What is a Plenty of Fish Top Prospect?

Features on an online dating website are a lot like an As Seen on TV gadget. They look shiny and helpful but more often than not, they are a waste of your time or money. One such feature is the Top Prospect label on Plenty of Fish.com. In a perfect world, this feature would label potential matches as top prospects based on their compatibility with you but instead it labels people for the most basic of reasons. Before you get too hung up on focusing on those matches, here’s what you need to know.

What is a Top Prospect?

A top prospect is a user who the site algorithm has determined to be a possible best match for you. More often than not, these prospects do not appear in your traditional match results. Why? Because they are derived using a different set of criteria that has very little to do with your profile information, chemistry results and relationship needs.

How is it Determined?

A top prospect is determined through the basic details such as their age and proximity to you. However, there have been cases where a user is shown prospects that are scattered around the country. To avoid this, you need to set your profile settings to show only local matches within X miles. Next, POF uses your profile views and communication efforts to determine that these matches could be a good fit.

For example, user John looked at my profile three times and said “yes” on the Meet Me feature. This is the first sign that this user is a top prospect for me. Next, John sent me a message which I responded to. Now, POF thinks we have something in common and share a mutual interest in each other. This is a major flaw in the system. You see, John and I sent a few messages back and forth about growing up in Central New York. In a nut shell, I’m not interested in him. But because we viewed each other’s profiles and messaged a few times, the system thinks we are a top match.

Should You Trust It?

Here’s the thing: your top prospect listings are not going to be as conclusive as your primary match listings because they are based on different criteria. From both my own experience and research, I have concluded that the POF Top Prospect feature is not that useful. Most users reported that they had little to no interest in 80% of the prospects labeled. This isn’t to say that you should ignore them all together. Instead, take caution when perusing these matches. Don’t let yourself believe that they are your best fit simply because the site is telling you so. Instead, take the time to review their profiles, communicate if you might be interested and ultimately filter out those that are not for you before you schedule a first date.