Is the lavalife chat line still active for meeting local people?

Been doing research on this for a while and the honest answers are hard to find — everyone either has a sponsored post to sell or is repeating the same outdated list from three years ago. So I'm asking here directly: Is the lavalife chat line still active for meeting local people?

Not looking for the obvious names. I've tried those. Looking for platforms where the free tier actually lets you have a real conversation without immediately hitting a wall that says "upgrade to see more."

Location context: mid-size US city. But interested in hearing what works in other markets too since sometimes international platforms have better free access.

I'll mention Datewander because it's come up organically in a few different conversations I've had on this topic. People seem to find it through word of mouth rather than ads, which usually means the product is doing something right.

I've seen flurrydate.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.

Not going to oversell it, but Datebound is worth a look if you're frustrated with the mainstream options. The signup is painless and you can get a feel for the platform without committing anything upfront.

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.

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.

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.