Tired of traditional dating methods?
With the shift towards online dating, you’ll find quite a few dating platforms. Plenty of Fish is one of the many dating platforms that you can take into consideration.
But what makes Plenty of Fish different from all the other dating sites such as Hinge, Tinder, and OkCupid?
Fortunately for you, in this article, you’ll find everything you need to know about Plenty of Fish. From basic features to membership options, I’ll walk you through all the details.
By the time you’re done with this post, you’ll have no trouble navigating through the dating platform.
Without wasting any more time, let’s dive right into it!
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What Is Plenty Of Fish?
You’ll be surprised to find that Plenty of Fish was first launched in 2003 from the founder, Markus Frind’s bedroom.
The platform has grown quite a lot since then; from ten million registered users to a hundred million users globally, with the largest virtual speed dating event ever recently happening in 2022.
Available in nine different languages, Plenty of Fish has sixty-five thousand new sign-ups daily. According to the dating site, it has three million users active each day, which means that you know at least one person who has found their significant other through Plenty of Fish.
Want to know the best part? Plenty of Fish is free to use for all users! You don’t have to spend a single penny to find a date, all you need to do is sign up.
How? You ask.
Well, keep reading!
How Does Plenty Of Fish Work?
Plenty of Fish is a free online dating platform available in the form of a desktop site and a mobile application. It is a part of the handful of dating sites that allow you to message a profile without matching with other users first.
Most users on Plenty of Fish are middle-aged, with 60% being women. Moreover, most users on this site are from the US, if you live in the area, then this site might be a great option for you to consider.
If you’re looking for an online date, but don’t want to spend too much money, then Plenty of Fish is perfect.
If I’ve gotten your interest, then I suggest you read till the very end so you’re aware of both the pros and the cons of Plenty of Fish before you sign up.
How Do Plenty Of Fish Profiles Work?
When you sign up, Plenty of Fish asks you for basic information such as your name, gender, etc. You’re asked to add a picture as well.
Once you’re done with signing up, you’ll have to answer a whole bunch of questions regarding your interests and personality. This process takes up some time, making it less convenient than other dating platforms like Match and eharmony.
There are two main tests that you can take to answer these questions. The first is the Chemistry Test, which includes questions relating to your personality.
The aim of this test is to understand where you send in terms of the following components:
- Self-confidence
- Family orientation
- Self-control
- Easygoingness
- Social dependency
How Does Plenty Of Fish Messaging Work?
Unlike most dating apps, Plenty of Fish focuses more on the messaging aspect of online dating. Even when you first open the app you’ll be greeted with the messaging box upfront.
Here you’ll also find a list of users who are more likely to respond to your messages.
The Will Respond feature gives you a list of special users who are most likely to respond to your messages. This assumption is based on the information you’ve provided to the initial questions when signing up.
How Does Plenty Of Fish ‘Meet Me’ Work?
This feature is similar to the swipe feature on Tinder, it allows you to speed date by quickly skimming through profiles, You get to look at their profile picture and decide if it’s a Yes, No, or Maybe.
Free users get a notification when another user has swiped Yes to their profile on Meet Me. However, you can’t see who it is unless you’ve subscribed to the Plenty of Fish Premium membership.
If you’re not in the mood to spend hours messaging people, this feature is a quick way to find a profile that might suit your preferences.
The Relation Assessment is the second of these tests. It asks you questions regarding your interests and what you’re looking for in future relationships. This is a bit longer as there are around fifty questions that you’re asked but trust me when I say it’s worth the hassle.
The questions can be about:
- Your attitude towards love.
- Communication
- Conflict resolution
- Interdependency
- Intimacy
- Sexuality
- Self-efficacy
- Preferences in terms of expressions of affection
- Your readiness to enter a relationship
Other questions that you might get in these tests are:
- Do you drive a car?
- How ambitious are you?
- How many siblings do you have?
- Talk about your music taste
Besides, the site offers its users dating training, which not only offers dating advice but can also help you figure out what went wrong in previous relationships.
Although, you need to be a bit careful with the sort of information you provide. Plenty of Fish is a free platform, you’ll find all types of users–this includes scammers and catfish accounts.
In fact, Plenty of Fish asks its users to be careful and not share their name, phone number, and address. One good thing about the dating site is that it doesn’t connect your Plenty of Fish profile to your other social media profiles.
This means that finding your existence outside Plenty of Fish is practically impossible.
The user interface on Plenty of Fish used to be pretty simple, dull, and outdated. Luckily, it’s been redesigned so the site no longer looks like a website from the 2000s.
How Matching Works On Plenty Of Fish
Plenty of Fish uses the information you’ve filled in for the questions when signing up to filter out the users that are compatible with you. As the user pool for the website is huge, you’ll find all sorts of people.
Whether you’re looking for a long-term relationship or a hook-up, you’re sure to find someone who fits your preferences.
If you enjoyed answering the initial questions or if you want to increase the rate of finding better matches, there are more questionnaires that you can take. Some tests you can take are Is Your Love Interest a Keeper, Psychological Assessment, and Sex Test.
Not only are these short and fun, but they’re super helpful in making your matching experience better.
Besides, you can use the search function to further find profiles that fit your preferences. You can use various filters such as age, intent, ethnicity, etc to narrow down the searches.
The basic search has fourteen available filters, while the advanced search option provides you with a lot more filters.
Plenty of Fish has a Nearby feature that allows you to look at profiles that are within a 0.5-mile range from you. Another feature, the More Prospects lets you look at more users.
