BookofMatches Review: Best All-Rounder Site

Book of Matches is a website intending to provide the best dating experience by offering more features and customization than any other platform. They certainly are not alone in this endeavor, but it is the little things that set this one apart from the rest.

In this Book of Matches review, we will take a closer look at how this dating platform squares up to other online dating providers.

BookofMatches Audience Structure

First off, we need to know how many people are using BookofMatches. We have no data on the exact user count or structure of Book of Matches. However, given the nature of the platform, we believe that their numbers range somewhere between 250,000 to 500,000 users.

Who is BookofMatches For?

BookofMatches is more than just a dating platform. We believe that it is more of a social media considering that users can find more than just hookups here. It has a little bit of everything. Users here may just register simply because they want a friend to hang out with. Some may indeed look for casual hookups. Others want simple dates that may turn into long-term relationships. In short, BookofMatches is for everyone.

Geographical Data

When it comes to geographical structure, it is based in the United States judging by its registration form. Users outside the United States cannot register.

User Ethnic Structure

Ethnicity-wise, BookofMatches welcomes everyone regardless of ethnicity. This site’s user database is as ethnically diverse as the US itself.

User’s Age Structure

Book of Matches keeps its user data pretty private, so they do not disclose their user age stats. What we do know is that users are required to be older than 18 years old to join. Considering the nature of this dating site, you should see users who are well above 50 years old. But, with a look at website profiles, anyone will see that most people are in their late twenties and early thirties.

User Gender Structure

What about gender distribution? Again, we have no data on this one. But it is safe to assume that the ratio is more or less equal, so that means you should easily find users that suit your sexual preference.

Sexual Orientation Welcome

Book of Matches welcomes users with all sexual orientations, but it is not quite clear how large their gay audience is. We assume it is not that vast because most people seem to be looking for opposite-sex matches.

Getting Started: BookofMatches Sign Up Process

First, let’s discuss how one can create an account on this site. Simply head straight to BookofMatches.com and look for the “Join and Meet Free” tab, under which is a small text box. Here, users need to type in their preferred username. Just be sure that it is anonymous, as in not using your real name, and appropriate.

Information You Need to Provide to Sign Up

Users will then be guided through a short registration process in which they will be prompted to provide the following information:

• Username (previously provided)
• Password
• Gender
• Smoker?
• Drinker?
• Ethnic background
• Date of birth
• Height
• Physique
• Looks
• Status
• Sexual preference
• Career
• Country
• State/province
• City
• A short and interesting bio

Some users have reported that the registration form spits out an error message. The problem could be because of the name of the city, even if you wrote it correctly. You might have to use the “Find your city” function on the form to resolve this issue. Clicking on it will launch a popup that provides you a list of all the cities in your state. It is here that we found the issue because the list does not contain all cities. If that is the problem, simply select the nearest city, and you are good to go.

BookofMatches Verification Process

After this short registration process, users should receive a mail from BookofMatches in their email inbox. If you do not see it, check your spam folder because many verification emails tend to go there. Inside the mail, you will find a link which you need to click. You will then be redirected back to Book of Matches, and your identity would be confirmed.

Account Approval Time

Users will also be prompted to provide an image for their profiles. They are allowed up to three images, but they need to comply with the rules on BookofMatches. For instance, your face must be clearly seen in the image, and there should only be you in the picture. It must also be appropriate, meaning no nudity. Any photos users upload will be subject to review by the moderation team before they get posted. This can take anywhere between 15 minutes to 3 days.

BookofMatches Account Information

Next up, let’s talk about their account system. It is detailed and easy to understand, so you should have no problems going through every profile.

BookofMatches Profile Structure

The profile structure is organized, although there is a lot of information to look at. All of this information is provided by the user at the registration process. The most important bits are listed and sectioned off at the top of the profile for your convenience. Those who are interested in knowing more about the user can find more information at the lower portion of the profile.

BookofMatches Search Features

What about the search features? Can it match up to other dating sites? BookofMatches actually offers a versatile search tool that is available for all users.

Basic Search Features

First off, users can choose between having their search results put into a list or as a photo gallery. This site offers localized search, meaning that users can use the “hookups near me” function to look for people within a certain radius. This ranges from 50 to 200 miles radius. Other than that, users can narrow down their search based on the following filters:

• Gender
• Age
• Relationship status
• Smoker or drinker
• Online status
• People in favorite or friends list
• Keywords
• Names
• Ratings

Advanced Search Features

There is no advanced search feature, as everything is made available to all users.

