MyLOL is a dating and social network for teens only. So, only people from 13 to 19 can join. In a way, offering dating for teens seems like a fresh idea. On the other hand, there is still a question of age appropriateness and the simple fact that 13 and 19 are totally different ages, with totally different interests. So, how does this site manage to combine seemingly uncombinable? How does it work in practice, and what features does it offer? More importantly, is it worth a shot? Find top facts about this in our detailed review and see for yourself.
Creating a profile with MyLOL literally takes seconds because newcomers can sign up with email, Facebook, and Twitter. Even when choosing the first and seemingly the lengthiest option, the signup process is still quick — mostly because no email verification is required. In fact, no identity verification is required at all — even though new members must indicate their age. In theory, users from 13 to 19 are allowed to join. In practice, anyone can do that, regardless of age or location.
Uploading an image is advised, but not obligatory. A quick look at the MyLOL database will tell you that plenty of accounts remains without any photos, and even ones that have them, often feature celebrities or mass-shared pictures.
Admins claim they do screen the pics, and we have reason to believe they do. You will not find any pornographic or nude content on MyLOL — both are strictly prohibited. However, there are no limitations as to uploading decent pictures that do not belong to the user personally.
The absence of any verification procedures leads us to the next question — who are MyLOL users, really? While there is no certain way to say for sure — this platform does feature a certain degree of anonymity — we know for a fact that most visits to the site come from the US and other major English-speaking countries. Obviously, everyone claims to be a teen, and most likely, most of them are. Still, there is no sure way to determine that.
At the same time, one of the perks MyLOL accounts offer is profile verification. While there are very few accounts with a verified batch, some members make use of this opportunity. Usually, MyLOL profiles remain poorly detailed. No surprise here, because teens — for whom this network was created in the first place — are not overly fond of writing long essays.
As a result, even an ‘about’ section often remains blank. Some users, however, include links to their social media profiles in this section. That brings us to the next point — while few go through profile verification on MyLOL, it is still obvious which profiles are genuine.
One more feature of MyLOL profiles is photo galleries. These usually feature quite a lot of pictures, and many of those pictures are tagged to appear in the website’s search results. Once again, all photos go through internal website moderation to make sure there is no nudity or inappropriate content.
Picture galleries are available to all users for free — just like the search filters. While there technically is a premium plan (which we will discuss later in this article), MyLOL keeps its primary audience in mind. Obviously, most teens cannot afford to spend money on online communication, so practically all of the site’s features are free.
There are plenty of ways to interact with other MyLOL users, and all of them are 100% free. While this site offers several paid subscription types, there is not much difference between free and paid accounts. This is quite refreshing for a site that positions itself as a dating service because most companies that do charge their users seriously restrict available communication means to non-paying accounts.
MyLOL, however, is a lucky exception. As mentioned before, search filters are the same for all users, regardless of their subscription type. There are no automatic matching suggestions — which is another peculiar thing for a dating site — but filters are an effective means of searching for other users.
To start using internal chatrooms, there is only one restriction — a user needs a profile picture to interact with others. This rule works by default in a desktop browser, but the app version allows access to a variety of chatrooms even without a profile pic.
Another thing to bear in mind while using MyLOL chartroom is that site admins are monitoring the chatrooms, too. There is a whole set of keywords that are considered inappropriate, and conversations that include those keywords are automatically canceled. However, even a newly joined user will clearly see that this restriction is not 100% effective. A lot of people intentionally misspell the words, leaving their meaning understandable. So, quite often, the conversations do take on an age-inappropriate direction. Should any of the users bother you with such topics, you can always block them and see no further messages of the kind.
Aside from a common chatroom and an unlimited number of private chats, MyLOL users can join existing forum threads or create their own ones. Next, there is a special feature from the service — shout — that allows posting messages, visible to everyone. Such a feature is, essentially, an alternative to a social media status update.
Finally, there is a way to interact with the other user’s pictures as well. Essentially, it all goes down to voting on pictures you like. The vote reaction, while always positive, can differ slightly. Possible options include WOW, OMG, hot, and cute.
All in all, we must give this site a heads up for making all of their communication means available to both free and paying users. Very few best hookup sites do, but MyLOL takes a social media approach, making online communication genuinely free. This is very reasonable, considering their target audience because most teenagers will not — and often cannot — spend money on chatting online.
There is not much difference between desktop and mobile versions of MyLOL when it comes to design and functions. The app does not compromise on any of the functional and communication options. In fact, it is even easier to communicate via the app because even people without a photo can start chats on mobile — for better or worse.
Considering app and web design, it becomes clear why teens are hooked by this service. MyLOL is edgy, modern, and trendy. Of course, one does not have to be a tech expert to start using this site — all features are right where they are supposed to be. Teens, obviously, have no problem figuring out how to use this service. Neither will anyone else, in that matter — navigation is highly intuitive.
The app runs on both iOS and Android devices, which is another nice perk from MyLOL. Differently from many other websites that target certain levels of income and have only one version of their app — either iOS or Android — MyLOL is a truly democratic service, available to anyone. Obviously, the app is free — just like most of MyLOL features and services.
Speaking of features and services, what does MyLOL have that makes it so popular among teens? We’ve already touched upon some unique communication offers from this service, but let’s take a look at the full list.
When it comes to essential site features — communication and search, in particular — there is no difference between paid and free accounts. However, premium members do enjoy a couple of perks.
For example, they can see who visited their profiles, get a receipt when their message has been read, and appear on top of the search results. And, of course, they have access to the same features as free users do — searching for other people, adding accounts to favorites, chatting, posting mass — aka shout — messages, writing blogs, and interacting in the forum threads.
Just like on most other subscription-based platforms, payment fees drop lower and lower for people subscribing to more extended plans. However, MyLOL has one major difference from most other services: they give people a chance to start small. The shortest subscription length is just one week at $3.95. One month of using MyLOL costs $9.95; three months come at $20.85 or approximately $7. And, six months of going premium is the most affordable decision in the long run —$29.70 total, or less than five bucks a month.
The site supports both credit cards and PayPal, so choosing a convenient payment means should not be a problem. Note that all payments automatically renew unless you cancel the subscription or switch to a new billing plan before the current one expires. Also, it is possible to send another MyLOL user a premium subscription as a single-time gift. In that case, the purchase will not auto-renew. However, relevant local taxes, as well as bank and PayPal fees, apply to both transfer types.
In addition, MyLOL offers some of its additional features for credits. Unlike other dating sites, this service does not sell those. Instead, they add a game-like element to their site, giving active members a chance to earn these virtual coins and spend them on extra perks from the website.
Here is what you can get for credits:
And here is how you earn these coins:
While there is quite a lot of controversy surrounding MyLOL, we still admire the idea behind this service. For starters, it’s a site for teen dating and online communication. Next, all must-have features are free of charge. Then again, site admins do everything in their power to restrict age-inappropriate content. So, it may be worth a shot for a teen — especially since you can block users bothering you.