Does Plenty of Fish Work on a Mac?

Yes, through a web browser. Plenty of Fish's help center gives separate instructions for the app and for POF.com in a desktop or laptop browser, and a Mac runs a normal desktop browser. The mobile app is installed from the Google Play Store or the App Store, so it lives on your phone. A few tasks work only on the computer, and a few work only on the phone.

The help center keeps the two apart. Some steps are written for the app. Others are written for POF.com on a desktop or laptop.

For a Mac, that means opening a browser, going to POF.com and logging in. You do not install a separate program. The app is the phone version, and it comes from the Google Play Store or the App Store.

You log in to the same account either way, so you can switch between the computer and the phone as the day suits you.

The help center names a few jobs that need a desktop browser.

• Unblocking someone. You can only unblock a person from the Plenty of Fish website on a desktop computer. Blocking is done from the last message the member sent you, with the Block This Person option, but undoing it needs the computer.
• Meet Me preferences, the longer way. On the computer, go to My Profile, then Settings, then Preferences, and adjust your age and distance filters. These filters only change who you see in Meet Me, not your search results.
• Deleting an account on the website. On POF.com from a laptop or desktop, go to My Profile, then Settings, then Delete Account.

A man who blocked a woman from his phone and changed his mind will end up here, so remember where the setting lives.

Take a Break is the main one. The help center says it can only be activated on the app and mobile web, and you cannot do it from a desktop. It is also not offered everywhere, since the help center says it is available only in certain regions. Where it does not appear, deleting the account is the other option.

Plan for that if you sometimes want to pause your page. Keep the app on your phone for it.

The phone is where most men do their daily scrolling. The keyboard has two real advantages.

The first is writing. A first message to a woman you actually like deserves a minute of thought, and typing it on a full keyboard is easier than thumbing it out on a train. Plenty of Fish tells members to read a person's page first and send something thoughtful and personal. Pick one real detail from her page, say something about it, and end on a question she can answer in a line.

The second is seeing her photos properly. On a larger screen you can look at all of a woman's pictures and read everything she wrote before you decide. That makes it easier to be honest about who you would really ask out, and a dating coach's view is that a man who says yes to nearly everyone gets shown fewer of the women he wants.

The cost of the computer is that you check it less often.

Men who do well on these apps do not sit down for long sessions. They look a few times a day, answer quickly and keep conversations moving toward a plan. A woman who wrote at lunch and hears back the next evening has often moved on.

Plenty of Fish says its algorithm favors you for being online or having come online recently. That is another reason to check in often, and the phone makes that easy.

A simple split works. Use the Mac for the careful work, such as writing a good message or choosing photos, and the phone for quick replies in between.

Whichever screen you use, the point is the same. A conversation should end in a specific drink on a specific evening.

Once a woman has replied warmly a few times, stop typing and suggest one. Name a place near you and a day that works. The Mac, the phone and the app are only ways of getting two people to the same table.