A dating site that’s staked its claim in the 21st Century, the OKCupid mobile dating site is one of a growing number that doesn’t cater solely for heterosexuals. Gays, lesbians and most members of the LGBTQ community are represented here, making it one of the most forward-thinking sites of its kind. This site offers many particular features for members, such as First Date Ideas, Videos, Blogs, Forums, Online Chat, Daily News and Let's Meet. OkCupid Dating has member verification. We do this to help our members find real people looking for relationships. We don't want our site full of fakes or scams. Sign Up for free and see what a great site we have for you.

Millions of people are using online dating sites to search for love or connection, but users should beware: many online dating sites are taking short cuts in safeguarding the privacy and security of users. Whether it’s due to counter-intuitive privacy settings or serious security flaws, users of online dating profiles risk their privacy and security every day. Here are six sobering facts about online dating services and a few suggestions for routing around the privacy pitfalls.

1. Your dating profile—including your photos—can hang around long after you’ve moved on. Whether you signed up on a lark or maintained an active profile for several years, your online dating profile can be lurking around long after you’ve cancelled the account. In fact, dating sites have an impetus for maintaining your information—what if things don’t work out and you want to reactivate your profile in a few months? But having your data hanging around on a company’s servers, even if they aren’t actively serving that content to the web at large, raises a host of privacy issues. The most pressing concern is that information about you may be exposed to future legal requests that might involve a criminal investigation, a divorce case, or even a legal tussle with an insurance company.

Photos in particular can linger long after you’ve deleted them or closed your account due to many large websites hosting user-uploaded photos with Content Delivery Networks. In short, photos are hosted on an outside company’s servers. As Joseph Bonneau explained, the main website provides an obfuscated URL for the photo to anyone it deems has permission to view it. But in Bonneau’s experiment with 16 popular websites, removing the photo from the main website didn't always remove it from the Content Delivery Network; in those cases, anyone who still had the destination URL would be able to view the photo. This means that Content Delivery Networks can maintain caches of sensitive photos even after users “delete” them, leaving photos vulnerable to being rediscovered or even hacked in the future.

What you can do about it: Look at the privacy policy of a website before you sign up and see what they say about how they treat data of deleted profiles. Remember that a privacy policy can change at any time; even if a site promises to discard your data upon deletion now, it could revise that policy tomorrow to hang on to data for a few months—or forever. If you decide to sign up for a dating site, consider taking a few steps to make it harder for a dating site to easily identify you. Get a throw-away email address, avoid using your name, and avoid paid sites that would elicit your credit card number and billing information. To maintain the highest levels of privacy, consider taking steps to obfuscate your IP address, such as using a VPN.

2. Gaping security holes riddle popular mobile dating sites-still. In January, an Australian hacker exploited a security flaw in Grindr, the mobile app that allows gay and questioning men to find sexual partners nearby through the use of GPS technology. The vulnerability allows an attacker to impersonate another user, send messages on his behalf, access sensitive data like photos and messages, and even view passwords. Grindr acknowledged the vulnerability on January 20th and promised a mandatory update to their software “over the next few days.” To date, Grindr's blog and Twitter profile do not mention a security fix for the flaw. While there haven’t been reports about a hack of the straight-themed sister app, Blendr, security experts speculate that it suffers from a similar vulnerability.

What you can do about it: For right now, we have to agree with Sophos security: if you’ve got a Grindr or Blendr account, you should close it at least until the security vulnerability is addressed; then keep an eye on the Grindr blog for news of a security update.

3. Your profile is indexed by Google. While this isn’t the case for every online dating site, OkCupid profiles are public by default and indexed by Google. It’s a simple privacy setting, but it can trip up even advanced users, as Wikileaks' Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange learned last year when his publicly-accessible OkCupid profile was discovered. Even something as small as a unique turn of phrase could show up in search results and bring casual visitors to your page.

What you can do about it: Some people don’t mind having an online dating site publicly indexed and searchable, but if you find the thought disquieting, then dig into your privacy settings and make sure that your profile is only viewable to other logged-in users on the site. It’s good to familiarize yourself with the other available privacy settings regardless of which site you are using.

