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While looking to find that special someone to spend the upcoming holiday season with, many singles will turn to online dating. Consumer Reports December issue has the rundown on online dating sites with its story on the Romance.coms
Consumer Reports investigated five of the biggest and best known online dating sites: AmericanSingles, eHarmony, Match.com, True, and Yahoo Personals to compare their cost, privacy policies and the matching services.
Before singles take a dip in the online dating pool, many may want to know if anyone is checking for sharks in the water. While all sites screen submitted profiles and photos for inappropriate content, CR found that only True's site stated that it checks the background of applicants at registration, by screening information against criminal databases and public marriage records.
Consumer Reports WebWatch, which investigates Internet credibility, assessed each site's privacy policy and found that eHarmony, True, and Yahoo Personals privacy statements were more clearly written than the others. The True site offered the best policy stating it is affiliated with three independent watchdog groups, TRUSTe, VeriSign, and the BBBOnline.
With the exception of AmericanSingles, all of the sites were at least displayed certification for TRUSTe. The AmericanSingles site displays no third-part privacy verification and the site's policy doesn't promise to keep personally identifiable information or personal communications private.
Singles may also wind up having a "relationship" with the sites partners or advertisers; Match.com for example, states that it may share your personal information with companies whose names are displayed on its site.
Was it love at first site?
Consumer Reports asked an unmarried staff member to subscribe for one month to the five sites. She set up a conservative profile (being truthful and avoiding declarations apt to attract the wacky), registered, and then used the site as any person would. CR also asked visitors of ConsumerReports.org to share their own online dating experience.
Overall the investigation revealed that "Matching" for each site differed. Some sites make singles search through profiles on their own, while others let you take tests so they can pair people with compatible interests.
Some of the respondents to CR's online questionnaire had reported a good experience, but others displayed many typical single scene laments: Men only wanted a physical relationship, women weren't intellectually compatible, everyone wants a millionaire, or matches didn't meet the respondent's criteria.
Breaking up with the site was hard to do:
CR's reporter also found that quitting the service could be hard. Your profiles are sometimes viewable and you still receive e-mails long after the subscription has ended.
All five sites renew subscriptions automatically unless the subscriber cancels it directly. The subscriber must call Match.com and True, but AmericanSingles, eHarmony, and Yahoo personals can be canceled online.
CR's quick recommendations for online romance:
For those looking to find that special someone by way of the Internet, CR offers a few quick recommendations:
- "Date" each site before making a commitment. Use its freebies, and read the privacy policies and terms of service. Don't enter a credit card number until you know exactly what you'll be charged.
- Create a separate e-mail account to house your dating mail. A free account from Google, Hotmail, or Yahoo, can help protect your identity and manage your mail. Opt out of all the dating site's e-mail lists. Otherwise everything from ads to account information can end up in your personal Inbox.
- If Internet dating gives you pause, try True, whose screening of members and customer-friendly privacy policy make it especially reassuring.
- If you favor matches closer to hand-picked, eHarmony is a good bet.
- For the basics, try Match.com or Yahoo Personals, which have a simple, well-organized setup.
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