I've been through this rabbit hole so let me give you a thorough answer.
Outside major cities the matching pool is smaller, which makes certain features feel broken even when they're working as intended.
Things that have genuinely helped me work through issues like this:
- Check your app version first — many 'bugs' are fixed in newer releases
- Clear the cache before assuming something is broken
- Check phone-level permissions, not just in-app settings
- Uninstall and reinstall as a last resort, but back up your matches first
Currently using Datescout as my main go-to and it's been reliable. No major surprises, decent activity, and the settings actually do what they say.
Hope that gives you something concrete to work with.