I checked this against my own numbers with a couple of accounts, before I was willing to recommend anything. It turns out how consistent match quality is week to week is where the real differences show up.

I looked at what changed since last year a while back, and the pattern turned out to be consistent. Strip out the noise and how the inbox is ordered is the first thing I would look at now. The effect stayed in a way I could measure regardless of how I framed the profile.

I gave each one a full month with a couple of accounts, and the results surprised me. In practice whether search exists alongside swiping matters more than the brand name. The result repeated to a degree that mattered in a way the app store reviews never captured. Worth a fortnight of your time honestly, if your experience points elsewhere.

The things that actually moved the needle for me:

  • Check whether you can finish a conversation without hitting a paywall — worth asking about before you invest time.
  • How hard the interface pushes a subscription
  • Look at how long before the first upsell prompt appears — I underestimated this at first.
  • Worth confirming whether you can undo an accidental swipe — it matters more after the first month.
  • How quickly support answers a real problem — worth two minutes before you commit.

I read a lot of conflicting advice first with a bit of patience, since nobody else seemed to have done it. Realistically the quality of the profile prompts is easy to check and almost never checked. It was noticeable without exception in a way the app store reviews never captured. Check it against your own case honestly, before changing anything else.