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Illicit Encounters is an affair dating website designed to allow married or attached people to conduct affairs in as much secrecy as possible. It was founded in 2003 by Stephen Lines. An entrepreneur, Lines set the website up after his original dating website failed to make it off the ground.
The inspiration for creating an extramarital dating website came during a dinner party, when a friend confided that her marriage was leaving her sexually unfulfilled. Her desire to have an affair without compromising her marriage was the impetus for Lines to rebrand his existing site.
Since Illicit Encounters’ launch, it has spawned a growing number of websites looking to cash in on Lines’ territory. However, Illicit Encounters remains one of the most popular dating websites for attached people looking for some extramarital excitement.
With more than 1million members, the site is no stranger to controversy and has suffered at the hands of advertising bans over the years. Despite this, its membership continues to increase, and many advertising companies have rethought their positions on the ban.
While it might be one of the biggest extramarital dating website, does that make it the best? Our in-depth Illicit Encounters review puts this infamous service to the test.
If you are interested in the best married dating sites for South Africa, make sure to check out our ranking table.
Our Summary
There’s no denying that Illicit Encounters is aimed at a very specific market. Members are either married, separated, divorced or even widowed and are looking for strings-free fun or a long-term affair. However, singles are not permitted to join, making this exclusively for people who are, or were, attached.
A downside for those looking for an affair is that there’s no requirement to upload profile photos. In the past, this has resulted in a large number of fake profile accounts set up by scammers. However, this is minimised when you pay for membership, which allows you to send messages to other users.
By comparison with other sites of this sort, Illicit Encounters is relatively expensive. However, as the first of its kind, Illicit Encounters has got security and privacy down to a fine art and you can conduct your online dalliances without much fear of being caught.
The other thing that some might find off-putting is that the site seems weighted towards women. While female users can use the Premium features for free, including sending and receiving messages, men have to sign up to either the Gold or Gold Plus subscriptions to do the same.
There’s also the option for users to buy Illicit Encounters Credits, so you can buy and send virtual gifts to other members. While some criticise this as a cynical money-spinner, there are also those who enjoy being able to express their interest through more than words.
The other thing that some might find off-putting is that the site seems weighted towards women. While female users can use the Premium features for free, including sending and receiving messages, men have to sign up to either the Gold or Gold Plus subscriptions to do the same.
All things considered, we like Illicit Encounters. Affairs have been around long before this site was formed and, if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it properly. With everything it offers its members, it’s no wonder that it remains the one of the most popular extramarital dating sites.
🆓 Free services and paid-for services
Registering with Illicit Encounters is free and gives you a range of features as an unpaid member. You can create a profile free of charge and upload a profile picture. However, these pictures aren’t photographs; they are icons, as recommended by the dating website.
In addition, you can search for other users and, while you can’t send messages, you can receive them. Certain virtual gifts and kisses don’t cost anything to send, and unpaid members have access to these.
While using the service for nothing is a good grounding for facilitating an affair, the paid-for services make the whole experience must easier and more effective. The most important feature of all is the ability to both send and read messages, allowing you to communicate with other users.
For added security, there’s the facility to keep your profile hidden from the ‘Who’s Online’ feature. Invisible Mode allows you to hide your account from searches, while the Holiday Mode lets you suspend it for up to three weeks without eating into your subscription.
As a paid-up member, you can also set up auto-response messages, use pre-prepared responses, and receive Live Alerts that let you know when someone is interested in you.
Paid-up membership adds the extra armour of anonymity whenever you choose to use it. For those for whom security and privacy are paramount, these services are well worth the money.
Illicit Encounters – extra features
There is a range of special features, some of which are available to unpaid members, but all of which are available to those subscribing to the Gold and Gold Plus pricing plans. These include:
- Use of the Matchfinder service, which will show you the profiles of members who meet your criteria.
- Being able to upload Private Photos. Other users can only see these if you give them the password to that part of your profile.
- Use of the ‘Letters to Sara’ service. This is similar to a forum where members can raise issues or concerns about the dating website. Unpaid members can comment, but only subscribers can submit letters to this platform.
- Illicit Encounters often publishes polls on which members can vote. Only Gold and Gold Plus subscribers can see the results of these polls.
💰 Prices
What’s the cost of an affair?
Registering for Illicit Encounters is free. Women can use all the paid-for services for nothing, but male users will have to subscribe to either the Gold or Gold Plus package to get full use of the site and its features.
| Subscription | Gold | Gold Plus |
| 1 month | R2907,02 | R4152,98 |
| 2 months | n.a. | R3530,00 |
In addition to the subscription packages, members can choose to buy Illicit Encounter Credits, allowing them to send virtual gifts. These are charged at:
- 3,000 Credits cost R415,11
- 20,000 Credits cost R1038,09
How to pay?
Illicit Encounters will accept four methods of payment:
- Credit/Debit card
- Bank transfer
- Cheque
- Cash
Crucially, for those looking to conduct an affair without risking their marriage, the site takes its responsibilities to anonymity very seriously. As a result, bank statements will not be charged to Illicit Encounters. Instead, any charges are billed to ‘MC ONLINE TECH INTSERVICES’.
💡 How to reduce costs at Illicit Encounters?
The site and all its features are free to married women looking for attached people with whom to enjoy some extracurricular activities. In the interests of online safety, only men are charged, and this is through subscription fees.
