Asking about the best free because I've had mixed results and want a sanity check.
Anyone selling certainty about the best free local is selling something. Reading the room matters more in the best free local than any setting you can toggle.
Once I set dating apps up properly I stopped touching it and results improved. My the best free local turning point was writing a bio a real person would answer.
Public place and own transport — same rules for the best free as anything else.