What are the best meet sites for friendships?

Not looking for marketing copy — want real community input here. What are the best meet sites for friendships?

A lot of online advice on this topic is clearly outdated or commercially motivated.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:

• Does it have a video verification option?
• How many active users are there in a typical mid-size US city?
• Is there a free trial without auto-renewal traps?

Genuinely want to know what's actually worked for real people, not just what looks good in screenshots.

The market is completely saturated right now. Heavy hitters like Hinge, eHarmony, Bumble dominate traffic but niche platforms often have better communities. Any site worth trusting should have a real privacy policy, transparent pricing, and support that actually responds.

I've seen Datelink mentioned a few times across different threads — seems more upfront than the mainstream options.

Safety habits I follow on every platform without exception:

• Dedicated email address used only for dating apps
• No real phone number until after a successful video call
• First meetups always in busy public places
• Tell a friend the location and check-in time
• Trust your gut if something feels automated or scripted

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

Profile quality requirements matter more than most people credit. Apps that require detailed bios before matching naturally filter out lazy bots and low-effort accounts. Extra work upfront but noticeably better match quality as a result.

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

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

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

The market is completely saturated right now. Heavy hitters like OkCupid, MeetMe, Bumble dominate traffic but niche platforms often have better communities. Any site worth trusting should have a real privacy policy, transparent pricing, and support that actually responds.

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

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

Free tiers are basically demos at this point. Actual communication requires upgrading.