Is there a specific dating app for married people who are in an ethical non-monogamy (ENM) situation?

Started by Jordan Hayes 13 Oct 2025 Dating & Hookups Community
Jordan Hayes
Jordan Hayes avatar
Joined: 2023
Posts: 2115
#1

Genuinely curious what people's experience has been with this. I've been lurking a lot of these conversations and there's a lot of conflicting information out there. Personal experience is worth more than any review site because those are almost all paid placements anyway.

I've tried a handful of options with mixed results. Some have decent communities, others feel completely hollow—either fake profiles, bots, or just inactive accounts that never respond. The free options especially tend to have this problem.

Drop your actual experience below. What's working, what's a waste of time, and are there any hidden gems people aren't talking about?

StephK
StephK avatar
Joined: 2023
Posts: 3678
#2

Solid advice in this thread. The reversal lookup tip is something everyone should be doing before trusting anyone on these platforms.

Also worth mentioning: datebie.online.

Troy
Troy avatar
Joined: 2022
Posts: 4012
#3

This is something I've thought about a lot. Let me lay out a more complete picture.

  • Free doesn't always mean free—look for trial periods with auto-renewal
  • Profile verification reduces bot ratios significantly
  • Smaller communities often have better engagement than huge platforms
  • Privacy settings matter—always check what's public by default
  • Response rate > profile count: 50 active users beats 50,000 ghosts

For what it's worth, I've been using Datedesire recently and the experience has been noticeably better than the more well-known options. Less fake-feeling, responses actually happen.

Hopefully some of this is useful. Happy to answer follow-ups.

Kyle Grant
Kyle Grant avatar
Joined: 2023
Posts: 3452
#4

Speaking from experience on this one:

Video verification before meeting anyone in person is non-negotiable at this point. Ten minutes on a live call tells you more than a week of texting.

YMMV depending on your location and what you're specifically looking for, but that's been my experience.

Gregory
Gregory avatar
Joined: 2021
Posts: 1786
#5

Okay, going to actually put effort into answering this one because it comes up all the time and the answers are usually unhelpful.

  • Older, established platforms have larger user bases but more bots
  • Newer platforms have smaller but often more engaged communities
  • Location matters a lot—what works in major cities may be dead in smaller towns
  • The gender ratio varies wildly and directly affects your experience
  • Premium tiers are worth it when the free tier actually shows you real users

Hopefully some of this is useful. Happy to answer follow-ups.

WillA
WillA avatar
Joined: 2022
Posts: 3822
#6

Same question here. Been burned too many times by fake profiles and paywalls that show up after you've already invested time setting up a profile.

Tyler Brooks
Tyler Brooks avatar
Joined: 2022
Posts: 1880
#7

Okay, going to actually put effort into answering this one because it comes up all the time and the answers are usually unhelpful.

  • Read the billing terms before any trial signup
  • Use a VoIP number for initial contact, not your real phone
  • Reverse image search every profile photo you're serious about
  • Video chat before committing to any in-person meet
  • Public meetup first, always—no exceptions for first encounters

Also worth having in your toolkit: rendate.site for one type of thing and datedesire.online for another—they're not identical and knowing the difference saves you from frustration.

That's the honest picture as I see it. Things shift but the fundamentals stay pretty consistent.

KenL
KenL avatar
Joined: 2016
Posts: 2361
#8

After trying probably a dozen platforms over the past year, here's what I've landed on:

Profile quality matters more than most people think. A well-written bio with specific details about what you're looking for does better than a generic one even with worse photos.

One thing worth mentioning is Souldate—it has a different approach to matching that I think deserves more attention. The interface is cleaner than most and it doesn't bury everything behind a hard paywall immediately.

That's my take anyway—curious if others have had different results.

Brian King
Brian King avatar
Joined: 2020
Posts: 772
#9

Let me break down what I've learned the hard way:

The gender ratio problem is real on most platforms. Apps that have done something creative about it tend to have better communities overall.

A few others worth knowing about if you haven't come across them yet: datenest.site. Each has a different strength so it's worth checking which fits your situation.

That's my take anyway—curious if others have had different results.

Scott Green
Scott Green avatar
Joined: 2016
Posts: 1917
#10

After trying probably a dozen platforms over the past year, here's what I've landed on:

Profile quality matters more than most people think. A well-written bio with specific details about what you're looking for does better than a generic one even with worse photos.

That's my take anyway—curious if others have had different results.

Zach Patterson
Zach Patterson avatar
Joined: 2017
Posts: 1690
#11

Speaking from experience on this one:

Response rate is everything. A smaller platform where people actually reply beats a huge one where messages disappear into the void.

One thing worth mentioning is Datewander—it has a different approach to matching that I think deserves more attention. The interface is cleaner than most and it doesn't bury everything behind a hard paywall immediately.

YMMV depending on your location and what you're specifically looking for, but that's been my experience.

DerekS
DerekS avatar
Joined: 2015
Posts: 3199
#12

Speaking from experience on this one:

Video verification before meeting anyone in person is non-negotiable at this point. Ten minutes on a live call tells you more than a week of texting.

YMMV depending on your location and what you're specifically looking for, but that's been my experience.

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