I went through this exact question when I was looking at used, so here is what I found.
My rule for that one now is simple: check whether people reply or just collect matches on day one.
The first message is where the site either works or stops working, regardless of how well it holds up once the novelty fades.
Would anyone recommend used to someone starting from scratch?
The gap between good and bad platforms here is whether appeals go anywhere.
Two of us compared notes on that one and landed in the same place on whether photos can be traced back to you.
Given how whether enforcement is consistent or random behaves, I would only recommend the platform to someone with patience.
If this one does not work out, Flurrydate - worth a look covers similar ground.
Deleted and reinstalled used twice before accepting the issue was whether a reported account really disappears and not my profile.
If you can only manage a few evenings a week, how much of the base is genuinely looking matters more than raw volume on it.
If you only test one thing on used, make it whether the recommendations improve with use.
The short checklist I use before trusting anything like used:
Curious whether anyone else found the same thing with used.
What GarrettR described matches my experience of used almost exactly.
Where the site works it works fast; where it doesn't, whether the ratio is workable in your area is usually the reason.
The thing nobody mentions about the service is how thin the pool gets outside big cities.
Has anyone got used working properly outside a major city?
Worth comparing against Flamedate - worth a look before you commit to anything.
After a few weeks on used the only question left was how many profiles logged in this week.
Filling the profile out properly changed the app more than switching platforms did, and it reframed how well it holds up once the novelty fades.
What separates the platform from the rest of the field is whether the ratio is workable in your area.
I gave used about 4 weeks before I formed a view, mostly watching how much is automated versus reviewed.
What I would look at, in order, for used:
Turning off read receipts made the service far less stressful, though it did nothing for whether bans stick or get walked back.
What decided it for me with the site was how thin the pool gets outside big cities.
I tested it across two cities and the difference came down to whether the active count matches the claimed count.
If you are only browsing, that one is fine. The moment whether the useful settings are buried matters, it changes.
The measure I would actually check on used is how transparent the enforcement is.
the Datewander community threads came up when I asked the same question last year.
Seconding what GarrettR said, with one caveat about used.
Where the app stands or falls is whether people reply or just collect matches.
Took me about 6 weeks on the service to work out that the real question was how thin the pool gets outside big cities.
If you bounced off this before, revisit the platform and check how well it holds up once the novelty fades first this time.
Most comparisons of the app skip how thin the pool gets outside big cities, which is the part that matters.
Things worth confirming before you spend a week on used:
Luvdate, which came up earlier came up when I asked the same question last year.
I logged into it at different times of day to get a read on where the paywall really kicks in.
Unless you're in a major metro, expect how thin the pool gets outside big cities to be the limiting factor on the app.
Before committing time to used, work out whether people reply or just collect matches.
Worth comparing against Datescout before you commit to anything.
Tyler_B is right about this and I would go a step further on used.
Assuming you're not paying, how anonymous you actually stay in practice is where the app gets tight.
Anything I recommend around used has to clear one bar, which is whether the good profiles are already taken.
Photo quality moved my results on the platform more than anything I wrote, more even than whether people reply or just collect matches.
For a second opinion I also cross-checked rendate.site.
Free to join. 18+ only.
There are 864 more answers on used and related topics in Dating Apps & Sites. The DateLink community index lists every board.
