Ashley Madison Review: Is It Legit? - Can You Message Without Paying?

Getting back to dating is so easy these days since there are many online dating apps from where you can find partners and involve yourself in long-term relationships or even casual ones. I am sure that you have probably heard of Ashley Madison dating service, which is also known as “the infidelity dating site” if you are into online dating. But do you know what this dating site is about and how its one of the most famous adult friend finder?

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How Does Ashley Madison Work?

Ashley Madison is a dating site for individuals in a relationship or for married partners. It is ideal for individuals who have something amiss in their marriages and who happen not to find divorce as the perfect solution. Ashley Madison is a hookup site that maintains confidentiality and offers discreet services to adventurous people searching for extramarital affairs.

Darren J Morgenstern created the site, whose slogan is “Life is short, have an affair.” Ruby Corporation, which also owns other areas such as Established Men and Cougar Life, is Ashley Madison’s parent company. This site supports over 19 languages such as English, Chinese, Greek, French, Spanish, and German. It enhances the popularity of the site and increases its user base.

Ashley Madison embraces that cheating occurs in marriages and relationships, providing a platform where people can do so and lonely housewives can have fun safely and discreetly. Hence, if you are married, single, attached, or are looking to experiment, The Ashley Madison website should be your go-to site to find new relationships that are open, polygamous, monogamous, among others.

Pros

Ashley Madison pros include:

• The community in this app is very active. The female users are more compared to the male users. All the main features for women seeking men are unlocked and 100% free. Men have to pay using credits if they want to start communicating, but they can go through profiles, read bios and use filters completely free.
• Finding a consistent fling or hookup is easy with an Ashley Madison profile. Most of the users on this site are there for genuine reasons; hence finding a person of your liking is not hard.

• Its design is easy to navigate, making it convenient for everyone, including those who do not use social media apps and sites very often.

• Ashley Madison provides anonymity for its users. It means that you can create fake profiles or fake accounts, have payment methods and anonymous billing, and have mobile app access and desktop access that are discreet.

• The security offered by the site is excellent, especially since your information is well protected after the cyber-attack that occurred in 2015.

• Is Ashley Madison safe? Yes, it’s a safe place to have extramarital affairs without being judged.

• You should never worry about your spouse if you are married, as the chats usually disappear.

• There are many individuals on this affair site who are attractive.

• There is a panic button for help in case an emergency arises. You can also get in touch with the customer service team.

Cons

The cons to being on this dating site include:

• There are no specific or streamlined search options on this site. This site lacks the auto-matching feature.

• There are many scammers on this site, though you can quickly point them out if you know what you are searching for.

• Since the cyber-attack in 2015, most individuals on this site do not feel secure.

• The credit system on the Ashley Madison dating site is quite expensive.

• The pricing structure on this dating site is a bit complicated, which makes it difficult for you to spend money with ease. This is because Ashley Madison members are charged from credits.

Signing Up Process on Ashley Madison Home screen

It is not possible to browse for matches that are potential without an account with Ashley Madison. The registration process on this site is relatively straightforward, and there are no registration fees that are applied. Additionally, signing up here is quick since it takes only a few minutes.

The first step requires you to select an identity for your sex and to select the sex that you are in search of. You are then required to state your preferred username and password. Afterward, you can click on other details such as a short bio, weight, location, body type, height, etc.

You can also upload a photo if you choose to. It is recommended that you add one to attract more matches and if you are serious about having a relationship. You should note that you do not have to fill in all of the information mentioned above right away. You can start with filling in the basic information first and then finish the rest later.

After signing up is done, all the features on the site are immediately made available to women for free. If you are a guy, however, you have to purchase credits to be able to communicate with your potential dates. This ensures that there aren’t any fake users on the male side.

To get the best value, you should buy credits that are 500 and above. You can also be given bonus credits twice those you have purchased.

Chatting

As mentioned earlier, it is entirely free for women to start conversations with men on this hookup site. It means that they can reach out to men they are interested in without paying, which is advantageous. However, for a man, you need to purchase credits if you want to send messages with most online dating sites.

After you have paid, you can easily make calls to other site members, customize your profile, send gifts, and chat with other members. In addition, the feedback on your profile will be displayed, and you will be given 100 credits that are discounted once your previous credits are finished up.

Being on Ashley Madison allows you to search for potential dates by filtering them according to distance, age, last login, etc. Additionally, there is a free feature that will enable you to create a record of profiles that are your favorites. You can also see members who have visited or viewed your profile which is essential as it allows you to connect with those individuals who are interested in you.

Moreover, sending winks on the site is free. It helps express interest in someone before paying for other features. You should note that there is also an option to attach the private showcase key when sending your winks. It allows the person you have sent seconds to view your private photos and profile entirely.

The Ashley Madison site has a feature that allows you to send virtual gifts to other members once you have paid to express interest in hooking up. The gift cost varies depending on the gift you wish to send to the person you are interested in.

Key Features

There are no endless ads on this site, which reduces time wastage and allows Madison users to use more time to create connections since no ads mean no distraction.

