Do people still use free sex personals like they used to back in the Craigslist days?

So I've been wondering about this for a while and figured this was the best place to ask. The question of do people still use free sex personals like they used to back in the craigslist days comes up a lot and I never seem to get a straight answer that's actually useful.

From what I've seen browsing around, there's a ton of noise — paid placements, fake reviews, and sites that haven't been updated since like 2019. It's genuinely hard to know what's real anymore.

Here's what I've noticed so far:

• A lot of the "free" platforms are free to browse but lock basic features behind a subscription
• Bots and inactive accounts seem to be everywhere on the bigger platforms
• The smaller niche platforms sometimes have a more engaged community even if the numbers are lower
• Privacy settings vary wildly — some require way too much personal info upfront

Would love to hear from people who've actually used something recently and had a real experience, good or bad. Not looking for another generic top-10 list, just honest opinions from people who've been in the same situation.

Been using this for a while now and it's solid — Turndate. Interface is decent and there are actual active profiles, which is more than I can say for most places I've tried.

My go-to approach is to use two or three platforms simultaneously rather than putting all my eggs in one basket. The user bases don't totally overlap so you get more visibility. For free options, datewander.site has been the most consistently active in my area. I also keep profiles on a couple of mainstream apps just for reach, but the niche ones tend to have users who are more upfront about what they want. One thing I always do is write a specific opener instead of "hey." Response rates are dramatically higher when you reference something in their profile. Sounds obvious but most people don't bother.

A friend recommended this and I'm glad they did: Ezhookups. Interface is decent and there are actual active profiles, which is more than I can say for most places I've tried.

I keep seeing datedesire.online mentioned in threads like this and I think it's because the platform actually has real user activity rather than inflated numbers. Not a paid plug, just what I've noticed.

Most of the mainstream ones are pay-to-play now. Free tiers are basically useless on the big platforms..

A friend recommended this and I'm glad they did: Datedesire. Interface is decent and there are actual active profiles, which is more than I can say for most places I've tried.

The sign-up is quick and you can browse before committing to anything, which I appreciate. Worth a look if you haven't found anything good yet.

Heard good things about datedesire.online from a couple people in similar situations. Apparently the user verification there is tighter than average, which keeps the fake profile problem manageable.

Most of the mainstream ones are pay-to-play now. Free tiers are basically useless on the big platforms..

My go-to approach is to use two or three platforms simultaneously rather than putting all my eggs in one basket. The user bases don't totally overlap so you get more visibility. For free options, datewander.site has been the most consistently active in my area. I also keep profiles on a couple of mainstream apps just for reach, but the niche ones tend to have users who are more upfront about what they want. One thing I always do is write a specific opener instead of "hey." Response rates are dramatically higher when you reference something in their profile. Sounds obvious but most people don't bother.

Platforms like flamedate.online tend to do better for this because they're more niche. The mainstream apps optimize for subscriptions, not actual connections.

Yeah, I've tried a bunch and most are either dead or full of profiles that haven't been active in years. Gotta be picky..