BookofMatches Matching Process

We were pleasantly surprised to see that BookofMatches features a plethora of communication options. That includes profile photos, scrapbook photos, daily bulletin, discussion blogs, mail, live messages, video chat, text chat, friends list, shout out, favorite list, flirt, and forum. Out of all the dating sites we have seen, BookofMatches has the highest number of communication channels out there.

Getting in Touch on BookofMatches

Let’s start from the top: profile photos. As previously mentioned, you can upload up to three photos to be used as your profile picture. Other users can check them out and give you a rating to provide you with an idea of which one works.

Scrapbook is like the photo gallery on Facebook. Here, users can upload up to 14 pictures. Here, users can also include a short caption or description of their photos. BookofMatches also provides certain customization, such as the ability to set a photo border or background. That way, users can play around and beautify their shots a bit more before uploading. Users also have some control over who gets to see their photos, much like Facebook.

The daily bulletin works similarly to Facebook’s status system. Simply put, users just post what is going on in their lives here, and others can view it to see what is up. Again, users can control who gets to see these posts.

Discussion blog is similar to the daily bulletin, except others can chime in and comment. It is listed in a separate section on your profile.

We’ve just mentioned the friends’ list. It is nothing different from that on Facebook. Users can send and receive a friend request, which they can confirm. Friends can message each other directly without the use of mails and post photos or blogs together that no one else can see. Since BookofMatches is a dating site, users can also suggest potential dates to their friends as well.

The shout out or testimony system is similar to the review system you can find on Amazon. Considering that it is easy to get into Book of Matches as a scammer, this system is put in place to protect users from fraud. Here, users can leave a comment on any particular account that other people can see. Of course, you cannot just post a scathing review simply because someone doesn’t want to go out with you. The moderation team will review each comment before making it visible.

Favorite or crush list is not used very often. It is simply a handy little list of the people that you like. It saves you the trouble of looking up the name of the same person over and over again just to talk to them.

The flirt system is like that of any other dating platform. It is used to show your interest in another user. It is a great way to start a conversation.

The forum is where things get interesting because this is where most of the users converge. There are over 20 forum topics to look at and each with over 30,000 messages. We highly recommend checking it out.

Finally, privacy and safety features. What do they have? There are many things users can do to protect themselves. For one, users can report inappropriate photos of another user or report users who behave inappropriately. The moderation team will respond and take appropriate measures against such users, which can lead to a permanent suspension of the perpetrator.

You can block other members so they cannot message you, which is a handy feature if they keep spamming you. If you want to browse BookofMatches in peace, consider turning off the live messaging feature so you won’t be annoyed by the notifications. Users can customize the blocking system as well. They can opt not to receive messages from other members who are not their friends or receive only messages from those who match certain criteria such as age or relationship status.

Users can also go incognito on BookofMatches. Going invisible allows them to check out other people’s profiles without letting them know. Normally, the profile owner can see who checked out their profile. If you are too shy to approach someone online but still want to check them out, going incognito is the way to go.

If you are out and about, the chances are that you won’t know if someone sent you a mail. Some users prefer to be notified about this, so BookofMatches created a live notification feature. Simply put, they will send you an email to alert you of any activities. You just have to opt-in for this.

BookofMatches Chat Features and Interface

The mail system is similar to emails, except you don’t use an email address. Rather people send mails using usernames instead. Here, users can view what mail they’ve sent, received, and deleted. Writing mails here is no different than emails anywhere else, and people can include smileys in their mails. Here, users have the power to create a filter for their inbox so that they would only receive mail from specific accounts. To do so, they will need to tinker with the privacy options, which we will discuss in a moment.

We have observed that people prefer to use the live messaging feature more than the mail system. Both are the same, although some people say that the mail system is to send lengthy messages. The only difference between the two is that you can only send messages to people whom you’ve added to your friends’ list. There are two ways to send messages to other users. You can either do so from your inbox or click on the box in the upper right corner of this site. Other than that, users can switch off live messaging at any time so they cannot receive any messages.

Video chat is the second most used feature on BookofMatches. As the name suggests, users can chat as if they are sitting right in front of each other. All they need is a webcam and a functioning microphone, which come with all laptops. Video chat doesn’t have to be one-on-one either. You can invite other users to join in and have a video group chat.