4. Your pictures can identify you. Photo identification services like TinEye and Google Image Search make it a trivial matter to re-identify photos that you’ve posted online. Users hoping to create a barrier between their real identities and their online dating profiles might use strategies such as pseudonyms and misleading information in a profile to obfuscate their identity. However, just changing your name and a few facts about your life may not be enough. If you use a photo on your dating site that can be associated with one of your other online accounts—for example, if it had previously been shared on your Facebook profile or LinkedIn profile – then your real identity could be easily discovered.

What you can do about it: Face it (no pun intended): there are a number of ways your online dating profile can be connected to your real identity, especially if you have a robust online life. Photos are a particular vulnerability. Before uploading a photo, consider whether you’ve used it in other contexts. Try searching for the image using TinEye and Google Image Search before uploading it. And be aware that search technology and facial recognition technology is rapidly evolving. At least one study suggests that it’s possible that even photos you have never uploaded before could be used to figure out your identity. So think hard about how you’d feel if a potential employer or acquaintance found personal data about you on a dating site. This might be a particular concern for individuals who use niche dating sites, such as HIV-positive or queer dating sites.

5. Your data is helping online marketers sell you stuff. The cynics among us might think this is the primary purpose of an online dating site. The operators of these sites cull vast amounts of data from users (age, interests, ethnicity, religion, etc.), then package it up and lend or sell the data to online marketers or affiliates. Often, this transaction is gift-wrapped with the promise that your individual data is “anonymized” or sold in aggregate form, yet users should be wary of such promises. Using data from social networking sites sold to advertisers, Stanford researcher Arvind Narayanan demonstrated that it’s hard to truly anonymize data before it’s packaged and sold. In addition, last October researcher Jonathan Mayer discovered that OkCupid was actually leaking1 personal data to some of its marketing partners. Information such as age, drug use, drinking frequency, ethnicity, gender, income, relationship status, religion and more was leaked to online advertiser Lotame.

What you can do about it: You should consider contacting the sites you use to clarify their practices and letting them know your concerns. If you are dissatisfied with a company's practices with sharing data, you might also consider filing a complaint with the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse's Online Complaint Center. Remember, part of what helps companies change practices is public interest in an issue, so blog posts and public discussion can help push companies to adopt better practices.

6. HTTPS support is a wreck on many of the popular online dating sites, meaning you risk exposing your browsing history, messages, and much more when you use them. Unfortunately, our recent survey of major online dating sites found that most of them were not properly implementing HTTPS. Some online dating sites offer partial support for HTTPS, and some offer none at all. This leaves user data exposed. For example, when a user is on a shared network such as a library or coffee shop, she may be exposing sensitive data such as a username, chat messages, what pages she views (and thus what profiles she is viewing), how she responds to questions, and more to an eavesdropper monitoring the wireless connection. Even worse, poor security practices leave her vulnerable to having her entire account taken over by an attacker. More so, since the advent of Firesheep, an attacker doesn’t need any particular skill to perpetrate such attacks. See our in-depth post on OkCupid to learn more.

What you can do about it: Start protecting yourself immediately by installing HTTPS Everywhere, a Firefox addon created and maintained jointly by EFF and the Tor Project. When you use Firefox, HTTPS Everywhere will automatically change URLs from HTTP to HTTPS on over a thousand sites. As more dating sites begin to provide support for HTTPS, we’ll expand the ruleset for HTTPS Everywhere to include those sites so you’ll be better protected.

EFF is individually contacting online dating sites to get them to step up their security practices, but we could use your help. Please send an email to OkCupid to tell them to safeguard user privacy and security.

• 1. Mayer clarified: 'Leakage, in common parlance, implies unintentionality. In computer security, leakage is a term of art for an information flow—some instances of leakage are entirely intentional.' Learn more: http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/node/6740

OkCupid is a dating site that attracts a large variety of singles. And while there are dating sites that are more stringent in their requirements, OkCupid is for all types. The site presents a warm dating environment of sorts, feeling like a casual hangout in a college town.

The group of singles here are as diverse as they come. There are those who are serious and sophisticated, where others are artsy and edgy. The demographic that you will find on the site is mainly comprised of young and ambitious individuals who are looking for love connections.

But is this the right dating site for you? Read this OkCupid review to find out if you should sign up.

