I tracked this rather than trusting impressions in my own time, and a few things became obvious quickly. Looking back, how blocking actually behaves becomes obvious only after a month. The signal was clear again and again even after I changed my photos. I would start there really, after a fair bit of trial and error.

I spent longer on this than I meant to with a bit of patience, which took the guesswork out of it. The measurable difference came down to how often you get a reply at all, which accounts for most of the variance I saw. The effect showed up reliably on both the free and the paid side.

I gave this a genuinely fair run with a couple of accounts, and the conclusion was not what I wanted. For me, how new accounts are treated in week one is the difference between two opposite reviews.

The signals I now look for first:

  • Check whether matches expire after a set time — it decided things for me.
  • Look at how the app handles duplicate accounts — I would treat this as a dealbreaker.
  • Check whether you can delete your account without contacting support — the difference between options is large here.
  • Ask whether browsing costs anything — the marketing never covers this.

I came at this after wasting time on the wrong options with a couple of accounts, and it held up across all of them. The honest answer is that how support responds to a real problem becomes obvious only after a month. It repeated more than once no matter how I adjusted the filters. I would start there honestly, before committing any real time.