Ashley Madison Review: Scam Or Real Dates?

Ashley Madison is not your usual dating site. They established the service in 2001 to cater to a specific audience’s needs. You’ll encounter users who are married or in relationships but are still interested in having clandestine extramarital encounters on the Ashley Madison website. The site’s primary goal is to create a friendly environment where users can have affairs out of marriage without being judged.

Since its launch, the site has adjusted its services to match the dynamic interests of the market. As a result, it now serves a bigger audience that includes users seeking monogamous, polygamous, and open relationships. Its journey to greatness has been with a fair share of challenges. In 2015, hackers accessed their database and leaked user details to the public in a widely covered scandal in the media.

Ashley Madison website used this setback to enhance its services and make the platform more secure and efficient. They fought the adverse publicity and regained reputation in the dating industry. The service assures its members that they have improved the security of the platform. Therefore, if you’re looking for a service that will facilitate your extramarital affairs discretely, Ashley Madison is your ideal site. This comprehensive Ashley Madison review will help you learn all you need to know about the service before deciding whether it offers what you’re seeking.

Member Demographics

Because of the service’s discrete nature, it is hard to tell the exact number of registered users. However, Ashley Madison reviews suggest that the membership is in its millions. The site members are from different areas worldwide, but most reside in major countries such as the US, Canada, UK, and Brazil.

Furthermore, the majority of the users are middle-aged and above. That the site targets the married and those in relationships could explain this trend. Most users are married and are looking for secret relationships with other users willing to keep the affair discreet. When you join the site, you can rest assured that you’ll find a match from the diverse pool of adventurous users.

Real User Reviews

There are mixed reactions on the Ashley Madison reviews by real users.

“Ashley Madison is an elite dating site. I have been a member for more than a year now and I have no regrets. When I joined I was greeted by a bunch of young women some of which were working in my locality temporarily. I have interacted with women from different areas of the world and it has been really fun! I like how my details are private and I choose who to interact with. I highly recommend AM if you are interested in having a clandestine affair, they never disappoint.”

Website Design And Usability

The Ashley Madison website uses a simple yet classy design. The platform is visually appealing, and the color scheme is well thought out. There is a perfect balance between page backgrounds and texts that make the features visible. The site’s general layout is excellent, with the information architecture allowing users to scan through the pages quickly.

The site designers also used conventional design features, making the website look familiar to most users. For instance, the site designers placed the navigation menu at the top of the page, like other websites. Also, the icons for “message” and “Like” functionalities are similar to those used in social media platforms, making it easy for users to interact with the site.

Another excellent design principle, the Ashley Madison website applies is consistency. The navigation menu appears on all the website’s pages, and the color scheme is also consistent in all the pages. The site is also well aware that users usually scan the webpage from the top-left towards the bottom-right. As a result, it uses a hamburger menu to hide the profile section menu items. When you click the conventional three lines, the menu appears. The menu is not cluttered, making it easy for users to locate items on the menu.

The site’s user experience is excellent. First, when you open the site, it loads swiftly. Aside from that, the call-to-action buttons and the links are clickable. There is also a clear flow of information on the website, making it easier for users to follow.

Account Registration And Login Details

Creating an account on the Ashley Madison website is straightforward. They designed the process to be easily understood by users from different walks of life. You’re not required to provide a lot of personal information during the registration process.

You’ll begin the process by providing your necessary details like your relationship status. The choices available for you to select from informing you of the type of users you’ll encounter on the platform. The first category is males attached in relationships looking for females and vice versa.

There are also both single men and women looking for partners of the opposite sex—lastly, the site also has gays and lesbians looking for a suitable match. If you are in the TS/TG category, the site does not seem to have users in that category; it would be best to look for dating sites.

After providing details about your gender and that of the person, you’d want to have an affair with, provide your username and password. The site also requires you to provide your location, including your Zip code. Users must specify their age because the site only admits users of legal age. There is also a slot for you to reveal your ethnicity.

Once you finish filling the mandatory fields named above, you can upload a masked profile picture. If you are not ready, you can do it later. As per several Ashley Madison reviews, having a profile picture attracts other users to your profile. The site encourages users to upload veiled photos for privacy. The site stores your original image in your private gallery. The site allows you to automatically share personal pictures with users who share theirs with you.

After you finish uploading photos, you’ll specify what it is you seek on Ashley Madison. Then, you’ll write an introduction for your profile using a maximum of 64 characters. You also have the opportunity to tell other users about yourself in the “About Me” section. Finally, you can fill in your physical attributes by providing your height and weight.

Your profile is what will determine whether or not you’ll have an affair. Use the minimal space provided to create a captivating profile by writing an alluring about me section. Once you attract users to your profile, you’ll begin communicating. Read the following segment to find out how to interact with other users on the platform.

Making Contact In Ashley Madison

On Ashley Madison, ladies can communicate for free. However, men have to pay to access these services. The site offers enough communication features to facilitate communication between users. Click on the “Discover” tab on the navigation menu to view your possible matches. Here, the site offers filtering options that help you refine the list of potential partners.

You can filter using age range, location, proximity, or the last time the users logged in. You can also filter using relationship status and whether they have public or private pictures. Refine the list further by specifying physical attributes, ethnicity, and type of encounter they are seeking.

From the refined list, you’ll get more accurate suggestions. To quickly show interest in another user, you can send him or her winks. The site also allows you to attach a discreet showcase key on the winks when you send them to allow the other member to view your unmasked private photos. You can request other users to grant you access to their personal gallery by sharing their private key with you.

Ashley Madison website also allows its users to exchange gifts. However, you must be willing to spend to send someone a gift as it will cost you credits. The main form of communication on the platform is via messaging.

