Is Cupid changing its ways?
We have written about Cupid.plc and their websites (which include Cupid.com, Flirt.com, Girlsdateforfree.com, datingforparents.com among others) before and we have always condemned their tendency to encourage subscriptions with fake profiles – someone sending you a message, which you can’t see unless you sign up, but when you do the mysterious dater vanishes.
Earlier this year BBC5 looked into Cupid’s dubious ways and also several articles were written on the subject and Cupid vehemently denied that any kind of suspicious practice was used.
It was round about the time when they were trying to attract possible buyers to some of their sites and Cupid board even asked for an independent review of their members’ database as well as their practices. This is still ongoing and conclusions are announced soon, so watch this space.
If they’re really honest and want to take a turn for the better, the independent reviewers will come to same conclusions that we have made: that the sites in itself are good enough, especially if they put in some more work, but that in every site you get one or two dubious approaches and that it is not OK to try and entice people to subscribe this way! Cupid has said they have put in a lot of work and investments to make their sites better. We are only too happy to welcome more sites to the online dating world – but let them be good sites and not just a rip-off!
Anyway, it looks like the plans to sell some of the more popular websites is still strong as they’re trying to find buyers for the more casual sites like flirt.com and benaughty.com. How that would affect those sites and whether they would still carry on with more casual side of dating, is presently unknown. But you’ll be the first to know when we know!
About the Author
Aet Suvari has been reviewing and writing about the world of online dating since 2008 and the launch of Online Dating Help. A stickler for promoting ethical practices within the UK dating industry she champions the sites that get it right while highlighting those holding it back. You can follow her on Google+
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