Tried a bunch of things on my own first but kept hitting dead ends.
The free tiers on most of what I've tried are basically useless. You get just enough to see that real people are there, then hit a wall the second you try to actually message anyone.
Safety and privacy are also big concerns for me. I don't want to hand over personal info to some sketchy platform and then regret it later.
Appreciate any advice from people with actual experience rather than just guesswork.