In the wake of The Ashley Madison Affair, a documentary available for streaming on Hulu, a lot of people who may have forgotten or never heard about the dating platform are taking an interest. The dating site launched in 2001 with the goal of helping to destigmatize extramarital relationships. The name of the platform comes from two randomly-selected popular baby names from the year the company launched.
For more than 20 years, Ashley Madison’s straightforward approach to complicated marital politics has made it a popular destination for unsatisfied people. Although the platform has taken its share of hits and weathered many scandals, it’s not going anywhere.
Popularity | Features | Security
Though Controversial, Ashley Madison is Undeniably Popular
The tagline Ashley Madison uses, “Where desire meets discretion.” is typical of how it approaches the controversy around its services.
The team behind Ashley Madison doesn’t flinch at the nature of the platform, and that’s a major contributing factor to the attitudes many people have toward it.
Despite the ethical and moral complaints about Ashley Madison’s existence, there’s no question that it’s popular. The platform recently hit a new milestone in membership, with 80 million registered users and counting.
- Relationships: Hookups, Casual Dates, Affairs
- Match System: Search by age, location, appearance, and more
- Our Experts Say: With its massive user base and advanced privacy features, Ashley Madison is the #1 site for discreet hookups, dates, or relationships. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
The popularity of Ashley Madison owes a lot to the features that the platform offers for all users, most of which are about keeping your activity private and your identity concealed.
It’s worth noting that not everyone on Ashley Madison is a married person. A lot of singles use the site and app to gain all the privacy and discretion benefits it has. But it’s also important to understand that most of the members are married, and you’ll have to be okay with that if you intend on making connections here.
Users Can Be Honest About Their Intentions
Although Ashley Madison is all about keeping secrets, it surprisingly encourages users to be upfront and honest with each other. When you join, you’re prompted to specify what you’re seeking in an affair and set your boundaries. If you prefer keeping things strictly to messaging, you can clearly state that from the get-go.
Getting started on Ashley Madison is easy and takes only a few minutes. The site is also upfront about the way they do business. Women get full access to Ashley Madison features for free, while men must pay for credits. Although the true cost of using Ashley Madison can be a little difficult to calculate, since it includes the cost to your relationships and lifestyle if you get caught, the financial cost is easy to keep track of.
As a bonus for Ashley Madison users who want to remain discreet, the platform is very flexible about payment. The billing codes Ashley Madison uses are designed to cover up what the site is about, and to look as innocent as possible on a credit card bill or bank statement.
For an added layer of discretion, you can use a variety of different payment methods, including prepaid cards and even (in some countries) gift cards.
All Ashley Madison users get access to certain key features, including photo blurring and masking to protect their identity and the ability to lock some pictures into a password-protected virtual “vault,” which you can share with other users just by giving them the password.
Privacy is the watchword at Ashley Madison, which is why the app is discreet. Both the app and the site come complete with a “panic button,” which instantly navigates you to a different, much more innocent site in the event that someone walks into the room or tries to peek over your shoulder.
This privacy is a major part of what makes someone on the dating service comfortable with being honest about what they’re looking for.
The Ashley Madison Hack Lead to Increased Security
The elephant in the room when it comes to Ashley Madison is the biggest scandal that struck the company back in 2015. The Ashley Madison Hack exposed 32 million users, along with their personal information on the site and app after parent company Avid Life Media refused to shut down the platform to comply with the hackers’ demands.
In the wake of the data breach and release, Ashley Madison doubled down on security, including some basic and other more advanced options to regain user confidence. Before the hacking incident, the company didn’t require email verification. Now this step is built in. Other features include data encryption, two-factor authentication, and keeping payment systems anonymous.
The company continues to work on keeping its security tight, and the efforts make it one of the most secure networks in the casual dating space. Although it’s still a question of “cheaters beware” because all the security in the world won’t stop a friend from stumbling across your profile and connecting it to you if you haven’t been careful, Ashley Madison steers users to keep their identifiable details out of their profiles.
Ashley Madison Has Been Matchmaking for Over 20 Years
Despite the early scandals and the chaos of the 2015 data breach, Ashley Madison continues to thrive as a hub for secretive connections. More than just a site for the married, it now welcomes anyone seeking discreet dating, adding thousands of new members each day.
The massive popularity of this platform, highlighted by the Hulu documentary about the service, isn’t fading anytime soon. Interestingly, several other platforms have popped up to compete! Still, this prominent affair dating site remains the leader to beat.
For more than 25 years, Ashley Madison’s straightforward approach to complicated marital politics has made it a popular destination for unsatisfied people. Although the platform has taken its share of hits and weathered many scandals, it’s not going anywhere.