• Dating site that favors everyone regardless of gender and sexual orientation (over 20 sexual orientations and 12 gender identities are available)
• Members can send and receive messages on their free account
• Members can search for potential matches without a subscription
• Premium memberships are packed with a variety of useful features
• Free accounts for members who are not able to subscribe to the dating service
• Core features can be used free of charge

Okcupid Dating Site Sign Up Account

• The site matches its members based on attractiveness. While members with free accounts can make matches, only members with A-list premium memberships can see matches who are more attractive than them.
• The site has a more casual dating vibe that may not necessarily favor those who are seeking a serious dating atmosphere

OkCupid has over 50 million users worldwide. However, a majority of the site’s members come from the United States. As I was signing up, I found out that OkCupid hugely diversity. All of its members come from different walks of life.

Here is some of the information I had to give while I was signing up to the site:

A majority of members are male (65% male and 35% female). The members fall in the 23-34-year age range. This is why OkCupid may not necessarily work for those in an older demographic as they may not share similar interests with the younger members.

Sign Up Process

The sign-up process for OkCupid is the same for all members regardless of whether they have a free or premium account. Be prepared to fill out a questionnaire that calls for personal information and also encourages you to elaborate on the qualities that you wish for your partner to have.

The questionnaire is eye-opening because it is comprised of questions that I would never think to ask on any first date. The questions prompted me to consider my values and what I wanted in a potential partner.

The OkCupid test allows the dating app to measure the percentage of your compatibility with the suggested match. This percentage is shown with the match suggestion on OkCupid’s roulette-type dating feature.

In comparison to signing up on other dating websites, creating a profile on OkCupid is rather easy. Apart from general information like your name, age, date of birth and location, you will get into the nitty-gritty by providing information on whether your ideal partner would smoke, drink, and what their political views would be among many other questions.

In general, the questionnaire talks about your likes, dislikes, religion, hobbies, and other interests. This will help in curating the perfect matches for you.

Just make sure not to skip the upload section because your potential matches are looking forward to seeing you. Also, they say that a picture speaks thousand words…need I say more?

Contacting People

Where other dating sites do not allow for members with free accounts to send messages, OkCupid does. This makes contacting other members on the site interesting. It goes without saying that members on this platform can have endless conversations all day every day.

Wondering how to message someone on OkCupid? Because of the ability to freely send OkCupid messages, unwanted messages can fill your inbox. But don’t be afraid, if you do not respond to unwanted messages then most senders can between the lines and know that you are not interested.

Here are some of the members of the site that I came across:

Remember, you are only matched based on the answers that you give in the questionnaire. As such, you can only contact your potential matches and not those who fall outside of your set criteria.

Profile

As millions of worldwide users sign up to OkCupid on a daily basis, the site puts the right measures in place to ensure that all profiles are verified, and scammers are weeded out.

One of the measures the site uses to ensure that all of the profiles are legitimate is by sending a log-in code using the registered phone number that you provide. Additionally, all users need to sign-up with a valid email address.

This is my OkCupid profile:

Okcupid Dating Site Sign In

Mobile App

One thing that should be noted about the OkCupid app is its excellent user interface. It is easy to use because it comes with the site’s basic functions.

This app will especially come in handy when you are on the go. It allows you to not only see which users sent you messages, but it also enables you to respond to messages easily. The app carries the majority of features that are also found on the OkCupid website.

Using the app is rather easy; you just have to swipe right if you are interested and swipe left if you are not. Apart from finding matches easily, you will also be quickly updated about your matches through the app.

Membership Options

So, is OKCupid free? When it comes to pricing, the OkCupid cost is on the average side. While many are contented with the free version, the truth is that you can make much more of your experience on the site with a premium membership.

The only important perk that comes with an OkCupid free trial user account is that you can send and receive messages. Other than that, you cannot use advanced search filters, see who likes you, or see public questions and answers.

Here is the breakdown of the pricing comparison:

So, is OkCupid worth the premium membership? The answer is yes. The plethora of benefits that come with a paid account is worth the subscription. The A-list basic subscription is not only affordable, but it will also allow you to enjoy the best dating services without breaking bank.

On the other hand, the A-list premium subscription offers benefits like an auto boost on daily matches and all other advantages that come with OkCupid as a dating service.