Those who want to video chat but do not have a functioning microphone can use the included text chat function so they can still talk. This is especially useful in a video group chat.

BookofMatches Safety?

With all that said, how does BookofMatches fare in terms of security? It is a lot better than many other dating sites we have reviewed before, that’s for sure. So how are users protected on BookofMatches?

Data Privacy and Protection

First, let’s look at the technical side of things. BookofMatches follows the tradition by guaranteeing that they will not disclose users’ personal information to a third party. That means all your chats will be kept confidential and will not be published elsewhere.

That being said, we were slightly disappointed with the connectivity protection on BookofMatches. We realized that much when we were on their landing page. Next to the URL where you type the link, you should see a padlock that indicates that your connection to the site is encrypted and secure. That is not the case for Book of Matches. Instead, users’ connections are only partially secure.

For this reason, we recommend being a little careful when you browse BookofMatches. What you send to this website may be hijacked by a third party, and they can see what you are trying to send, including banking information. Thankfully, you don’t have to reveal your banking details simply because BookofMatches is absolutely free (more on that later).

Even with a partially secured connection, that does not mean that your privacy is completely vulnerable. So far, we have not seen a privacy breach from BookofMatches yet. So there is nothing to worry about so long as you practice caution, which you should anyway.

Are There Many Scam Profiles on BookofMatches?

As with any dating platforms that use an email verification system, it is not that difficult for scammers to get inside. BookofMatches is no exception. However, just because they can get does not mean they can do much.

How BookofMatches Handles Scammers?

There are a few ways BookofMatches deals with scammers. One of them is the review system we discussed before. Users may leave a negative review on a profile as a warning for others. That means scammers may, at best, fool a single person.

But they might not even get to that point. You can report users who behave inappropriately, and the moderation team will ban them after an investigation.

BookofMatches Help and Customer Support

BookofMatches has a customer support team on standby 24/7. The only downside is that you can only reach them via email. They are very helpful and are happy to address all your concerns.

BookofMatches Website Usability

Let’s talk about aesthetics. Does BookofMatches have it? Well, not really. In fact, some people consider this to be where BookofMatches really falls behind. To be frank, it looks like a website from the 2000s, which is quite outdated by today’s standard. A quick glance at the landing page tells the entire story.

However, just because the website looks a bit old does not mean it is unusable. In fact, other than the look, it is very easy to use. Every button is conveniently placed so that users can navigate this site with ease.

BookofMatches App Availability

Unfortunately, there is no BookofMatches mobile app. Even so, that does not mean you cannot use it on your mobile phone. They do have a mobile-optimized website that offers all the same features as its desktop counterpart. That way, you can remain connected even while you are out and about.

BookofMatches Membership Options

Given its size, we expected BookofMatches to offer premium memberships at a rather steep cost. To our surprise, it does not run on subscription. Instead, it runs on advertisement revenue. In other words, there is no membership option.

BookofMatches Free Version

Everyone starts out as a member of Book of Matches and has access to all the features it has to offer.

BookofMatches Premium Features

There is no premium membership on BookofMatches. We sense a money-making opportunity for them here that they failed to take advantage of. It would be handy for BookofMatches to at least offer an inexpensive premium membership for users in exchange for the removal of ads.

BookofMatches Pricing (or Its Absence)

Registering and using BookofMatches is absolutely free, although users have to deal with third-party ads that may distract them.

Cancelling BookofMatches Subscription and Deleting Profile

Closing your account on BookofMatches is very simple. There are two options to do this.

If you feel that you want to take a break from BookofMatches, you can simply deactivate your profile in the account settings. That way, all your contacts will be saved, and your account will be hidden temporarily. When you log on again, your profile will be automatically reactivated.

If you want to delete your account permanently, you can also do that from your account settings. Keep in mind that deleting your account erases everything you posted there. If you want to start using BookofMatches again, you will need to create a new account and start from scratch.

Takeaway

In short, do we recommend Book of Matches? Considering that it costs nothing, why not give it a go? We understand that the unassuming aesthetic might put some people off, but we consider this to be one of the least important things. The security concern is also nothing to worry about so long as you practice caution and not reveal any personal information.

Given all the features everyone gets upon signing up, this BookofMatches is really worth your time and money. We’re not saying that they don’t have any flaws, but it really is hard to argue their price point – that is, zero dollars. With a little bit of caution, you will have a great time with this site.