Pricing
Like many of its competitors, Gay FriendFinder offers free accounts. However, these are extremely feature-limited, so you’ll need a paid subscription if you want to get anything out of your GayFriendFinder profile.
For starters, a paid account will get you the ability to post introductory information about yourself, as well as filter any match searches you run. Apart from the few Smiles available to free users, you’ll also get all of Gay FriendFinder’s communication options, ranging from forum posts to one-on-one messages and live chat.
Prices for the paid membership levels can be viewed from your account dashboard. Gay FriendFinder takes Visa, MasterCard, and Discover credit cards, as well as online checks, PayPal, and even mail-in checks and money orders.
Features
Gay FriendFinder is, as the name indicates, FriendFinder for LGBT+ users. While it’s primarily a dating site, Gay FriendFinder also serves as a more general-purpose social network where you can befriend other LGBT+ people.
That’s why, unlike other dating sites, Gay FriendFinder allows you to maintain two profiles: your Personal profile, and a Professional version should you add less casual contacts to your network.
Either way, you’ll have plenty of room to customize how you present yourself to others. Gay FriendFinder also lets you select whether you’re looking for other singles or for couples and groups, which makes things much easier if you’re mostly joining in search of new friends.
Despite being part of the FriendFinder group of dating sites, though, Gay FriendFinder doesn’t quite have the membership numbers to match its competitors. The site’s home page, for example, counts only around 49,000 users — and “users” are defined only as profiles that have shown activity sometime in the last 2 years. That’s hardly a promising community if you’re looking for a constant stream of varied matches.
Matching and Search Options
Speaking of matches, Gay FriendFinder lets you search for prospects using an extensive set of filters. Immediately upon sign-up, Gay FriendFinder uses geolocation to compile a list of possible matches who live in the same area. Aside from the typical criteria like location and age, you can also filter out other factors like users’ subscription status to boost your chances of finding an active match.
Any interesting profiles you find can be saved to your Hotlist, which compiles your favorite profiles so you can click back to them easily. There’s a similar favoriting system for users’ photos, too.
Communication Tools
Gay FriendFinder offers a number of ways to communicate with your matches. There’s the usual one-on-one messaging through the site’s inbox system, which essentially lets you exchange email messages with other users without having to give out your personal email addresses. Aside from these, you can use Gay FriendFinder’s instant messaging system, which lets you converse with matches in real-time.
If you want to branch out and try your luck with people beyond your match list, there’s also the online chat option. You can chat with your matches, sure, but you can also strike up a conversation with any other users who happen to be online.
Since Gay FriendFinder also positions itself as an alternative social network, the site also encourages users to post blog entries and participate in community forums and interest groups. You can leave comments on others’ posts and trade thoughts with people who share the same interests.
Privacy and Security
Unlike many competitors, Gay FriendFinder requires users to verify their email accounts before they can finalize their registration. This immediately cuts the chances of you getting matched with fake or empty profiles.
Aside from that, there are the standard options of blocking other users or reporting them directly to the site’s staff in the event of offensive or abusive behavior.
Customer Support
Gay FriendFinder covers the basics with a thorough Help section on their website, but if you need more direct assistance, you can use their online feedback form. Unfortunately, your only other alternative is to contact them through postal mail — no real-time phone or live chat support here.
What's the Verdict on Gay FriendFinder?
Gay FriendFinder Review 2020 – Conclusion
Whether you’re looking for a new beau or a new friend, Gay FriendFinder lends you a hand with its array of search filters and messaging options. Aside from the usual tools like direct messaging and search filters, though, Gay FriendFinder sets itself apart by fostering a friendly, respectful community through forums, interest groups, and more. Unfortunately, these features are undercut a bit by the site’s relatively low membership. With that and the restriction of many core features to paid subscriptions, Gay FriendFinder might not be the best option.
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