Kinky dating is just one aspect to www.Fetster.com – education also forms part of the Fetster experience. While aimed at people with alternative lifestyles, does Fetster.com provide kinksters with a vibrant alternative online community? Let's find out.
A visual Fetster review will have you thinking you've stepped back in time. Visually, Fetster is old fashioned, heavily text-based and it's not easy to work out where everything is at first. There's a long list of links at the top of the page which leads you to everything you need, and on the front page, there are tasters from lots of different areas for you to browse before going deeper.
Under the bonnet in the Fetster.com Forum.
The sign-up process is long and in-depth, but it provides the basis for your profile. So although it might take a while, you've got a well filled-in profile before you even get started — however, a note of caution. You're required to provide your postcode when signing up and it is then viewable on your profile. You can't hide it or not fill it in. I got a bit creative with mine, not wanting to display my postcode to everyone who views my Fetster.com profile.
If you're worried about your personal details being viewable by others, you might want to read the rest of this Fetster review to see if the benefits outweigh those concerns. You may find that other sites that don't require such details to display on your profile might work better for you.
Once you're signed up, you have access to absolutely everything. The claims of Fetster being free seems to be spot-on. I could view everything, send as many messages as I liked and there was no annoying 'upgrade now' messages at all which is a plus.
Some of the features are a little clunky, though. The forums, for example, include a lot of clicking to get to what you want to see. However, there are lots of discussions on a wide variety of subjects, so there's plenty to browse through.
What I found particularly frustrating was when I was dealing with friend requests, when I chose to ignore them a little pop-up box would come up to confirm this. However, it takes another click to close that box before you can carry on dealing with other requests.
Fetster.com is website only, there is mention of an app to come, but it isn't available yet. An instant chat is apparently on its way, but this doesn't exist yet either. You can, however, message others without limit, but you don't know how long it'll take to get a reply. If you like a rapid response maybe try out the BDSM chat at Fetish.com to connect with kinksters right now.
Fetster.com is more than the usual dating site with photos, profiles, and messages. There's a forum where you can discuss all kinds of subjects from pegging to pet play. You can also join groups which give you access to a message board connected to specific topics. Some are geographically based, others are either fetish or BDSM topics. You can enter any of these groups and then write something on the group wall. It's also possible to create a group yourself if you can't find one that fits what you want.
It seems that the forum and posts are unmonitored and as such a vast majority of them contain little more than users posting their personal ads without any aim to connect to the community as a whole. There are genuine pockets of discussion, but I found I needed to look long and hard to find them.
There are blogs and confessions too — places for you to express how you feel about your kinks and fetishes. You can choose to own your words and write a blog or compose an anonymous confession if that's something that you're into.
Photos are easy to upload, and you have access to all the images all the member's post. You can rate and leave comments, another handy way to connect with other Fetster.com users. There are videos too, but not many and I found that to you need to have the video hosted elsewhere as you can't upload it directly to Fetster.com. I'm not sure if anyone at Fetster reviews the uploaded content, but you can report any inappropriate material via a contact form.
In short, yes it's free to use and with no-strings-attached. A quick Fetster review will let you see that Fetster's claim is 100% true. Also, there's barely anything in the way of advertising, only small text ads which are for one of their websites. So if you can get to grips with the clunky navigation, Fetster.com is completely free.
I'm not sure how many members there are. There are multiple claims that there are no fake profiles on Fetster.com, but I'm not entirely sure. There is undoubtedly some profiles with photos that look ingenious, and there are several inactive profiles. However, the search brings up pages of results for people in the UK; a more local search brings up several pages of results too. So there are users out there, just be cautious when contacting them and if anything seems suspicious don't continue the conversation.
There are help pages that are full of practical FAQs such as how to upload photos or how to delete your account. There aren't many, and none of them help you work out how to connect with other people in the community. There is a contact page which you can use to report abuse or ask any more specific questions. How long you will be waiting for a Fetster review of your inquiry and response is unclear.
Fetster.com is indeed free, but it's not fancy. It has high numbers of profiles but where are the active users? Many people are looking for love, lust, and kinky sex but there isn't a great community feel. If you want a kinky dating site with no charges, then you might be worth checking out Fetster.com.
Victoria Blisse was an erotic author and sex-positive Reverend. She helped shape fetish.com and FET from the very beginning and we're eternally grateful for her passion and creativity. Sadly, she passed away in January 2024. We hope that whenever her articles are read, she'll be honored.
Have you tried Fetster.com? Do you agree with our review? Tell us in the comments below. Spanks for reading!
Cover image released from Shutterstock.com
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