To keep the costs down, it makes sense to subscribe to the Gold Plus package for the longest period possible. The shorter subscriptions are more expensive, particularly for long-term users. You may also want to consider whether you actually need to bother with buying Credits.
📊 Membership structure
An online dating site for those in unfulfilling marriages
While the site is open to attached people between the ages of 21 and 55+, the biggest take up is from users between the ages of 30 and 50. However, although Illicit Encounters is comparatively small, it attracts new users every day meaning there’s always a new face in the crowd.
✍️ Registration
Time needed: 5 minutes.
Registering to use the Illicit Encounters extramarital dating website can be broken down into five, simple steps:
- Signing up
Go to the homepage, select what you’re looking for and hit ‘Find Someone New’
- Enter your data
You’ll be taken to a registration form, where you can choose a profile picture, username and password. You’ll also need to supply an email address for confirmation.
- Basic Information about you
Next, you’ll arrive at your profile page, where you can fill in some information about your appearance and interests. Hit ‘Create Profile’.
- Complete your Profile
You’ll now be taken to a page where you can fill in a little more about your appearance and what you want from your ideal partner. There’s the option to use the Profile Generator, which will help you create an accurate and interesting profile. Hit ‘Save and Finish’.
- Verification
Your profile is now complete and, while you’re waiting for it to be approved, you can use the dating site as a free member.
📱 User-friendliness and the App
As part of our in-depth Illicit Encounters review, we wanted to check up on how user-friendly the site is. Not everyone is tech-savvy and it’s important that a site is easy to navigate to understand. We’re happy to report that even computer novices will be able to use it with ease.
The homepage is well set out, with all the links and buttons you need set in the top, left-hand area. Most of the important bits to click are set against a maroon or black background, making them simple to spot. With buttons such as ‘My Profile’, ‘Who’s Online’ and ‘Matchfinder’, you can see what you want at a glance.
The ‘Welcome’ message from Admin is worth a read, particularly if you’ve never used a dating website of this kind before.
The Illicit Encounters app has yet to be released.
✉️ Contacting Users
Male members who are using the service for free do have the ability to contact other users, although they are limited to sending virtual kisses. These are accompanied by a pre-set message, the ‘About Me’ content you submitted and a pre-set sign-off.
Women can also send virtual kisses and, like paid-up male users, can send and receive messages. The content of these is left entirely up to you and there are no pre-set greetings or sign-offs.
Alternatively, paid-up men can buy Illicit Encounters Credits and send virtual gifts to other users. This service is also free to women, who can send virtual gifts without having to subscribe.
👍 Pros and cons 👎
What we like
- There are over 1million registered users
- Illicit Encounters is unashamedly an extramarital dating site for attached people
- Women can send and read messages for nothing and without having to subscribe
- You can tailor your personal profile
- Over 1,000 members are online each day
- All members are married or attached people
- Most members are looking for an affair, something casual or a discreet relationship
What we don’t like
- Only men have to pay to send messages
- Compared to other sites of this sort, Illicit Encounters is very expensive
- There are no singles on the site
- There’s little to suggest that gay and lesbian couples can use the site to pursue extramarital adventures
🙋 FAQs
You can cancel your Gold or Gold Plus subscription by going to the ‘My Account’ section of your profile page. There, you’ll see your Membership Status on the left-hand side. To cancel your membership hit the ‘Cancel’ button.
Illicit Encounters operates an auto-renewal system, so it’s important that you cancel your subscription before your current membership expires.
If you allow your subscription to lapse or cancel it, your account will still remain active, although you’ll only be able to use its services as an unpaid member. To fully delete an account, hit the grey ‘Support’ button on the top-right of your homepage.
From there, you’ll be taken to a page where you have the option to fill in a form, send an email, write to a postal address, or make contact via telephone. Once deleted, accounts cannot be retrieved and, if you want to use the site again, you’ll have to start from scratch.
If you’re a woman, Illicit Encounters and all its features are free to use. Men, however, can either register as a free user or subscribe to one of two packages. Free membership is good but doesn’t allow a user to send messages. To enable this, you’ll need either the Gold or Gold Plus packages.
The Gold Membership package costs R2907,02, for one month. The Gold Plus Membership package offers one month at R4152,98 or two months at R3530,00. There’s also the option to buy Credits, which allow you to send virtual gifts.
3,000 Credits will cost R8620,15, while 20,000 will cost you R1038,28.
Illicit Encounters takes the anonymity, security and privacy of its users very seriously. Profiles must be approved before they can be used, minimising the potential for fake profiles and scammers. In addition, all banks statements are billed to MC ONLINE TECH INTSERVICES to assure discretion.
In addition, card data is encrypted, and the site doesn’t hold any payment details on its servers. Similarly, all messages and email addresses are encrypted so in the unlikely event of a security breach, that information cannot be seen.
For further security, the site has a password creator, ensuring that yours is strong and difficult to hack. Your real name is never asked for and Illicit Encounters suggests you create a separate email account, so that all communication is absolutely discreet.
Illicit Encounters works in a similar way to traditional dating sites. The only real difference is that its users are either married or attached people. As part of the registration process, you’ll say a little about yourself and the type of person you’re interested in.
The site matches your criteria with those of other users and presents you with profiles that fit the bill. You can then either interact with them or not. There’s also the option to refine your search or seek out specific members.
ℹ️ Company Information
Website: www.illicitencounters.com
Company headquarters:
Online Tech Support Ltd.,
81E Curtain Road,
London.
EC2A 3AG
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 020 7729 6098
CEO: Adam Scott