Travel Feature

The Travel Man Feature is a very handy travel feature as it allows men on the site to share any plans, they may have for traveling to up to about 30 real women in the areas they intend to travel to.

Feedback Area

User’s profiles have feedback sections where a user can rank other members in other areas for up to 9 regions.

Photo Features

Ashley Madison boasts about its privacy and discretion. A discreet photo feature enables you to upload a photo of your choice and alter it anytime you like to hide your identity quickly. For example, you can blur certain features of your body that are distinct or mask up your face to make it difficult for people to identify you.

Priority Mail Feature

This feature allows you to attach priority status to your message. Once a message with priority status is sent, it is picked out to the top of the recipient’s inbox. Once the recipient opens the letter and reads it, a confirmation message is sent to you.

Priority Man

It is a feature in the Ashley Madison site that prioritizes your profile in your area in the search results. This spotlight allows your profile picture to be highlighted more than your competitors.

How Much Does Ashley Madison Cost

Ashley Madison subscription model uses the credit system to charge its members. This payment is made by the men who use the site to interact with other members. With the credit system model, a certain number of credits are attached to a specific price, and the more credits you purchase, the cheaper it becomes. To perform specific actions on this site, you should have several Ashley Madison credits.

Understanding the credit system is a little complicated as you can eventually spend so much money on this platform. However, it can be worth it when you acquire what you have wished. Furthermore, you will only use up the credits for the services you have utilized, which means you will not incur any extra costs for services you have not used.

On the other hand, Ashley Madison lets women click on any feature without being charged, which is advantageous to Ashley Madison’s services as they can maintain an active fan base. For purchasing credits on this site, you should click on the button indicated as “BUY CREDITS.” It is very conspicuous as it is brightly colored and big.

You should note that the credit charges can always change and are usually dependent on your location, and can be affected by promotions and sales. However, there is that price range that is always consistent. Discussed below are the cost of credits that you can anticipate:

Basic Category

With the basic payment plan, you can purchase one credit for 0.59 dollars up to 100 credits. This payment plan allows you to acquire 100 credits for 59 dollars.

Classic Category

It is the most popular payment plan as it allows you to purchase 500 credits for 169 dollars which means that you are paying 0.34 dollars for each credit.

Elite Category

This payment plan allows you to buy 1000 credits for 289 dollars, which means you purchase a single credit for 0.29 dollars. With the elite schedule, you are granted access to Ashley Madison premium. With Ashley Madison premium, you can use the priority man feature, which highlights your profile in your area’s search results, and you can also make use of free chat for 24 hours.

After Credit Purchase

You may wonder, after you purchase your credits, what happens next? Usually, after buying your credits, you will automatically be prompted each month by bots on Ashley Madison to do honors top-up. If you wish to have your payment, be made automatically, you can always set them up so that they can always be topped up automatically every time your credits are finished up.
If, however, you do not wish to top up, you can always cancel the top-up prompt.

MIC Fee

The MIC fee, which refers to the Member Initiated Contact fee, is a payment fee that allows you to initiate chats and send messages to other users free of charge. Ashley Madison usually prompts you to register for a MIC fee after buying your credits.

Using MIC for the first month is usually free, but after that, you will be required to pay a fee of about 29.99 dollars per month. In the long run, the Member Initiated Cost is cheaper for those users who are active hence convenient for saving on the cost of buying credits.

Payment Methods

On Ashley Madison, various payment methods can be used and are acceptable on this site. It is advantageous to its users as many dating websites do not accept most of these methods. These payment methods are:

• Gift cards
• Cheques
• Credit card
• PayPal
• Debit cards

How to Use Credits?

As already discussed, credit plans with Ashley Madison are a bit expensive. It is more challenging to comprehend how expensive they can be when you start using them since understanding Ashley Madison’s credit system is not as direct as you may expect.

For instance, opening a message sent to you or sending a text to someone will cost you around five credits. Credit costs also count depending on the number of hours you spend conversing with that person you are chatting with.

Having a live chat with another user will charge you 50 credits for each hour you converse. Once that hour is over, you will get charged about 30 and 20 credits. Sending gifts also requires credits. These virtual gifts are vital as they draw other users to your profile. There are different virtual gifts whose charges cost range between 20,30 or 50 credits.

You should note that you will have you pay with credits as a man for every interaction you want to make. Ashley Madison allows you to view the balance of your credits at any given time, and you can also recharge them once you run out of them.

How pricey Ashley Madison can get for a man depends on how active a user you are on this platform. You should be ready to spend quite some money to message other people, engage in conversations, and keep connected with other users.

Being on Ashley Madison makes you use more than a hundred dollars per month, but it comes with the chance that you are likely to find yourself a hook-up, and after that, you can cease to use the site.

Finding a Hookup on the Ashley Madison Dating Site

After realizing that it will cost you quite a considerable amount of money to get yourself a hook-up, you cannot help but ask, how difficult or easy is it to hook up on Ashley Madison? It is effortless to find a hook-up on Ashley Madison as long as spending money is not a point of concern for you.

