Ashley Madison Review - UPDATED Apr. 2024

Ashley Madison is considered to be one of the most controversial online matchmaking services around. Founded back in 2001, Ashley Madison helps both singles and those joined in holy matrimony find discreet encounters – sexual or otherwise.

Promising results and discretion, Ashley Madison offers an array of interesting features to those looking to expand their dating horizons. If you would like to see what this audacious, yet professional online dating service can do for you, keep reading our Ashley Madison review to find out.

First Glance

Ashley Madison is easy to navigate through, but in order to learn more about how its matchmaking process works and what is on offer in terms of features and services, you will first need to create an account.

Once you sign up, which won’t take more than 30 seconds of your time, your Ashley Madison dating experience can begin. After inputting your basic details, including location and current relationship status, you will be asked to enter your height, weight, and body type, as well as what kind of interaction you are looking for.

Since discretion is the number one priority here, Ashley Madison advises users to use a new email address for the account in order to ensure privacy.

Layout and Usability

The site is clean-cut, stylish, and simple to use – and Ashley Madison’s professionalism and sassiness really come through the website’s design. Opting for a white pink and grey color palette, the site is incredibly inviting and, as one would probably expect, even a little cheeky with the infamous Hush photo serving as the centerpiece of the website’s homepage.

Its functionality isn’t burdened with disruptions or lags and the browsing experience is almost effortless. Everything you need is where it is supposed to be and even if you are not familiar with dating platforms, navigating through the website won’t be a problem.

Features

In order to ensure that its members have a fun and pleasurable online dating experience, Ashley Madison offers a variety of features.

Like most dating sites, you can sign up for a free guest account. However, unlike other online dating services, Ashley Madison operates on a credit package basis. If you would like to enjoy all of the site’s features, there are three credit packages to choose from. Your guest membership is limited and it only allows you to view other profiles, send winks to the ones you like, and share photos. If you want to initiate a conversation, however, an upgrade is required.

Since discretion is key here, upon uploading your profile photo, options to add a little mystery are available and you can either blur your profile picture or choose any of the masks to cover your eyes in order to hide your identity. Once you are in contact with someone you like, you can send them a private key to give them access to all of your photos.

By purchasing any of the credit packages, you can communicate directly with your person of interest through private messaging or chat. Sending a gift, which comes in the form of a virtual flower bouquet, a box of jewelry or a stuffed toy, becomes an option as well as using the Priority Message setting which will give you the ability to stand out by delivering your message first in order to grab attention.

The Priority Man feature gives you another opportunity to stand out by highlighting your profile in the search results. For those who tend to spend a lot of time on the road, the Traveling Man feature could be a useful tool when they would like to connect with someone who is nearby. The Ashley Madison app is also available for both Apple and Android users, but there is a fee for those with a credit subscription.

As mentioned previously in our Ashley Madison review, there are various credit packages on offer that will give you unlimited access to all of the site’s features. You can also opt for the Member Initiated Contact that is offered to all members at the time of purchase for a 30-day free trial. With the MIC, you can read and respond to an unlimited number of messages that have been sent by female members without ever having to deplete your credit balance.

Although it may sound a little unfair, there is one thing that definitely separates Ashley Madison from the rest and that is that the service is completely FREE for women. Even the additional features that are only available to paid subscribers are totally free for female Ashley Madison members. However, it is important to note that this free full membership option only applies to women who are seeking men and does not apply to women who are seeking other women.

In the light of the data breach back in 2015, Ashley Madison’s security and privacy measures have been revisited and in 2017, it received the Privacy By Design certification that praises the security measures taken in order to secure the data collected. The site uses discreet payment methods and its name will never appear on your credit card statements. It also encourages users to take their own security steps, from setting up a completely separate email account and choosing a nickname to using a strong password. When browsing Ashley Madison, it is also recommended to use the Incognito mode from your browser.

Member Base

With over 54 million users spread across 53 countries, the Ashley Madison member base is large and diverse. Naturally, a little over half of that total number is taken up by women, who can sign up free of charge. The actual women-to-men ration is unclear, but the gap between the two genders is not very big. Non-judgmental and open to all backgrounds, religions, sexual orientations, and fantasies, Ashley Madison has something for everyone.

Conclusion

The one definite thing that we can conclude from our Ashley Madison review is that regardless of its troubled past and untraditional ways, this is one seriously dedicated and professional online dating website that is continuing to attract users from all over the world. Designed primarily for those looking for extra-marital relations and casual hookups, Ashley Madison may not be for everyone. However, it is an easy-to-use website and there are a lot of fun and useful features to take advantage of regardless of your marital or relationship status.

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