Title: Free Online Dating Services: When Free Things Matter Word Count: 408 Summary: Today, there are many free online dating services as there are online dating services that require memberships. However, the cutting edge of these free online dating services is the fact that they are, indeed, free. They do not require anybody to pay certain membership fees just to get hold of their services. Nevertheless, free online dating services almost have the same features like that of the major online dating services. So, people can get the same benefit without hav... Keywords: dating, romance, relationships Article Body: Today, there are many free online dating services as there are online dating services that require memberships. However, the cutting edge of these free online dating services is the fact that they are, indeed, free. They do not require anybody to pay certain membership fees just to get hold of their services. Nevertheless, free online dating services almost have the same features like that of the major online dating services. So, people can get the same benefit without having to pay for anything. However, one of the reasons why these free online dating services are not as popular as those that require membership fees is that almost 45% of the single adults who use these dating services are actually looking for serious relationships. Hence, the fact that free memberships, most often than not, entice bogus people to sign-up with more quantitative reasons instead of qualitative is already enough to make it less favorable to many. Nevertheless, whether or not free dating services are okay, there are still guidelines that people must remember when looking for online dating sites. Here’s how: 1. Privacy policy Even if it is a free online dating site, it has to have its own privacy policy. This means that online dating sites should never sell or use for other purposes their member’s e-mail address. 2. Background checking It always pays off to do background checking before committing to a certain online dating site. It’s best to find out first if the site has larger membership database than others. More members would mean choices. 3. Extra features Not all free online dating services are created equal. So, even if they are free, there are still online dating sites that can provide greater features compared to other major dating services. 4. Log-in safety measures Even if the site seems okay, it’s best for everybody to remember never to use their real name when creating a user name or use an e-mail address with their real name on it. It is always best to maintain certain level of secrecy for security purposes. 5. Free trial offers Free online dating services usually offer free trials. It wouldn’t hurt to try just as long as a person observes safety online dating guidelines. After all, there’s nothing to lose because they are free. So, whether or not free online dating services are favorable, one thing should always be kept in mind: One’s safety should always be on top priority.