During signing up, you can indicate whether you are single or in a relationship and whether you are looking for a man or a woman. Most of the people in Ashley Madison are sincerely and genuinely searching for potential people they can have affairs with and are not looking forward to having their time wasted. Bearing that in mind, you will most likely be successful in finding the partner you are looking for.

It should be noteworthy that you cannot find a partner if you do not initiate any conversation. With Ashley Madison, it is easy to find profiles of individuals who match your interests and who desire the same things as you do. When you see them, ensure that you start a conversation to connect with them.

As with most dating sites, it is not guaranteed that you will get a hook up as not everyone on Ashley Madison will be interested in you. Your success will depend on how good you are at making connections and building relationships. People on this site have different interests ranging from interest in casual relationships to long-term relationships, so it is less likely not to find someone who matches your interest.

App

In addition to the site, there is an app that you can alternatively use known as the Ashley Madison app. It is downloadable on any Android device from Google Play store, and for iOS devices, you can get the app from Apple Store. The app’s features are the same as the website’s, and navigating on the app is easy.

Anonymity on Ashley Madison App

Being on online dating sites today can be very challenging for you if you plan on hiding your true identity. This is because most of these sites do not support individuals who want to catfish. For that reason, they will require you to provide such information as your actual phone number, email address, among others.

You may be required to do some actions and capture them on a live camera to ensure that your photos are real on some of these sites. On Ashley Madison, none of that is required. They get that people need to hide their true identity because of various reasons. Some people are well known, while others have much to lose if they are identified.

Hence, on this site, you have the power to click on information about yourself that is just random. You can accomplish a variety of activities, including:

Changing Your Location

On Ashley Madison, you can easily change your location by inputting a random zip code or one near where you live. As a user, it should not be hard for you to figure out whether someone is catfishing; for instance, someone can indicate that they are Americans, and their location shows that they are somewhere like Dubai. You should be able to connect the dots and make out that this can be someone who lives in America but does not want their true identity to be uncovered by someone at their home place.

Filters and Masks are also available, as earlier mentioned, to blur your pictures and hide features that are distinct in your body.

Ashley Madison Safety and Security

In 2015 a data breach occurred where the Ashley Madison database was exposed to cybercriminals. Its user’s data were leaked to the public, which was unfortunate. The company has since addressed this security concern, and Ashley Madison legit has worked hard to earn their reputation back and rebrand. Several significant improvements have been witnessed, which is an essential indicator that the company indeed cares about the security welfare of its users.

Ashley Madison maintains the use of encrypted transmissions through Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and firewalls. It has also ensured that personal or financial details are strongly encrypted when stored on a disk.

Hence, users on Ashley Madison should not worry about being compromised on their data and other confidential information.

Quality of the Audience

As stated, this site is famous for people who are married. It is common for married men or married women who are looking to have discreet affairs. It has so many users from every part of the world, including Canada, the USA, United Kingdom, among others. The users also come from different races, religions, and backgrounds.

Most of the users are of a middle-age group, with the maximum age being 60 years and the minimum age being 18 years.

FAQs

Can I Access Ashley Madison App Using My PC?

Yes, you can. You can open the site on your computer as it is available in mobile and desktop versions.

Which Browsers Can I Use to Access Ashley Madison?

Several browsers support this site, including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer, and Safari.

Why Is It Hard for Me to Access the Madison Site?

Navigating this dating platform is quite simple as long as you use Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer and Safari. Otherwise, you should ensure that your browser is updated and compatible.

Where is Ashley Madison Located?

It is a Canadian online dating site, and its headquarters are based in Toronto, Canada, at 2300 Yonge Street.

When was Ashley Madison First Established?

Ashley Madison was founded in the year 2002 on 21st January. It connects married people seeking to have potential dates to have fun with.

Is it Possible for Me to Un-match Someone on Ashley Madison?

There is no matching that is done on this dating website. However, special features allow you to connect to other people once you have subscribed.

What Is the Age Requirement for Joining Ashley Madison?

To join Ashley Madison, you ought to be 18 years and above. You should also read and agree to their terms of use and privacy policy.

How Do I Verify My Ashley Madison Account?

Fortunately, you do not have to verify your email address or phone number. Instead, Ashley Madison sets up and activates your profile information automatically.

Can I Register on Ashley Madison Using My Facebook Account?

If you are a new member, you cannot sign up using your Facebook account. You have to fill everything afresh as Ashley Madison is strict on its privacy and anonymity policy.

Can I Access Ashley Madison Without Having to Sign Up?

No, you cannot. You have to sign up first to access information on Ashley Madison to avoid leaking members’ data to other parties.

Is It Possible for Me to Delete A Photo That I Have Already Uploaded on Ashley Madison?

Yes, you can. You can edit or delete a photo you have uploaded from a page indicated as a “manage/edit” profile. You can also edit your other personal details on this page, such as your password, email, and username.

Is Ashley Madison Free?

Ashley Madison offers a free guest membership, however, it is not entirely free to use.