It is up to you to decide which OkCupid subscription fits you best because all of them guarantee an unforgettable dating experience.

OkCupid is a dating site that is known for its seamless user experience. It has a large member base, with a majority of the members being active. This means that you have the potential for tons of meaningful conversations with your matches.

However, it is a casual dating sphere that offers a relaxed dating vibe. It is safe to say that this site is most suited for those who want to “take dating easy”. Still, it has a reputation for successful relationships that occur with both short-term and long-term dating.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I see who messaged me on the OkCupid app?

The OKCupid mobile app comes with incredible chat and messaging features. If you want to see who messaged you through the app, you will get a message notification immediately when a message hits your inbox. OKCupid will notify you by saying, “they messaged you”. This will let you know the person that messaged you and exactly when the message was sent.

Can you sign up for an account using the OkCupid mobile site?

Yes, you can download the OKCupid mobile app and sign up for an account.

How can I use the OkCupid promo code?

The promo code is an alphanumeric string that OkCupid offers to encourage those who want to sign up to the platform. The code is particularly useful as it comes with a variety of free match options that you can choose from.

What is the OkCupid customer service email address?

For any questions or concerns, email the OkCupid customer service department at [email protected]

How does OkCupid work?

Like most other dating sites, OkCupid operates on a mutual-liking system. Thus, before two singles talk, they have to like each other. Once the singles have liked each other, they can then begin exchanging messages or developing a relationship.

How do I delete my OkCupid account?

On your OkCupid account, go to your profile and click on the settings option. Enable the “disable your account” option and then follow the prompts from there.

OkCupid vs Tinder: How do they compare?

Tinder and OkCupid are similar in that they both attract a younger demographic and offer a casual dating atmosphere. However, the difference is that most people on Tinder are looking for quick hookups while OkCupid is more purposeful and inclusive. It testifies to helping form many long-term relationships and is also tailored to the LGBTQ community. Tinder is known as a dating site that is rather “superficial” because it is more focused on image. It is known for casual dating experiences and is geared more towards physical qualities than anything else. However, OkCupid is more inclusive and embraces all types of relationships.

What is the OkCupid yellow circle?

The OkCupid match system is symbolized by a number of elements. While the blue rings appear on profiles that you have messaged, the yellow circle indicates the fact that there is a mutual match. Therefore, it is important to keep an eye out for this circle as it will let you know whether the person you like has mutual feelings for you.

OkCupid vs Bumble: How do these two compare?

Okcupid Dating Site Sign Up Page

Bumble and OkCupid are both amazing dating sites but they couldn’t be more different. Bumble is all about swiping right and left for members that catch your attention and those that do not respectively. In comparison to this, OkCupid presents a warm but casual dating environment. While both dating sites may be casual, OkCupid is more in-depth and long term when it comes to dating experiences. Additionally, OkCupid welcomes all sorts of sexual orientations and all types of relationships where Bumble only focuses on long-term relationships and is geared more towards women.

How to get unbanned from OkCupid?

OkCupid bans member accounts that post hateful, harassing, or hurtful content. If you are involved in any of these three things, then your account may be permanently banned or suspended. Sending unsolicited sexual content is considered sexual harassment. To unban your account, ensure that you appeal the ban by sending customer service an email. The site moderators will then take over to determine if the ban will be reversed or if it is permanent.

Okcupid Free Dating Site Log In

OkCupid for gays: Can I find my perfect match here?

Yes, you can. As OkCupid allows for members of all types of sexual orientations to sign up to the site. Therefore, gay members of the site can also find their ideal match on OKCupid.

POF vs OkCupid: Which one is the better site?

While you can find quality matches on both these sites, OkCupid is more popular than Plenty of Fish. Plenty OF Fish is also not as comprehensive with its sign-up process. In fact, profiles on this site do not carry an abundance of information. Therefore, it will really take time to get to know your match through personal communication. However, OkCupid gives you a head start where information is concerned.

OkCupid vs Match: Which one is better than the other?

Okcupid Dating Site Uk

Both OkCupid and Match attract the same type of users. So, choosing one site over the other is not that easy. The fact that OkCupid is free is the only legitimate difference between these two platforms. Match requires its members to make monthly subscriptions.