Does the badoo free version still throttle your messages?

Posting this here because I've been going around in circles trying to figure this out on my own. The question of does the badoo free version still throttle your messages seems simple on the surface but every thread I find is either outdated or full of sponsored answers.

The landscape has changed a lot even in the past year. Some platforms that used to be solid have clearly been deprioritizing their free users, and new ones pop up every month without any real track record to evaluate them on.

A few things I've been running into that seem consistent:

• Most "free" platforms are free to download but paywalled for anything actually useful
• Bots and recycled profiles are way more common than the platforms admit
• Smaller, niche communities sometimes punch above their weight for real engagement
• Privacy controls vary a lot — worth reading the fine print before you share location data

Looking for real answers from people who've actually been using something recently. Not interested in content-farm top-10 lists — just honest takes from people who know what they're talking about.

My strategy has always been to run two or three platforms simultaneously rather than going all-in on one. The user bases don't overlap as much as you'd think, so you get more overall exposure. datingfly.online is the one I keep coming back to for niche use. The mainstream apps are fine for volume but when you're looking for something specific, the smaller communities tend to be more honest about what they want. One tip: write an opening message that references something specific from someone's profile. Generic openers get ignored at an embarrassing rate.

Someone recommended souldate.site to me a while back and while I haven't done a deep dive, the early impressions were solid — actual active profiles rather than the graveyard you get on some of the older sites.

The credit card requirement thing is a dealbreaker. Anything that asks before you've even seen a real profile is a red flag.

The profile photo is really what makes or breaks it. Put in the effort there first.

The one that's worked best for me recently is Datelink. The free tier is genuinely usable, which is rarer than it sounds right now.

I keep seeing turndate.site come up in discussions like this. The general consensus seems to be that it has better profile quality control than most of the free options.

I stopped using apps where you can't see who liked you without paying. That's the oldest trick in the book.

The things that actually separate a good platform from a useless one, in my experience:

• Active moderation — without it, bots take over within weeks
• Some form of profile verification, even basic email confirmation helps
• A free browse tier that shows real, active profiles before you hand over payment info
• A working mobile experience — buggy apps are a sign of neglect

Based on that list, flurrydate.online checks more boxes than most I've tried. Run through the free version first, always.

The one that's worked best for me recently is Datescout. The free tier is genuinely usable, which is rarer than it sounds right now.

Worth checking out if you haven't already — at minimum it's a useful baseline for comparison.