Regulatory Bodies

There are currently very few, if any laws that prevent anyone from


operating a personals singles site any way they see fit. However,

the ones that charge for their services fall under the business

category and are subject to common business laws in the country

in which they are based. Laws vary greatly from country to country,

and there is often little recourse should you have queries or

complaints about sites in other countries.

There is no regulatory body that controls how personals sites do

things, and provide or promote their services. Reputable sites will

have their own ‘Code of Practice’ which you can read before joining.

If you don’t like the way they do things then the best option is to go

elsewhere.

Stick to the large well-known sites, preferably in your own

country and you will be fine.

What You Get

Every site will give you different features and benefits, and

depending on what your needs are; one site might be the best choice

for you because it has a certain feature.

Almost all sites will give you the basics:

• Allow you to create a profile that is included in the searchable

database.

• Ability to search their entire database for free using various

search options and restrictions. Don’t ever pay for just searching.

• The ability to send a message to any member on the database,

this will usually cost money.

• Allow people to contact you at their expense.

Some features that are highly desirable are:

• Sites that give you the direct email address of the person you

are interested in, instead of having to send a ‘message’ via the

site.

• Real life social events that you can join in and/or organise

yourself.

• A chat room.

• Online secure credit card transactions.

• Ability to pay to have your profile listed more prominently, and/

or allow others to contact you for free.

• A large (or no) character limit for your profile.

• The ability to upload multiple photos.

• A link to your own personal web site.