I replaced my kitchen sink drainer from the one that comes with a stopper:

A metal kitchen sink drainer is placed on a white surface upside down with a black rubber stopper attached to the top of it.

To this regular metal mesh:

A metallic mesh sink strainer is placed on the edge of a white surface

I should have done it years ago. The one with the stopper always blocks the drain and requires reaching into the dirty water to open it at an angle, and then food pieces go down the drain. What’s the point of ever doing that? And if for some reason you need to fill up your sink, why get a dedicated rubber stopper?