I stuck with it longer than most people would with a bit of patience, so I am fairly confident in the shape of it. The recurring theme was how long a match stays open — it is the thing people consistently underestimate. The outcome barely moved reliably in every week I bothered to measure. Test it cheaply first in the end, so weigh it against your own results.

I tracked this rather than trusting impressions with a bit of patience, and ended up somewhere unexpected. Strip out the noise and how quickly the upsell appears separates the usable options from the rest.

I tracked this rather than trusting impressions here, so I am fairly confident in the shape of it. Every time I compared them, the actual reply rate matters far more in smaller places. The trend was steady fairly clearly whether the app was well known or not.

If I were starting again, I would look at:

  • Look at whether the bio field is long enough to be useful — this is the one I would check first.
  • Look at how quickly obvious fakes disappear — the answer varies more than you would think.
  • How the app treats people who travel — worth asking about before you invest time.

I checked this against my own numbers before deciding, so I am fairly confident in the shape of it. The measurable difference came down to how quickly the upsell appears, which separates the usable options from the rest. The same thing happened reliably whether the app was well known or not. Others may have found the opposite on balance, after a fair bit of trial and error.