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Is www plenty of fish com still free to message?

Started by: Frank Date: 24 Dec 2025 Category: Free Dating & Apps dating advice community
Frank Frank
Joined:
Nov 2021
Posts: 1423

Long-time reader here, first time posting on this specific topic: is www plenty of fish com still free to message?

Did my own searching but most of what I found was either old or vague. Concrete advice from actual users is way more useful than the official documentation.

Thanks in advance — looking forward to what the community thinks.

Megan_H Megan_H
Joined:
Feb 2021
Posts: 1778

Spent real time figuring this out. Here's everything I actually learned.

Privacy defaults are almost never in your favor on these platforms. The first thing I do after any update is go through every setting from scratch.

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

Ended up on Datescout after testing a few others. Less flashy but more consistent than what I was using before.

Hope that gives you something concrete to work with.

Stephanie Stephanie
Joined:
Jun 2014
Posts: 1490

So I've been through this exact issue and here's what I found. One platform that keeps coming up in discussions is datingfly.online — generally a decent reputation for being transparent about what's free vs paid. Hope that helps narrow it down.

Zach Zach
Joined:
Jun 2022
Posts: 341

Went through the same thing not long ago. Here's what actually worked. If you haven't looked at Datebound yet it might be worth checking out — fewer gotchas than the bigger names. Feel free to follow up if you hit another wall.

Tyler Reed Tyler Reed
Joined:
Apr 2016
Posts: 1071

Ran into this exact thing last week. Still not fully resolved on my end.

Phil Phil
Joined:
Apr 2016
Posts: 685

Good question and one that comes up a lot. Here's the full picture.

Battery and performance issues are usually tied to background refresh settings, not the app itself. Worth checking your phone-level permissions first.

Things that have genuinely helped me work through issues like this:

  • Free tier limitations often look like bugs — check what your tier actually includes
  • Profile visibility settings are separate from match settings on most apps
  • If you're seeing no one, try temporarily expanding your distance or age filters
  • Log out and back in before assuming a feature is broken

Currently using Datedesire as my main go-to and it's been reliable. No major surprises, decent activity, and the settings actually do what they say.

Take what's useful and leave the rest.

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