AfroRomance review: My expert takes on the legitimacy of this dating platform

Pros and cons of AfroRomance.com

A brief overview of the advantages and disadvantages of AfroRomance.com

Introduction

AfroRomance.com is a dating platform that is focused on interracial couples within the US. This site is for people who are looking for friendship, pen pals, casual dating, long-term relationships or marriage. Within the site, users can filter profiles by location, age, and preferences and read their hobbies in the description. Users can only communicate with other members through messages or sending Flirts. All users’ profiles are visible to anyone, including people who aren’t registered on the platform.

Without paying for one of the site’s monthly subscriptions, users can only view the profiles of other members and send flirts but are unable to send or receive messages. Also, subscriptions are automatically renewed, but I haven’t found in the Terms and Conditions how users would proceed in cancelling them; I have contacted their customer service, who haven’t answered me. This makes me also doubt the site’s money-back offer. For all of these reasons, and even though the users of the platform seem to be real people, I believe that the platform itself has security breaches and I cannot recommend it.

Usability and design

First impression

The site offers a dating platform that focuses on interracial couples between Black and White individuals in the US. At first glance, the site’s design appears to be very basic, giving me a homemade feel without being elaborate. It seems to be a simple and easy-to-use platform, suitable for all types of adult users. My first impression is that it looks like a legitimate website, and it even offers a money-back policy after 90 days of use if users aren’t satisfied with the results.

Navigation

This site is user-friendly, being easy to navigate for any type of user, since everything is clearly detailed. Users can register very easily in a few minutes. The organization of this platform is clear and concise and has made the user experience smooth. On the site, users can find the sections of messages, members, favorites, and chats, all being very well defined with the basic functions offered.

Besides, after I reviewed it, I found that the site is also optimized for tablets and phones. The search function has basic filters for age and location, leaving other more specific features outside the search engine and only accessible when users read the description that each user provides.

Registration process

The registration process only takes a few seconds to complete. Members must provide their gender, sexual preference, what they’re seeking: friends, long-term relationships, penpals, dating, and their ethnicity. Users can complete the registration process with their Google or Facebook account or by just filling in their email address and setting a password. The next step is filling in personal information: first and last name, date of birth, location, nickname, and a description of themselves. After that, the site shows users general Online Dating Safety Tips. However, email verification isn’t necessary.

General Terms and Conditions

After reading all the terms and conditions, I didn’t find any mention of fake profiles or chat moderators. However, the platform violates user privacy by automatically sharing users’ profile data, including location, age, and pictures, across other sites operated by the company. This is done without explicit user consent and without prior notice. According to the terms, once a user creates a profile, the operator has full discretion to distribute it across its network of sites without informing the user. This means that users’ personal information can appear on multiple platforms without them being aware, raising serious privacy concerns.

Excerpt from the GTC

3. PROFILE SHARING AND DISTRIBUTION To expand the availability of profiles on Operator sites, profiles may be shared with other sites operated by Operator. By posting or maintaining a profile on this or any other Operator site, you agree and consent that said profile shall be subject to placement on other Operator sites, at the discretion of Operator, without further notice .

Functions and tools

Main functions

The tabs on the site are the Home Page, Search, Inbox, Favorites, Views, and My Profile. On the homepage, profiles are shown, with users’ ages, descriptions, and the last time they were online being visible. Users can select a member and send them a flirt, which is an image: users can send a coffee, chocolate, teddy bear, or rose for free; however, messages are for paying members only. The home page shows a carousel with pictures of “Popular Members” and they have another carousel with “Recommended Members,” based on how much these members use the site. At the bottom, there’s a list of members who were recently online and articles related to dating.

To access more specific filters, users need to go to the search tab, where they can filter through users by height, ethnicity, body type, eye color, hair color, relationship status, religion, education, languages, smoking or drinking habits, if they have or want children, occupation, starting, type of relationship, etc.

Communication tools

Communication on this site is limited to text messages; video calls and voice messages aren’t available. Only premium members who have paid memberships can send and receive messages to others. In the case of the free users, they can send “flirts” to other members; these flirts consist of a picture of a teddy bear, a rose, a box of chocolate, or a coffee. The other communication option for free users is to select your favorite member, and then the member will get a notification about it.

Special features

There aren’t any unique features on this online dating platform.