Distinctive Features

The Ashley Madison website uses basic features. It does not have many unique features exclusive to it. Nevertheless, their services are effective. Here are the unique features found on the platform:

• Favorites – the favorites list lets users create a record of favorite profiles with a limit of 100 profiles for every user. The service is free and is an excellent way of remembering profiles that you really liked.
• Disguised photos – the site facilitates users to maintain their privacy by uploading masked profile pictures. Once you upload an image, the site offers you tools to either blur or add some masks and sensors to keep your identity secret. Whenever you come across someone you’re into, you can grant them access to your private pictures by sending them the key.
• Wink – winks are a quick way for you to let other users know that you are interested in them. You can access the feature from the profile section of the user you are into.
• TravellingMan – this is a unique feature specially designed for users who are always on the move. At some cost, the site allows you to send messages to a maximum of 30 ladies who reside in your travel destination. This enables you to get to know them before you arrive.
• PriorityMan – this feature boosts your profile’s visibility. It is a premium service that makes your profile stick out from the rest.
• Message Plus – you can use this feature to communicate with users you’ve been in contact with. The site offers this functionality on a 30-day free trial for users who purchase a credit package. Upon expiry, you must pay to continue using it.

Mobile Application

Ashley Madison website has a corresponding mobile app that runs on both Android and iOS devices. You can download the app for free from the respective stores. The app contains similar features to those on the website. Device storage is not affected as the app is lite and requires minimal space to run effectively.

Reading any Ashley Madison review online reveals that users are incredibly satisfied with the app’s interface. You can hide the app from your spouse because it uses an icon that does not look suspicious. It is easy for users to like profiles because it uses the conventional swipe functionality. The app has a good rating, and the majority of users prefer using the app because it is easier to keep the affair secret on the phone than on the PC.

Memberships Plans And Costs

The website offers users various membership plans to choose from. However, the majority if users apply the “seeing is believing” principle hence begin by sampling the service using a free account then upgrade as time goes by depending on their experiences. All sites, including dating sites, save their best features for premium members.

Free To Access Features

If you are accessing the service free of charge, here is what you can do:

• You are allowed to register for an account.
• You can peruse through other users’ profiles and like them.
• You can come up with your list of favorites.
• You have access to the advanced search filters.
• You can wink to other users.
• You can use the Discrete picture functionality.

Premium Features

When you upgrade, you unlock the following site functionalities:

• You can exchange gifts with other users.
• You can boost your profile visibility on the platform.
• The site permits you to receive emails.
• Users can post personal messages.
• You can initiate a chat.
• You have access to the Travel Man functionality.

Here are the Ashley Madison Plans you can select from:

Level	Credits	Costs	Total
Basic	100 Credits	0.59 USD / Credit	59.00 USD
Classic	500 Credits	0.54 USD / Credit	169.00 USD
Elite	1,000 Credits	0.29 USD / Credit	289.00 USD

Payment Methods And Administration

Users can make payments from their Credit Cards, Direct Debit, or PayPal. You don’t have to worry about your Credit Card statements because you’ll not be billed as Ashley Madison. All credit card statements are billed discreetly.

The site is only free for women seeking men. However, for other categories of users, including women seeking women, must pay to enjoy premium services. The site’s membership plans are not based on monthly subscriptions but rather on credits bought in packages. Different features on the site cost varying numbers of credits.

User Safety

After the 2015 incident, the Ashley Madison website takes the safety of its users seriously. On the site, discretion is the main agenda. Users desire to go about their business secretly, and the site’s ability to maintain that secrecy is what keeps them on the site.

The service has put in place several measures, like allowing users to blur their images and grant access to members they choose. This feature makes the user be in control of the events on the site. The site administration also claims that they use a people approach to security to complement the technological interventions. The site also has a secret key that shields your gallery.

Generally speaking, almost all Ashley Madison reviews online are from users who claim to have benefited from the improved security on the platform. They have also revealed how users can complement the site’s efforts by playing their part. Therefore, when you join the service,you ought to play your part to remain safe. Below you will find tips on the things you can do to cooperate with the site in keeping you safe.

Share the bare minimum information to minimize the damage in case of a privacy breach.

Another tip for staying safe is by taking advantage of private browsing. Your browser’s history comes in handy when auto-filling forms or remembering passwords. However, it also poses a security risk. When you use private browsing, all the cookies, temporal files, and browsing records are deleted when you close the browser.

Ensure that your other online accounts use two-step authentication. Each time you log into your online accounts, you’ll receive a unique code that’ll be texted to your phone. You must enter the code to access your account. This step makes it hard for hackers to get into your account, except they have your email, password, and phone. In case there is a breach at the Ashley Madison website, your other accounts will remain safe.

Don’t click any links sent to you by any other users on the site. Hackers usually use such links to lure you into unsecure sites where they can solicit information from you. Try to maintain your communication on the platform as much as possible. Furthermore, don’t share your contact details like real phone numbers or physical addresses with users on the site. That could also compromise your security.

Other security measures you should observe are don’t go into a private place for the first meeting with someone you met online, even if it is an affair. Lastly, don’t allow your clandestine partner to pick you up from home; your address should remain private.

Verdict

Having an affair is no easy task. As you can see from this Ashley Madison review, it is perilous having your details on an online platform that facilitates extramarital affairs. The site has a clean and friendly design. It is also aware of constant attacks from hackers who are after user data for blackmail and identity theft, among others. As a result it has beefed up security on the platform making it more secure.

Being an affairs platform, it is an easy target than dating sites and other niche sites where users can freely share their identities. Don’t get it twisted; the service is effective in what it offers. If you can keep your identity secret and avoid sharing personal information on the site, your desire to spice up your sex life by trying something different might come true. Therefore, if you are looking for a service that can secretly facilitate your extramarital affairs without judging you, you should create your Ashley Madison account today to get started.