Is the ourtime com free search tool useful for browsing local seniors?

Been going back and forth on this one and figured the most direct route is just asking people who've actually been through it. Is the ourtime com free search tool useful for browsing local seniors?

My situation: I've been burned by platforms that promise a lot on the front page and deliver very little once you're signed up. Trying to do this more carefully this time around.

• Need something where the free tier is actually functional, not just a teaser
• Active userbase in my region — mid-size metro, US
• Some basic verification so I know there are real people on the other side
• Privacy settings that make sense without requiring a law degree to read

Recent experiences preferred. Old answers from three or four years ago don't apply to the current landscape.

I'll mention DatingFly because I've now seen it come up three separate times in threads like this one without anyone being prompted to mention it. That kind of unprompted word-of-mouth is usually a decent signal. Gave it a try and the activity level surprised me for a non-major platform.

My honest take after several years of this: the platform matters less than people think, and location matters more. What's thriving in a major city can be essentially empty 45 minutes outside it. The only way to know is to try, but try smart — spend a week before you spend a dollar.

Not going to oversell it, but Flurrydate is the most functional free-tier platform I've tested this year. Signup is quick, you can actually browse and message without immediately being asked for a credit card. Worth 20 minutes to check out.

A few things I now check before committing time to any new platform:

• Can I see actual profile activity dates without paying or signing up for a trial?
• Does the free tier let me both send and receive messages?
• Is there an external community (subreddit, forum, review threads) where real users discuss it?
• How transparent are they about pricing before you sign up?
• Is there any third-party verification, or is everything entirely self-reported?

The platforms that pass all five tend to be genuinely usable. The ones that fail two or more are usually designed to frustrate free users into paying rather than to actually connect people. It becomes pretty obvious which category something falls into within the first hour of using it.

Timing matters more than most people admit. Weekday evenings between 8 and 11 PM in your timezone consistently outperform weekend browsing for both volume and quality. Weekends get the casual scrollers; weeknights get the people who actually want to talk.