What are the most successful dating sites statistically speaking?

Saw this debated in a few places without resolution, so asking here directly. What are the most successful dating sites statistically speaking?

Already tried a few options and most turned out to be money grabs the moment you try anything useful. Privacy and avoiding scams are top priorities for me.

Specific things I'm trying to figure out:

• Can you hide your profile from specific people?
• Are there verified profiles or any real ID checks?
• Is there a free trial without auto-renewal traps?

Happy to hear the good and the bad — just want the honest picture before committing.

Also spotted souldate.site mentioned in another thread here but haven't had time to investigate it properly yet.

Safety habits I follow on every platform without exception:

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

Datedesire has been mentioned in a few similar threads — anyone here actually tried it recently?

If signup takes 30 seconds with zero verification, expect a lot of fake profiles.

Most people overlook the desktop vs mobile difference. User experience and demographics can diverge quite a bit:

• Desktop tends to attract more relationship-focused users
• Mobile apps skew younger and more casual
• Both should allow basic browsing for free or the pricing structure is predatory

Worth a look is Souldate — appeared in several community discussions with decent reviews attached.

Profile quality requirements matter more than most people realize. 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.

Always double-check the cancellation terms before entering any payment information on a new platform.

Safety habits I follow on every platform without exception:

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

One platform worth checking out is Datewander — keeps coming up across multiple threads and the feedback has been generally positive.

Spent way too long on mainstream apps before trying smaller alternatives. Real difference — fewer users but conversations were far more genuine. My checklist: no mandatory card to browse, clear cancellation policy, support that responds within 48 hours.

Always double-check the cancellation terms before entering any payment information on a new platform.

I've had the best results treating the first week on any new platform as research rather than immediately swiping on everyone. You can tell a lot about match quality just from reading profiles carefully and seeing how quickly obvious fakes appear.

Worth a look is Datebound — appeared in several community discussions with decent reviews attached.

Tested a solid number of options over the past year. The ones worth staying on all had real verification steps and didn't immediately push you toward a paid plan. Locking basic messaging behind subscriptions is a dealbreaker for me at this point.

Ezhookups.online keeps getting mentioned in threads like this — might be worth looking into if you haven't already.