What happened to dating apps?

I recently am out of a long term relationship and decided to try a few dating apps to get back into things. Admittedly I haven't used one for a long time. I tried out a few (Tinder, Hinge).

The entire experience is dreadful because the entire app is designed to upsell you into upgrading and paying for the service. Literally you can't get through two or three people without..."WE'RE OUT OF PEOPLE. UPGRADE TO SEE THEM ALL!"

I shouldn't be that surprised but I remember it didn't used to be this way. You could actually find people who put time into describing themselves and get some idea for a person before messaging them...but now it seems to be literally just up selling you rather than giving the chance to actually meet someone. I understand it's a business that wants your money etc. but it's gotten way way worse in the last 5-10 years to the point where it's not even worth it.

I'm just not the type of person who's going to pay for this device and it's genuinely motivated me to just try and meet someone in real life instead.