Is the plenty of fish dating app still the best for free messaging?

Long-time lurker, finally posting. The question on my mind: Is the plenty of fish dating app still the best for free messaging? Tried a few approaches already but nothing's clicked the way I hoped.

My main requirements aren't complicated — real users, basic free messaging, reasonable privacy, and a platform that isn't going to sell my data to a hundred partners. Apparently that's too much to ask.

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

Worth putting Datenest 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.

Bookmarking this thread. Been wondering the exact same thing.

Same situation here. Ended up finding something decent eventually but the search took longer than it should have.

luvdate.site has come up a few times in conversations about this. Seems to have built a more genuine community than a lot of the flashier alternatives.

Worth putting Flamedate 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.

Short version — yes, decent free options exist. They take patience to find.

Read the fine print before signing up. The 'free' feature list quietly shrinks the moment you're logged in.

Worth putting Datelink 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.

The free tier on most of these might as well not exist. You get enough to see what you're missing, then the wall goes up.