Not sure who else to ask — this community tends to give straight answers without the marketing spin. Dating profiles with variety — casual shots, activity photos, portraits — perform significantly better.
Smaller regional platforms often have better gender ratios than global apps in non-major cities. Personality-based matching is a genuine improvement for people burned out on photo-first swiping.
Reverse image search is your best friend for quickly vetting any profile photo.
Things I keep in mind for safety:
- A VPN helps with general browsing privacy but isn't a complete anonymity solution.
- Payment requests from any match should always be treated as a scam regardless of the story.
- Photo verification features are the most useful safety tool any modern dating platform offers.
- Video calling before a meet is the fastest way to confirm someone is who they claim to be.