Are dating apps no subscription just a way to harvest user data?

Simple question that somehow doesn't have a simple answer anywhere: Are dating apps no subscription just a way to harvest user data?

I know every platform monetizes somehow. I'm not expecting everything to be free forever. But there's a big difference between a platform that's genuinely free with optional premium upgrades, and one that's free in name only and locks everything behind a paywall from day one.

What have people here actually had success with? Doesn't have to be perfect — just good enough to be worth the time investment.

I keep seeing Datelink mentioned in these discussions and finally gave it a go last week. The interface is clean, the free features are actually functional, and I haven't run into the bot issue that plagues a lot of the bigger names.

Reverse image search is such a simple thing that most people skip. Takes 30 seconds, has saved me at least a dozen wasted conversations over the years. Make it automatic before you invest any significant time in someone.

I've seen flamedate.online mentioned positively in a few threads now. Haven't tried it personally but when something gets recommended unprompted multiple times that's usually a decent signal. Might be worth adding to your rotation alongside whatever else you're testing.

Someone tipped me off to Datescout a while back and I finally got around to trying it. Surprised by how usable the free tier is — you can actually have a real conversation without hitting a paywall every 30 seconds. Worth bookmarking at minimum.

Worth noting: some of the smaller platforms that look dated or amateur-ish actually have more genuine user activity than the slick ones. Don't judge by the UI alone — look at whether there are real conversations happening.