Adult FriendFinder (AFF) is an internet-based, adult-oriented

social networking service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, ac ...

, online dating service and swinger personals community

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wikip ...

, founded by Andrew Conru in 1996. In 2007 AFF was one of the 100 most popular sites in the United States; its competitors include sites such as

Match.com Match is an online dating service with web sites serving over 50 countries in twelve languages. Its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas. The company has offices in Dallas, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Beijing. Match is ...

History

In 1993, Andrew Conru created the first online dating site, WebPersonals. After selling that site in 1995, he launched FriendFinder.com, an early social networking site, in 1996. Days after the site went live, Conru found that people were posting naked pictures of themselves and seeking partners for adult-oriented activities. As a result, Conru started Adult FriendFinder, which he described as "a release valve". FriendFinder has since established other niche dating sites, including Senior FriendFinder, Amigos.com, BigChurch.com, and Alt.com. The parent company (Various, Inc.) had difficulty finding

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due to the adult nature of its business. In December 2007, the company was sold to the Penthouse Media Group for $500 million. Penthouse later changed its name to FriendFinder Networks. In October 2009, as part of an arrangement with The Kluger Agency, musician

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single "Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital down ...

released a music video for his song " Touch Me" via Adult FriendFinder. A representative of the agency stated that it was "always great to combine a very sexy high octane record with a very sexy brand. On September 17, 2013, parent company FriendFinder Networks filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

. In December 2013, FriendFinder Networks emerged from bankruptcy protection with reorganization in effect. Founder Andrew Conru gained control of the company and serves as CEO.

Overview

Accessing certain features, such as

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, private

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ging, and a web

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, requires paid membership. Adult FriendFinder has an affiliate program, whereby webmasters are compensated for referring users to the site.

Criticism

Adult FriendFinder has been accused of committing systematic billing fraud. According to the complaints filed, the company has a practice of continuing to bill customers even after they have cancelled their service. Former employees of the company have claimed that this is their standard policy and not the result of errors. These employees have stated that the majority of customers do not notice the charges for many months. As of October 2014, hundreds of civil cases have been filed against the company and a criminal indictment was made by the Federal Trade Commission against the company. In 2007, Adult FriendFinder settled with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations that the company had used

malware Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, de ...

to generate explicit

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s for the service on computers without user consent. Adult FriendFinder's acquisition by Penthouse was the subject of a 2007 lawsuit by Broadstream Capital Partners, a merchant bank that assists with mergers, alleging Penthouse breached a 2006 contract by purchasing the company without obtaining Broadstream's consent, a claim Penthouse denies. The suit was settled for $15 million in 2011.

Security breaches

In May 2015, Adult FriendFinder was hacked by users associated with the Hell forums, with the hackers stealing personal information about as many as four million of the site's users. On November 13, 2016, it was reported that a database of usernames, e-mails, and passwords had been breached and leaked from Adult FriendFinder and other FriendFinder Networks websites. The breach included 300 million Adult FriendFinder user accounts, including account data for 15 million accounts that had supposedly been "deleted". The passwords had not been encrypted at all, or even hashed with the obsolete and insecure

SHA-1 In cryptography, SHA-1 (Secure Hash Algorithm 1) is a cryptographically broken but still widely used hash function which takes an input and produces a 160-bit (20- byte) hash value known as a message digest – typically rendered as 40 hexadec ...

hashing algorithm.

Awards

The site won the 2010

XBIZ Award XBIZ Awards are given annually to honour "individuals, companies, performers and products that play an essential part in the growth and success of adult films" and have been described by XBIZ publisher and founder Alec Helmy as being "born out o ...

for "Dating Program of the Year". It was also voted Best Adult Dating Site of 2012 from About.com. In 2022 the site won the XBIZ Award for "Dating Company of the Year".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adult Friendfinder Internet properties established in 1996 Adult dating websites Online dating services of the United States Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq