Casey-Leigh Jordan has been on and off dating app Tinder for the past four years but recently deleted it in a fit of frustration. She had been talking to a man on the app and scheduled a time to meet up that day, but when she messaged him to confirm, he disappeared.

“Dating sucks in New York,” says Ms. Jordan, a 31-year-old manager at a hair salon New York City. “There are so many options, and it can be really overwhelming.”

After struggling to meet people without apps, she downloaded the app Hinge, which seemed like a happy medium. The app’s incorporation of icebreaker questions and more detailed profiles made her connections feel more substantial. “I still wish there were more ways to meet people organically and in person,” she says. “People are different when they talk to you from behind a screen.”

Millennials like her who have spent years rapidly swiping through singles are looking to slow down dating. Zeroing in on fewer possible partners with more potential feels like a relief to them.

Ms. Jordan says she believes some dating apps encourage bad behavior. One guy drank a whole pitcher of margaritas on their weeknight date. Another turned out to be in a relationship already. Several others “ghosted” her—stopped communication without explanation. Eventually she put a disclaimer in her profile: no “pen pals,” or people just in town for one night, no hookups, and “no scrubs,” or freeloaders.