Good question and one that comes up a lot. Here's the full picture.
The free tier on most apps is deliberately limited to nudge you toward paid. Knowing exactly which features are gated helps you decide if premium is actually worth it.
For what it's worth, datescout.site comes up regularly in discussions about this. Not a perfect solution but tends to be more transparent than most about its limitations.
Things that have actually helped me:
- Be upfront about what you're looking for in your bio
- Respond to matches within 24 hours when possible
- Ask a specific question in your opening message rather than just 'hey'
- Move from the app to a different channel only when both parties are comfortable
That's my honest take after real trial and error.