PoF is part of the Match Group of businesses, which includes Tinder, OkCupid and Match
Privacy
Your information may be shared with other businesses in this group. Your profile could also be made visible on other Match Group services, but PoF says it will notify you and allow you to agree or refuse «where relevant».
Matching: Free users can select a range of parameters for their ideal partner, including age, location, height, ethnicity and education. The site regularly generates matches for you, based on both users matching each other’s ideal partner criteria, plus people near you and some wild cards for good measure. It also uses its ‘Discover Engine’ which suggests members based on historical matching data. Paying members also have access to compatibility data, and so may have a better shot at a good match.
Basic: If you sign up for free, you can view full profiles, upload up to 15 photos, receive a personality report, set criteria for matches and send and accept virtual winks, which are expressions of interest. You’ll receive matches each day but one party will need to pay to initiate contact.
If you want to message another user, you’ll need to use stamps. Prices range from $5–14 per stamp depending on quantity purchased. One stamp opens up 30 days of contact via chat or message with any one member.
RSVP Premium: From $20–30 per month, depending on the length of membership. This option gives you priority customer support, allows you to see who has viewed your profile and gives you extra control over your profile visibility. Your profile will be highlighted and appear at the top of search results. It also allows you to extend your stamp expiry, and you won’t see ads when using RSVP on your mobile. This membership doesn’t include stamps, so if you want to contact another user you’ll have to buy stamps or upgrade to Premium+ or Platinum.
RSVP Premium+: From $30–56 per month, depending on the length of membership. This option gives you the same features as Premium membership, plus four stamps per month. Unused stamps can accumulate as long as your membership remains current.
RSVP Platinum: From $49–89 per month, depending on the length of membership. This option gives you the same features as Premium membership plus ten stamps per month and the ability to send a super wink every day. A super wink allows the receiver to reply to you for free.
Privacy
Signing up to an RSVP account and agreeing to its privacy terms and conditions grants permission for your personal information, including photos and email addresses, to be used for advertising or transmission to a third party.
Security
RSVP says their customer support team personally monitors and checks all profiles and photos that are submitted to the site.
Tinder
We asked Tinder for details about their Australian membership numbers, but they could only provide a global figure of 5.7 million subscribers.
Unique features: Tinder is an app-based online dating service. It has the simplest format of all the apps and sites we looked at.
Matching: You pick the gender or genders you’re interested in, the age range you’re looking for and how close in distance you’d like a potential match to be. Tinder then uses the GPS on your mobile phone to search for nearby Tinder users. Once it locates them, it shows you their first name, age, a profile picture and brief blurb. You tap their name to read a little more about them and see more pictures, swipe right if you’d like to be matched with them, or left if you’re not interested. If both parties swipe right, you’re a match, meaning you can start interacting with them.