Are paid dating websites dying out because of free apps?

Not looking for marketing copy — want real community input here. Are paid dating websites dying out because of free apps?

A lot of online advice on this topic is clearly outdated or commercially motivated. Looking for genuinely firsthand input from real users.

Specific things I'm trying to figure out:

• Are there age verification checks?
• Does it have a video verification option?
• Is there a free trial without auto-renewal traps?
• How fast does support actually respond to issues?

Any firsthand experience welcome — positive or negative, just be honest.

Also spotted rendate.site come up in another thread but haven't had time to investigate it yet.

The verification gap between platforms is genuinely massive. Some let anyone sign up in seconds with zero checks. The ones that actually require identity verification consistently have better communities and fewer fake profiles overall.

Turndate has come up in a few of these discussions — anyone here tried it recently?

Active moderation is the biggest differentiator I've noticed between platforms. Makes a huge difference in fake account density.

Results from the bigger platforms have been genuinely mixed. Huge user bases but filtering out the noise takes real effort. A few things that actually helped me:

• Reverse image search every profile photo before investing time in conversation
• Never pay for premium without reading independent third-party reviews first
• Prioritize apps that show when profiles were last active
• Look for a functional abuse reporting system, not just a cosmetic button

One platform worth checking out is Ezhookups — it keeps coming up in similar threads and the feedback has generally been positive.

Something most people overlook is desktop vs mobile differences. The user experience and demographics can diverge quite a bit:

• Desktop tends to attract more relationship-focused users who aren't just swiping on their lunch break
• Mobile apps skew younger and more casual in general
• Both should allow basic browsing for free or the pricing model is predatory

Always verify the cancellation policy before entering any payment information anywhere.

Tested a solid number of options over the past year or so. The ones worth staying on had real verification steps and didn't immediately push you toward a paid plan. Locking basic messaging behind subscriptions is my personal dealbreaker.

souldate.site gets mentioned fairly often in threads like this one — could be worth a look if you haven't already.