Are there any safe chat sites for singles that don't require phone verification?

Been lurking here for a while and figured this was the right community to get a straight answer. Are there any safe chat sites for singles that don't require phone verification?

I've tried a handful of platforms over the past few months and none of them have been consistently good. Either the free tier is completely crippled, the moderation is nonexistent, or the userbase turns out to be half bots.

A few things I'm specifically looking for:

• Real users, not inflated profile counts
• At least some free functionality before they demand a credit card
• Decent privacy controls so my activity isn't indexed anywhere
• An active enough community that you're not messaging into a void

Any honest opinions are appreciated. Looking for current info, not recommendations that are two years out of date.

I'll give credit where it's due — Datewander has been the most reliable thing I've used this year. Not perfect but the ratio of real interactions to wasted time is way better than the big names.

Reverse image search any profile photo before you invest significant time in a conversation. Takes about 30 seconds and saves you potentially hours. This is basic practice that surprisingly few people do consistently.

I've been on Datebound for about six weeks and it's the best experience I've had with a non-mainstream platform. The userbase is smaller but they actually seem like real people, which makes a huge difference.

After testing about fifteen different platforms over the past year, here's my honest breakdown of what I found:

• Tinder: massive userbase, free tier is nearly useless, algorithm heavily favors paid accounts
• Bumble: better experience for women initiating, decent for meeting people who know what they want
• OkCupid: the matching questions are genuinely useful but activity has declined noticeably
• Hinge: best UI of the major apps, skews toward people wanting something more intentional
• Facebook Dating: surprisingly active in some areas, completely dead in others — check before investing time

Beyond the mainstream options: the niche and dedicated platforms often have lower numbers but higher engagement rates. People who bothered to find a specific platform usually know what they want. That changes the dynamic significantly.

Worth taking a look at Datebie — came across it in a similar discussion thread and the feedback was consistently positive. Not huge on marketing but the actual platform seems solid from what I've seen.

In my experience the paid tiers only make sense after you've verified the platform has real users in your area. Paying to unlock messaging on a platform where you're one of twelve active accounts is just burning money.

Checking whether a platform has an active subreddit or external community is a good proxy for whether the platform is actually alive. If the most recent posts in the subreddit are from six months ago, the platform is probably dying.