As the name might suggest, Instabang is not for the faint of heart. Neither is it for anyone looking for more than sex dating and a fuck buddy. This is not your average online dating website, and it isn't for anyone looking for a serious relationship. While there are other online dating/hook-up sites out there, many of them tend to be a little more discerning—you don’t get to see the goods till you've signed up as a member. Not with Instabang—they show you exactly what’s on offer from the start. Be warned, the site is definitely not NSFW; they don’t censor much and there’s nudity galore from the moment you open the website. Unless you don’t embarrass easily, you might want to save browsing until you’re in the privacy of your own home.
What does Instabang get right?
Becoming a member is very quick and very easy. You enter a few details on the first page, such as your gender, email address, age and location, then upload a profile photo and a few details about yourself and you’re good to go. For the purpose of this Instabang review, I opened both male and female accounts to compare the difference. If you’re female, your membership is automatically upgraded to a ‘promo’ account upon uploading a profile photo, and you get access to most areas of the site. This includes being able to view and reply to messages, see who’s been looking at your profile, accept and view naughty photos that get sent to you, chat to other members and add/accept friend requests. You can also view or block explicit profile photos by managing the 'safe mode' controls in your your account settings.
What could Instabang improve?
Where do I start?! First impressions are that there’s just too much going on onscreen. There are photos all over the place and the screen is so busy that it’s hard to know where to start looking. There are lots of buttons and links to click on and many of these bring up yet more menu options. They could really do with simplifying and tidying up the site a little.
Secondly, it’s easy to see how the male users of this site could easily be conned out of their money. While most things are free for women, men seem to have to pay for anything and everything (profile picture of not). On the male account I opened, pop-up boxes kept appearing to say particular women wanted to chat or send private photos, but upon trying to take part in the chat or open the photos, I was told I would need to pay to upgrade the account. Likewise, private messages couldn't be viewed until a payment had been made. In fact, there doesn't seem to be a lot that men can do on Instabang without having to input their credit card details. The fact that women were apparently jumping to send photos and messages when the account had only just been opened (and before any personal details or a photo had been uploaded) seemed very suspicious too, and one can’t help but think these are computer generated pop-ups designed solely for the purpose of tricking horny male members into parting with their hard earned cash.
Another rather significant downside is how complicated closing your account seems to be. Upon trying to do so under the account settings, a message is displayed advising that Instabang are working on an automated process for cancelling membership, but you can contact the customer service centre with questions regarding your subscription. The link for this simply brings up an email address. For this day and age, this seems really poor- most websites have an option to close your account, so you have to wonder why Instabang makes it so hard.
Who’s using Instabang?
I’d like to be able to offer an opinion on whether the members are particularly attractive or what their interests are, but all I can tell you is that they know what angle to take a photo from to really show off their, ahem, ‘assets’. Oh, and they thoroughly enjoy a good shag. There really is no polite conversation here; everyone just gets straight to the point. In the short time I was online, I was sent extremely graphic photos, dirty messages and telephone numbers from both men and women wanting to hook up without asking for any of it. A lot of users were very upfront, suggesting days and times to meet for some fun. These guys aren't mucking about—they are looking for their next fuck buddy and they aren't going to waste time chatting about the weather.
Is it worth signing up for Instabang?
That all depends on what you want and whether you’re willing to pay. If you’re a women looking for some fast fun, then by all means go for it- you’ll probably find it a lot faster than you imagine. If, however, you’re a guy looking for a fuck buddy, my advice would be don’t bother. Even if you do find what you’re looking for, you’ll probably end up penniless in the process, and in the big wide world of online dating, there are other hook up sites out there that won’t make you pay. In the interest of safety, I’d advise all to bear in mind that once you've opened that account, closing it isn't easy.
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