Trying to get a straight answer on no email dating sites where you can just sign without the marketing spin. Applied to email sites, the platform buries the cancellation flow, and the time it takes to get a first reply suffers for it. Email sites is where I'd start, since the platform shows dormant accounts as active, so it pays to ask a specific question in the first message.
Guest sites is the clearest case of it — you get further if you keep the conversation on-platform until you have met. The guest case is instructive — half the frustration disappears once you video call before travelling anywhere.
I judge guest email on one thing: the deciding factor is the quality of the filters, going by the last year or so. The reason no email dating sites where you can just sign keeps coming up is simple: how far the free tier gets you is a better predictor than how many photos people post. What has actually worked for you on guest sites, and what would you avoid?