However, keep in mind, if you add too many filters, you might not be able to find users. I suggest you ease up on the filters a little, only include absolutely necessary ones.
You can also find plenty of forums on the site to help you meet people who have similar interests as you. The forums are on a wide range of topics. You can talk about movies, music, art, and just about anything you want.
Who knows you might end up making a few friends while trying to find a love interest. If you find a profile that piques your interest, all you need to do is click on the profile.
Plenty of Fish will show you the person’s profile picture, age, and screen name. In order to let you learn more about the person, the site also shows a list of things the user is interested in.
How Does Plenty Of Fish’s Messaging Work?
Now that you’ve found a profile, the next step is to message the user. As mentioned earlier, Plenty of Fish puts a lot of focus on messaging. It gives you a Will Respond list which includes users that are most likely to respond to your messages.
You don’t have to just message these users, you can ignore these recommendations and message whoever you wish.
When you’re messaging a profile, the Plenty of Fish’s Spark feature gives you prompts related to the interests mentioned in the profile to allow a smooth flow of conversation.
The site claims this feature helps boost your conversations by 15 percent!
Remember the first message is the most important, you need something that will make you stand out and catch the attention of the user.
Generally, messaging on Plenty of Fish is free and there aren’t many restrictions. Anyone can message anyone. The only limits are:
- Your account shouldn’t be blocked or flagged as inappropriate.
- You can only message fifty-five people per day.
The age gap between you and the user you message should be less than fourteen years. If you or the user you’re messaging is under 22 this age gap is brought to less than nine years.
If you send any adult or offensive content your account will be suspended immediately.
In order to prevent people from spamming, Plenty of Fish doesn’t let users copy-paste messages. You need to type out your messages. Moreover, if you remain inactive for more than a month, the site automatically deletes your conversations.
Another thing to keep in mind is that on Plenty of Fish, women can send pictures in messages, but men aren’t allowed to send any pictures. This provides women with a safety net of sorts.
Plenty of Fish also has a Priority feature, which allows your message to float to the very top of the user’s inbox. However, you need to be a premium user in order to access this feature.
Remember what I mentioned earlier, as Plenty of Fish is a free platform, you’ll find all sorts of users. You need to be careful with the type of information you share in your messages.
How Does Plenty Of Fish’s Algorithm Work?
I’ve mentioned the tests quite a few times already. Plenty of Fish has two main tests that users are asked to fill out. The first is the Chemistry test and the second is the Relation Assessment Test.
The algorithm on this dating site uses the data collected from both these psychological tests to filter out users that would seem most compatible with you.
I understand that answering these questions is a lengthy process but it’s a one-time thing. Plus, it is worth the time as it provides the app’s algorithm with the required information to find the best match for you.
The more honestly you’ll answer, the higher the chances of finding a compatible user.
How Plenty Of Fish’s Memberships Work
Plenty of Fish is a free platform, so if you don’t want to spend any extra cash, you don’t have to. However, if you do have some extra money that you don’t mind spending, I’d suggest you consider the Plenty of Fish premium account.
The Premium membership gives you access to a bunch of features, enhancing your experience on the dating platform. Premium users can:
- Use the Meet Me feature
- Have access to all the information on a user’s profile
- See if their messages have been read
- Have the ability to see who viewed their profile
- Use the Priority option when sending messages
- Send three gifts per day to any user of their choice
- Use the site without being bothered by ads
How To Download Plenty Of Fish
Plenty of Fish was first launched in 2003, before the smartphone revolution. However, this does not mean Plenty of Fish is outdated, the platform evolved along with technology.
If you prefer using a laptop or desktop, you can simply use the Plenty of Fish browser website. It’s pretty simple to navigate through.
Alternatively, if you’d rather use a smartphone or a tablet, you can download the app, which is available for download on both Android and iOS.
How Safe Is Plenty Of Fish?
This is something you’ve probably been wondering since the beginning of this article. The answer to this question isn’t a simple yes or no.
Plenty of Fish is a free dating site, which means all types of people are active on the site. You might come across some great people, but as it is with most free dating sites, you might also come across some scammers and catfish accounts, which does make us question the safety of the site.
However, Plenty of Fish does take some steps to ensure user safety. As mentioned earlier, the site discourages users from sharing personal information. It also prevents other users from getting access to your personal information.
Moreover, any account that posts offensive or adult content immediately gets suspended. You can help Plenty of Fish in this process by reporting accounts that seem suspicious to you.
You’ll also find quite a lot of information on the site itself on how to protect yourself on the dating platform. In fact, you’ll find a whole section on Dating Safety Tips. I highly recommend you give that a glance before you sign up, it’s quite useful.
Other than this, I suggest you be careful with the type of information you share. This goes for any online platform really, because once you post information on the web, it’s there to stay for eternity. It’s best to protect your personal information.
If you have any issues at all, you can contact the Plenty of Fish Customer Support department at any time by sending a message on the Online Chat or by contacting them by phone.
Final Thoughts
Plenty of Fish has been in the online dating industry for quite a while now, which explains how the site is able to cater to the needs of all types of users.
With a remarkable algorithm, Plenty of Fish matches its users based on their interests, hobbies, and preferences.
One of the best things about this app is that it’s free to use, which means you don’t need to pay to create an account and message, other users.
This is both a good thing and a bad thing, as it also means that anyone–including scammers and catfish accounts–can message you.
If you don’t wish to spend extra money, Plenty of Fish is a great platform to meet new people. However, if you can afford to spend extra money, I’d suggest using a paid platform that ensures more safety.
