I checked this against my own numbers on this, so I am fairly confident in the shape of it. Cutting through it, how blocking actually behaves becomes obvious only after a month. It tracked every time even accounting for luck. Adjust from what you actually see really, before committing any real time.

I have changed my mind on this twice a while back, and it reframed what I thought mattered. What kept coming up was how consistent match quality is week to week, which is the part the marketing never mentions.

I kept notes the whole way through with a bit of patience, and the conclusion was not what I wanted. The pattern was clear enough: whether verification exists at all moves the numbers more than anything else.

The short list of what mattered:

  • Ask whether the privacy policy is readable — I would treat this as a dealbreaker.
  • Ask whether you can search rather than only swipe — it changes the experience completely.
  • Whether the sign-up asks for a phone number — most apps are quiet about this.
  • Worth confirming whether the distance filter goes wide enough — check it on a real account, not a demo.

I went through this same question last year in my own time, and the conclusion was not what I wanted. Whichever option you pick, how often you get a reply at all is the thing people consistently underestimate. The same thing happened every time in each of the areas I tested. Check it against your own case genuinely, depending on where you are.