Dating Sites

Online Dating at HeartDetectives.com:

Greatest Strength:Simplicity of design and usage.
Greatest Weakness:Very straightforward dating site; doesn’t drive any matching on its own and leaves that part to the users.
Cost: One month: $24.95 credit card; $25.00 check.
Three months: $49.95 credit card; $50.00 check.

Meeting Desire at HeartDetectives.com:

HeartDetectives provides the evidence and you do the detective work. Pull out your magnifying glass and your notebook, though; unless you pay, you’ll need both to use this site. (We’ll be sure to tell you why in a moment.) The good side of HeartDetectives is that they have a simple, sleek design in terms both of layout and function. Their online dating community is probably one of the safest for free and paid users both, because of the low level of access given to free users; with that said, the site has some drawbacks worth considering before you join.

Let’s start with the drawbacks before moving onto the positives. If you want to use HeartDetectives as a free online dating service, it is easy to get started. You can create a simple profile and upload photos for free; however, unless you are a paying member, you cannot view other users’ photos except for a thumbnail when searching. (See? We said we’d tell you about the magnifying glass. We weren’t kidding.) When you search, you can narrow the results by locality, age, and whether or not they have a photo. If a user does not have a photo to display, you are able to send them a notice that you would like to see one. Whether they have a photo or not, the only other option for free communication is called a “wink.” More than that, there’s nothing that a non-paying user can do.

With that out of the way, don’t let its lack of free services turn you off HeartDetectives. Their site has a decent amount of traffic from available singles and most seem willing to pay the subscription price if they find someone they want to meet. HeartDetectives is a little cheaper than many other paid online dating communities. They do not do any active matching even for their paid customers, which is how they are able to keep costs down; for you, we figure that means two things. First, it means that HeartDetectives takes a little more work than some other dating sites. Web dating is in its simplest form here. You search, you find, you initiate a conversation. They do not create singles communities by sexual orientation (although that is a search option), race, interests, or any other qualifier. That means that the dating service doesn’t accidentally overlook anybody who might match with you; however, it means that you have to invest the time and work that we mentioned. We said there was a second point, which we have alluded to: you have the final say. You won’t be force-fed unsuitable singles by a mindless computerized online web dating service. You make the first and final cut on who it is that you look at and communicate with—and since all profiles are at least superficially searchable before you pay, you can browse on your own to see if any of the singles look to be a good match. That’s where the notebook comes in.

HeartDetectives has the usual spread of available singles. There’s nothing kinky but nothing naïve about love on this site. Romance is made when you put in the effort—so maybe this sort of online dating is good practice for the actual relationship. If you do pay for a subscription, you gain access to a private, secure mailbox, other members’ profile photos, and unlimited “winks” to help break the ice. So if that sort of simplicity appeals in your ideal of a web singles community, get out that magnifying glass and notepad. Start browsing and see what turns up. The evidence is all there. You’ve just got to put it together.