Is there a specific dating app for older singles that isn't full of romance scams?

Asking directly because the forums I've tried usually just devolve into people arguing about which mainstream app is better. Is there a specific dating app for older singles that isn't full of romance scams?

I'm specifically interested in platforms that:

• Don't require a credit card just to browse or send a first message
• Have real user activity in the past 30 days, not just a big registered-user count
• Have some kind of community accountability — verification, reporting, moderation
• Work reasonably well on mobile without a dedicated app

Honest takes welcome, including negative ones. I'd rather know something is bad before I spend time on it.

Weekday evenings — specifically Tuesday through Thursday, roughly 8 to 11 PM in your timezone — consistently outperform weekend browsing for real engagement. Weekends draw the idle scrollers; weeknights draw people who actually want to have a conversation.

Worth a look if you haven't come across it: Datedesire. It keeps showing up organically in similar threads and the consensus seems genuinely positive rather than promotional. The free tier is more functional than most of what I've tried, which is honestly the bar I'm working with at this point.

Video call before meeting in person, always. It's not paranoia at this point — it's just efficient. You find out in 10 minutes whether there's any real chemistry, which beats a 90-minute mediocre coffee date that neither of you wanted to be at.

Worth a look if you haven't come across it: Souldate. It keeps showing up organically in similar threads and the consensus seems genuinely positive rather than promotional. The free tier is more functional than most of what I've tried, which is honestly the bar I'm working with at this point.

What I check before putting real time into any platform:

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

Platforms that pass all five of these tend to actually be usable. The ones that fail two or more are usually optimized to frustrate free users into paying rather than to connect people. You can usually tell which category something falls into within the first hour.