Forces Penpals Review

Forces Penpals Introduction

Finding someone to have a genuine connection with is not always easy, and that’s especially so if you are serving your country. People in the armed forces don’t have a lot of time for socialising, let alone dating. This is where Forces Penpals comes into play.

ForcesPenpals is a military dating website which excels at bringing together soldiers, as well as singles interested in meeting people in the army. The site has been active since 2002 and is today considered one of the best sites for military personnel. But how does it stand out from other army pen pals and uniform dating platforms?

In our review below we go over the dating features, prices and security measures of Forces Penpal. Our experts here at TheBestDatingSites have also looked into the usability of the site on different devices, whether there are any differences between male and female profiles, and its registration process.

ForcesPenpals Pros & Cons

Pros

• Connects people in the armed forces with other military members and civilians
• Modelled after social network sites granting access to a wide variety of people
• Large international user base
• Support to people who serve their country (open discussion forums, news updates, as well as a portion of subscriptions being donated to charity)

Cons

• There is no Forces Penpals mobile app
• The free version of the site is quite limited
• Matchmaking and profile search functions are very basic

What Type Of Dating Site Is Forces Penpals?

Forces Penpals is an international dating site aimed at establishing connections between people who are in the armed forces and those in the outside world. Their platform caters best to people looking for:

• Army / Military penpals
• Online friendships
• Long-term / Serious relationships
• Meetups

Who is ForcesPenpals for?

ForcesPenpals is not the best site for LGBTQ+ individuals, this is due to the fact that you can only sign up as either a man or a woman. You can find below the available gender and sexuality options:

• Straight man
• Straight woman
• Gay man
• Lesbian woman

Stats & Infographics Of Forces Penpal

Male - Female Ratio

Age Demographics

Country Distribution

As with most dating sites nowadays, the male users on Forces Penpals outnumber the female. The majority of their visitors are under the age of 35 but they also hold a decent middle-aged and older age group ratio, including some veterans who actively use the site.

The largest chunk of their members are part of the US army, so it’s no surprise that most users are from the United States. Don’t let that discourage you though! The platform is international, allowing you to find anything from Canadian to Brazilian and even UK forces penpals.

Forces Penpals Login Process

ForcesPenpals has a relatively straightforward registration process. Once on the site you will need to click on the “Join Now” button to be directed to the sign up form. The form features a few information fields but you can also register using your Facebook profile. If you choose the latter, your Forces Pen Pals account will be automatically verified. On the other hand, if you fill up the form, you will also have to verify your account via email to proceed.

Here’s the fields covered by the registration form:

• Email address
• Password
• Preferred Username
• Date of birth
• Country / ZIP Code (If you live in the US)
• Gender
• Interested in (with options on friendship/support, dating or both)
• US Armed forces?

If you are someone who is currently in the US Armed forces, the website will ask you to verify your military status. Once done you will be entitled to use Forces Penpal for free.

Upon your first login you will be asked to provide your mobile phone number (text message verification) to proceed. The site will also give you the option to activate push notifications for your device, browse profiles, send flirts and hugs, and add people to your favourites.

We recommend filling in your profile fields before you start exploring though as this will help attract more people. Aside from the information already covered in the sign up form, you will have to fill up the below fields under “My Details”:

• (Body) Build
• Children (whether you have some, how many and if they live with you)
• Ethnic Origin (from white caucasian, to native american and mixed)
• Hair colour
• Height
• Marital status
• Smoker
• Interests (text box with no character limit)

The next section is dedicated to “Photos”. Before you upload any pictures, Forces Penpals will clarify that images containing nudity, sexual or suggestive content, as well as anything that can be interpreted as offensive will be removed by the admin staff. Once you accept these terms and your photos are uploaded you will be able to rotate their positions and even add a small caption to them.

The above is enough to consider your profile “complete”, however you can still disclose your forename and surname to the site if you wish to do so. Subscribers of Forces Penpal will also be able to update their statuses, for others on the site to see.

Forces Penpals Mobile Application & Compatibility

Unfortunately ForcesPenpal doesn’t seem to keep up with times very well, and as a result there is currently no official mobile application. The good news is that the site itself is fully optimised to work on mobiles through your preferred browser. You will be able to access the same features, chat with the same people and even use the same filters regardless of your device.

The main differences between mobile and desktop we noticed were aesthetic. The set menu tabs move to the bottom of the screen in the form of icons. Tapping on them reveals the tab name and directs the user to the relevant page. The site also has a hamburger menu at the top left of the screen reserved for your profile, subscription pan, community forums, and the terms and policies of ForcesPenpals.

Men Vs Women On Forces Penpals UK

Whether you identify as a man or woman, Forces Penpals UK offers the same experience, including features, prices and filtering options. What we should be asking is whether there are any differences between a soldier and a civilian. As mentioned above, those who can prove that they are currently serving their country can get the Forces Penpals subscription for free! What’s more, veterans also get a 50% discount for all available subscription packages on the site.

