Are Dating Apps Getting Worse?

Beats me, I haven't used one in ages

All non-free and open source apps made by for-profit entities always get worse.
- I think Steam is an outlier here. It'll probably get worse eventually, but it's pretty decent right now.
  
  as a dating app?

They haven't worked since all becoming for profit, rather than for... dating. Turns out setting people up should really be charity work, not for profit.
- Maybe there should be a fediverse dating app?
  
  Ah yes. A userbase of 45 global users, all of whom are argueing over linux distros, and none of them will speak one word when a woman walks into the room.
  
  I'm pretty sure there is a FOSS dating app, but I can't remember the name of it.
  I doubt it has a half decent userbase though.

GETTING worse? No. They hit rock bottom like 5 years ago. You're just NOW figuring this out???
- Maybe the author had been in a relationship for more than 5 years.
  
  Or gave up on dating apps a long time ago.

A little late to the conversation there wired.
Match group killed most dating apps years ago when they acquired as many as possible and turned them all into tinder clones, literally removing useful features, not even including them in "premium" versions.
Hinge was the last to hold on to being "acceptable" to those that used it (I need more profile than pictures so I didn't care for it) but I guess that's changed now too.
Monetizing human needs never ends well... Seeking a partner is a human need and these corpo fucks know it and drooled over the prospect of exploiting it. I gave up on them a few years ago so I'm just staying single I guess.
- Ok, here's how it works. You and me, we're going to care for each other, and be there for each other, and support each others dreams, and hug each other, and have wild kinky sex!
  What? You too are also male?
  disappears into the bush homer simpson style
  .......wait, that bush thing could be taken out of context.....
  
  Plot twist: he grabs you out of the bush and kiss

The last time dating apps worked was before 2010. Why are we apparently only noticing this issue now?

Those apps are like Google search. They are designed to keep you occupied, to make you pay for subscriptions and click on ads.
They are not designed to find you a good partner.

Does anyone have suggestions for anything decent dating wise since I'm sure lots of people seeing this post also want to find the best ways to date?
- I think at this point actual human interaction is probably more positive than dating apps. Which is a pretty sorry state of affairs and I'm not keen on it. I don't want to meet people I want algorithms to do it for me, we're supposed to live in the future damn it.
- Going out, doing stuff you like and talking to people. I love raves, so that's where I generally meet people for dates. I've gotten dates at board game evenings, doing sports, or in a museum.
  You just gotta talk to someone who has caught your eye. Make sure to let them know you find them attractive and if it's mutual you've got a thing. Rejections are normal and okay, at this point I'm more comfortable with them than actually going on a date :P
- I never really had trouble getting dates on Tinder, etc., but very few of those led to second dates. Of the people I've dated that I met without the help of apps, I probably would've "swiped left" on most of them. As another user said, general human interaction is my current route, focusing my energy on social interactions where I can meet people the old fashioned way: mostly friends of friends. That can range from get togethers at someone's house, happy hours, general meetup groups, volunteering, hobbies and/or classes.
- I found my girlfriend last October on hinge. What really made that app work for me are the ice breakers. Putting effort into a profile that highlights who you are will at some point attract the right people. And using ice breakers prompts to start a conversation was always kind of fun to check out the conversation vibe.
  But it really took some effort getting started, working on my communication skills and exploring what I really like in a partner and what I like about me. It took me a year and tons of dates that weren’t a fit though.
- Facebook Dating is the best I've found. Completely free and the algorithm is effective.

Blame Match Group - they own almost all of them.

Can they get worse?
- Also, were they ever good?
  
  okc was pretty great back in the day
  
  OKCupid was alright before the buyout. I won't say it was great, but I went out with several people thanks to that site and met my current partner of 12 years there.
  
  Probably not great ever, but Plenty of Fish yielded some decent prospects when it was nothing more than a web based classified ad. But those days are long gone.
  
  For a short time until they get enough market share and they switch on monetization.

Yes, and more rapey.
https://themarkup.org/investigations/2025/02/13/dating-app-tinder-hinge-cover-up

Tell me you haven't used a dating site in 15 years without telling me you haven't used a dating site in 15 years

Yeah, the dating apps are monetized to all hell, you guys have called it right.
I was on them a decade ago, and I'm classically handsome, mentally stable, good job, etc; went looking for a serious partner with similar life goals, and all I got was catfishing and trolls.
After I subscribed to the premium tier, I began getting messages from real people but I was so disgusted by the transparent greed that I swore off all dating websites and services and went the offline route, meeting my current SO through real life friends at a social event.
Starve the beast, as the conservatives say. Deny them their money.

Just need to be sure to buy all the flairs and special options and it'll surely work this year...