Security and data protection

Privacy policy

The site’s Privacy Policy outlines how the operating company handles user data according to the General Data Protection Regulation and, it was updated on May 25, 2018. The Policy explains that the company may share user data with third parties and use cookies to track user activities, which is all in compliance with the GDPR requirements. As for users, the GDPR gives them specific control over processing their personal data. The information on the members’ profiles, such as location, age, picture, and description, is shown on the site, without the need for viewers to create an account on the platform.

Security measures

The site’s operator wants to assure users that the site takes appropriate security measures of users’ personal information using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption and firewalls; however, it also states that no system can be completely secure. On top of that, when users register, the site doesn’t ask users for an email confirmation, so there’s no certainty that the information provided by users is real.

Target group analysis and matching quality

Demography

The demographic of AfroRomance.com consists of singles who are over 18 years old in the US, people of color and white individuals, and people who are interested in interracial casual dating or long-term relationships, regardless of their sexual orientation. The site’s main focus is white women and black men. However, after my years of experience and due to the nature of this platform, I believe that the site is more geared towards individuals who just want to pass time or have fun, rather than forming genuine romantic connections with others or looking for something more serious.

Matchmaking algorithm

Users can find matches using the search function, which can also be classified with sub-tabs of recently connected users or with newly updated profiles, new users, or members who have upcoming birthdays. Apart from this, users can filter their search and select different keywords, which I’ve mentioned above, as well as viewing the carousel of featured and popular members. The search options are free, and anyone can access them.

Costs and price-performance ratio

Free vs. paid functions

When it comes to the cost of the service, only premium subscribers can send and receive messages. Free AfroRomance account users can create a profile, upload photos, send flirts, use the search function, and browse through other members’ profiles. Flirts are pre-set images, including a cup of coffee, a rose, a teddy bear, or a box of chocolates.

While all users receive interaction notifications, only premium members can access the chat feature and send messages. This means that although free members can express interest using flirts, they can’t engage directly in conversations unless they upgrade to a paid subscription. If you want to communicate freely with other users, a premium membership is required.

Price structure

The prices are shown weekly, instead of telling users the total price of the monthly subscription, making users click on them to proceed with the payment, which can be made with by credit card or PayPal. Also, this platform doesn’t offer Free Trials of the service. Here is the breakdown of the available premium plans and prices:

All subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled. Users can manage their subscription at all times from the “Billing” tab of their “My Account” page. In the site’s terms, it states that the monthly service charges are subject to change without any notice and also that membership will automatically get renewed unless canceled; however, I can’t find any information regarding the cancellation policy. I contacted their customer service for clarification on this matter, and I didn’t receive any answers, and even when I sent a live chat request, I was put on hold, with them never getting back to me.

Contact details and customer service

Operator

Chellaul Corporation, 1135 Terminal Way, Suite 209, Reno, NV, 89502, USA

Mail address

media@chellaul.com

Telephone

Phone (USA): 866-338-7218
Phone (Int): +1 702-487-7144

Support

Users can seek assistance in the FAQ, contact form, live chat, phone, or email. However, when I contacted them, I didn’t receive any answer to my inquiry regarding cancellation of subscription.

Contact form: https://www.afroromance.com/contact

Conclusion and recommendations

After my extensive review of AfroRomance.com, I found that the site presents itself as an interracial dating platform, with real users on it; however, it has large gaps in its security, such as showing the personal information on users profiles to any unregistered person, as well as not requesting email confirmation when registering. Also, its Terms and Conditions are vague regarding the automatic subscription renewal, cancellation, and its refund policy and leave the user vulnerable with unresponsive customer service.

Also, after reading all the comments and opinions about this site, I found many users who reported frauds and login problems on the site after having paid for the premium service, among others. Considering all the Pros and Cons, I cannot give positive feedback on this site based on my experience. I’d advise users to choose other services with better reputations within the world of dating platforms to protect their privacy and security and to avoid further problems.

Social media

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AfroRomance

X:

https://www.twitter.com/AfroRomance

User experiences and ratings

User feedback

The website has a link with success stories of their members.

Reviews on the Internet

Appendix

Sources:

AfroRomance.com

Methodology:

This report is based on an analysis of publicly available information on the website of AfroRomance.com.