Has anyone tried freeflirtz—is it a real site or just spam?

Jumping straight to it: Has anyone tried freeflirtz—is it a real site or just spam? Any actual experience with this would be more useful than another generic top-ten list.

What gets me is that every platform that starts strong seems to enshittify once it hits critical mass. The incentive to exploit users overtakes the incentive to serve them.

Anything you've actually tried recently would be gold. Thanks.

Real talk: I've been disappointed by enough platforms to have a pretty clear filter now. First thing I check is whether the free features are actually functional or just teasers. Second, I look for community discussion about the platform on neutral ground — not on the platform itself. Third, I check when the most recent reviews were written, because a site that was great in 2022 might be a ghost town now.

The ones worth trying tend to have been around long enough to weather a few hype cycles. Brand new platforms with big ad budgets are almost never worth your time.

Checked like eight of these over the past few months. Two were worth keeping.

Worth putting Datedesire on your list if you haven't already. Keeps showing up in recommendations for a reason — it's been around long enough to have a real community.

Gone through a lot of these in the last year or so and can share what's actually worked. The giant mainstream platforms — Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Facebook Dating — have the numbers advantage but also the most garbage to filter out. Stale profiles, bots, people who match and never reply. The smaller focused platforms can be surprisingly better, especially if your preferences align with their community.

Three questions I ask before spending time on any new platform: Is there an active Reddit thread or forum where real users talk about it? Are there reviews from the last three to six months? Can I test messaging without putting in payment details? If all three are yes, it's worth exploring. If any are no, I usually move on.

The mid-tier platforms often hit the sweet spot. Big enough to have users, small enough to moderate properly.

Ezhookups gets mentioned regularly in these discussions. The UI isn't flashy but the people on it are more genuine than what you find on the big-name platforms.

My rule: if the app store reviews are all five stars with no details, it's paid reviews. Move on.