Forces Penpal Top Features

SnailMail

This innovative feature harkens back to the good old days and brings back the lost art of putting pen to paper. ForcesPenpals allows you to send physical letters to your chatting partners to make the interaction more personal and intimate.

A feature we have not seen in any other army penpals site before and it definitely makes the difference. Sure, some of the younger generation might not find the concept very appealing, but military veterans are sure to appreciate the personal touch!

Activity

most recent ones being shown first. You are also able to make your own posts and let people who you are chatting with know what you are up to at the time. This is basically your personal wall, similar to your average social media feed, but on Forces Penpals.

Connections

ForcesPenpal has a variety of different ways one can interact with your profile. Each action is sent as a different notification and you can also access these features via another person’s profile or through your “Connections” tab.

There are a total of 5 different “connection” types, one we have already covered further above (SnailMail). The rest are adding people to your favourites, viewing their profile, sending a virtual hug to them and sending a flirt. All interactions (either received or sent) are put into a list where you can view them again at your convenience.

ForcesPenpals Offers, Prices & Costs

We’ve already covered that active military members get to use the site and all its features for absolutely free. We also mentioned that veterans are entitled to a 50% discount. If you happen to be a civilian though, you can check out the Forces Penpals free membership. While you won’t have a lot of functionality freedom, it’s a good place to start before you commit to any of the bigger subscription packages.

Nonetheless, the free Forces Penpals membership is quite limited. Only subscribers of the site are able to view and send others messages. Certain features like the forums, chat rooms and profile statuses are also not available to you until you purchase one of the subscription packages.

We were not able to find any promo codes (although the field exists on checkout), but compared to other paid sites out there, Forces Penpals is quite reasonable as far as pricing goes. Here are your options:

$4.99 per week

$9.99 per month

$29.99 per 6 months

$49.99 per year

It is also worth noting that subscriptions automatically renew themselves once the initial time has expired. We’d recommend disabling auto-renewal if you are just getting a feel for the site.

Forces Penpals does not have many available payment methods but we were glad to see the usual suspects: Visa and Mastercard. Additionally, they support Maestro card as well as payments via PayPal for that extra online payment security.

ForcesPenpal Safety & Security

As a well-established site, Forces Penpals has thorough security and privacy measures, especially when compared to other sites of similar size.

According to their Terms of Use, no information posted by users on the site will be unknowingly disclosed to third parties without express consent from the user in question. They also operate using an SSL certificate which means that the connection between you and the site is secure and the chances of your messages being intercepted are very slim.

However, since only an email address is required to create a profile, there is a chance that some profiles may be fake. To counter this, you are able to report and block any suspicious accounts and ForcesPenpals can investigate further and even remove those members if they deem it necessary.

Conclusion

When it comes to dating and being in the military there are many challenges to overcome. Nonetheless, Forces Penpals makes things easier for soldiers. Their platform is perfectly designed to help this community connect with and support each other. And, let’s be real here, how many other sites can truly connect people across the world using physical letters and mail? They really know how to keep things refreshing while also breaking away from the digital age.

While the free version of the site is quite limited, the features that are unlocked with a subscription and their reasonable prices almost make up for this! They are considered a top dog in their field and we can definitely see how they rose to popularity. So, if you are in the armed forces and looking for someone to connect with, or you want to provide support for someone who is out in the field, Forces Penpals should definitely be on your shortlist!

ForcesPenpals Tips

1. Browse the various chat rooms or open forums to reach out to more people.
2. Encourage engagement from other users by updating your status.
3. Uploading photos to your profile will ensure that you get more attention from others.
4. Have a look through other users’ profiles and get a better idea of who they are.
5. The SnailMail option is a great way to get back to old-school dating.
6. Get a free Amazon gift card (£10-£20-£30) by inviting others to join the site through the “Recommend” tab.

Forces Penpals FAQ

What Is Forces Penpals?

Forces Penpals refers to themselves as the top support, dating and social platform for US and UK military personnel. It has been operational since 2002 and to this day receives thousands of visitors and registrations every month.

Does Forces Penpals Have A Mobile App?

No, unfortunately, there is no official Forces Penpals mobile app. However, the site is fully optimised for use on mobile devices.

Is Forces Penpals Free To Use?

Forces Penpals is free to sign up to, but you will have to purchase one of their subscription packages to properly use the site. The only exception to this is for active military personnel who are entitled to free Forces Penpals subscriptions.

How Much Does Forces Penpals Cost?

ForcesPenpals has a total of four subscription packages. These are their prices:

$4.99 weekly

$9.99 monthly

$29.99 semiannually

$49.99 yearly

Military veterans are also entitled to a 50% discount on all the above packages.

Is Forces Penpals Safe?

Yes, ForcesPenpal is a safe site to use. It does not disclose personal information without your express permission and your data is not used or sold to third parties. Finally, while it’s possible for fake profiles to slip through the cracks, they have some great prevention measures in place.

Forces Penpals Not Working - What Should I Do?

If Forces Penpal is not working, try to refresh your browser or try again after a certain amount of time. The website is sometimes down due to scheduled updates from its operators, so please make sure that you did not miss the latest update notifications.