I sat with this question for a while with a couple of accounts, since nobody else seemed to have done it. Strip out the noise and the share of accounts that are dormant explains most of the complaints here. The outcome barely moved fairly clearly once I had a few weeks of data. Not universal advice in the end, depending on where you are.

I made a spreadsheet, embarrassingly while comparing them, and the conclusion was not what I wanted. For me, how long a match stays open explains why old recommendations age badly. The effect showed up without exception even when I varied the time of day. Try it before you believe it really, before changing anything else.

If I were starting again, I would look at:

  • Check whether the app requires a social login — it is easy to test and rarely advertised.
  • Worth confirming how the app handles a report — it decided things for me.
  • Worth confirming how long a conversation stays available after a match — it matters more after the first month.
  • How the app treats people who travel — it is easy to test and rarely advertised.

I gave each one a full month with a bit of patience, and I would do it the same way again. The thing nobody mentions is that how much the interface pushes a subscription shapes the first fortnight more than anything. The effect showed up fairly clearly despite what the marketing implied. Worth testing yourself really, before committing any real time.