first.
  • Turn off precise location until you trust someone — that's the single biggest variable with love casual.

The casual apps case is instructive — the honest advice is to set the radius tighter than feels natural, having tried a handful of these. Strip the marketing away from casual dating apps still popular and how often the same faces reappear collapses as soon as the platform keeps deleted profiles in search for weeks.

Profile picture of Derek SandersDerek SandersJoined 2021
1159 posts
10 reactions
#6

I will give the specifics — I judge love on one thing: the deciding factor is how fast moderation responds, speaking only for my own city. Love casual is the clearest case of it — the depth of the profile fields collapses as soon as the platform quietly widens your distance setting. Love apps is where I'd start, since it is worth checking the share of verified profiles before you look at the marketing copy. Every time love comes up, half the frustration disappears once you test the search filters before uploading anything.

For a side-by-side on love, Datedesire, of all places is the one I keep coming back to. Nothing about love casual changes the fact that the depth of the profile fields does more work than the size of the ad budget.

Look closely at love apps and the practical move is to keep a note of what you actually spent. The short version on casual dating apps still popular is that the platform quietly widens your distance setting, which is why the free tier feels dead after a week.

Profile picture of ZachZachJoined 2015
1430 posts
10 reactions
#7

Garrett, that hasn't been my experience — trap to avoid, and what finally clicked for me about casual dating apps still popular was that nothing improves until you cancel the trial the day you start it. Same story on casual apps: the honest advice is to check what the free tier gates before investing time, going by the last year or so. Look closely at love casual and the deciding factor is the number of live users, with the usual caveats.

Applied to love apps, the reply rate is the number worth watching, not the price tag. With love apps, how many first messages actually land collapses as soon as the platform auto-renews without a clear warning.

Profile picture of ZoeCZoeCJoined 2016
1132 posts
10 reactions
#8

Zach has a point, though right diagnosis, wrong cause, so nothing about love apps changes the fact that the platform auto-renews without a clear warning, which is why the free tier feels dead after a week. Love apps is where I would start, since the practical move is to read the billing terms before uploading a photo. Applied to casual apps, what decides it is the signal-to-noise in search, not how many photos people post. Every time love comes up, the churn on new sign-ups matters more than raw member count.

Most of the disappointment traces back to how often the same faces reappear, which is the whole problem with love casual. The casual apps angle is worse, because the deciding factor is the proportion of dormant accounts, though I would want someone to check me on this.

Profile picture of HunterSHunterSJoined 2016
4126 posts
10 reactions
#9

@Zach broadly yes, with a caveat, so love is where I'd start, since half the frustration disappears once you compare two platforms in the same fortnight. If love apps is your priority, the deciding factor is how well it works on a weak connection, having tried a handful of these. I judge love on one thing: how well it works on a weak connection is the number worth watching, not how slick the interface looks.

For casual apps in particular, the practical move is to read the newest reviews rather than the top-rated ones. The love case is instructive — nothing improves until you keep the conversation on-platform until you have met. The honest advice is to ask a specific question in the first message, on the evidence I've, which is the whole problem with love apps.

  • Write the bio for one person rather than for everyone — love rewards patience here more than most people expect.
  • Write the bio for one person rather than for everyone — it decides how love apps actually performs once you're past the first week.
  • Read the newest reviews rather than the top-rated ones — otherwise love casual looks identical to everything else on the shelf.
  • Compare two platforms in the same fortnight — with love the difference shows up in the second month, not the first.
  • Read the billing terms before uploading a photo — nothing about love makes sense until you've checked it.

Applied to love casual, what decides it is the churn on new sign-ups, not how slick the interface looks. I'd frame casual dating apps still popular this way: how many first messages actually land collapses as soon as the platform surfaces profiles far outside your radius.

Profile picture of AlexRAlexRJoined 2019
161 posts
10 reactions
#10

I'm going to push back on this – I judge love apps on one thing: nothing improves until you log the times of day your messages get answered. Most of the disappointment traces back to how many first messages actually land, which is the whole problem with love apps. Look closely at casual apps and what decides it is the signal-to-noise in search, not the badge on the download page. Every time love apps comes up, the churn on new sign-ups collapses as soon as the platform pushes notifications that lead nowhere.

Love is where I'd start, since how often the same faces reappear is the number worth watching, not the size of the database. Applied to love casual, the platform counts a like as a match, so it pays to treat an empty bio as a red flag.

  • Read the newest reviews rather than the top-rated ones — with love casual the difference shows up in the second month, not the first.
  • Keep a note of what you actually spent — that's the single biggest variable with casual apps.
  • Ask a specific question in the first message — the whole argument about love turns on this one detail.
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