Dating-Free Dating Sites Really Means Annoying Pop-Up Advertisements

Many people choose to use "free" dating sites because, well, it's free! In addition to not having to pay for subscription costs, most free dating sites lets you skip the process of having to go through a series of questionnaires and not have a lot of requirements involved in getting an account. Not only that, but it helps you evaluate the program before committing to upgrade and becoming a monthly paying member.

However, free Internet dating sites aren't usually the better alternative. You do not have to pay a month-to-month subscription fee in order to remain a member but the price that some people end up paying when using a free dating site is usually higher than the price that they would have paid if they just went to a pay site. And I'm not just talking about money here but wasted time, energy, and the amount of frustration that people experience when using these free sites.

Free dating sites usually means that almost anyone can become a member without having to pay the subscription fee. The word "free" is quite often a misrepresentation as they do not charge you to remain a member but free dating sites usually contain dozens of advertisements, which enable them to pay for their hosting fee and other expenses that are required to maintain a website.

What does this have to do with you not paying for a subscription? Here are 5 examples of the inconvenience of online advertisements that you get from joining a free dating site:

1. The biggest hassle of Internet ads are pop-up boxes, or advertisements that appear out of nowhere when you try to open up a page online. They're like bugs and insects that you can't get rid of no matter how many times or how hard you try. At times your computer may even freeze up due to these pop-up ads, causing you to have to close down and restart your PC.

2. Many of these advertisers contain Java Scripts, which is what makes the ad blink, shake, change color, and move around so much. This makes your screen look even more annoying and also greatly reduces your connection speed.

3. If you have a dial-up connection, you will end up spending a good amount of time downloading the ads. The worst part about it is that these ads take priority over the information that you are trying to get.

4. The majority of these advertisers keep a record of your online activities using cookies, which are small files stored in your computer that a web site server creates and retrieves. These data files usually contain your personal information such as the ID code and website preferences.

5. A few advertisers will even try to obtain your IP address that will enable them to email you with more junk ads that are related to dating and even some that are explicit and inappropriate.

While the owners of the free sites are trying to pay for their expenses, you may be paying a much higher cost with your time and connection costs.