What is the most popular free dating and chatting app for young adults?

Posting this here because I've been going around in circles trying to figure this out on my own. The question of what is the most popular free dating and chatting app for young adults seems simple on the surface but every thread I find is either outdated or full of sponsored answers.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.

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.

Tried a handful of things before finding Datebound and it's been the most consistent for actual responses. Not perfect, but way ahead of the alternatives I tested.

From what I can tell, datewander.site is one of the few platforms that seems to actually enforce its own terms of service, which makes a noticeable difference in profile quality.

Bots are basically the standard now on most sites. You have to know what signs to look for.

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

Someone recommended Ezhookups.online 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.

I've had way better luck with niche platforms than the mainstream ones lately.

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