Sites like iFlirts: how to choose

Start from what you want out of an evening, not from a feature list. Flirting sites look alike on the surface, and a long list of features tells you little about whether a site suits you. The question that sorts them quickly is: what are you hoping happens in the next ten minutes?

Below are five kinds of visitor, each with a different answer to that question. For each one this page says what to look for on any site of this kind, how iFlirts does on that point, and where it is not the right fit. Read the one that sounds like you and skip the rest.

Then count the steps between opening a site and saying hello. Every form field is a small delay, and a profile you have to write before anything happens can use up the mood you arrived with.

On iFlirts that tally is brief. A guest session starts when the page loads, without a sign-up step or a profile to write, and one tap on Start flirting puts you in a live video chat with a real person. Where it does not fit: if you enjoy crafting a detailed profile and being found through it, there is nothing here to craft.

Then look for a way to see people before you commit to a conversation. Random matching is fun when you are in the mood for a surprise, and tiring when you are not.

iFlirts gives you both doors. Start flirting is the random one. Who's online is the other: a list of women online now, each with a profile you can open. A profile carries three buttons, follow, message and video call, and the call button rings that woman without a random match. Where it does not fit: the list shows who is online, not who lives nearby. There are no distance filters and no search by interests.

Then check what happens after a good chat ends. On some sites a great conversation is gone the moment it closes, which is fine for one evening and frustrating by the third.

Here you can follow someone and reach her again from her profile; how iFlirts works shows the buttons. Advice on making that second conversation better than the first is on iFlirts chat. Where it does not fit: following someone does not mean she is always around. If she is offline, you leave a message and wait like everybody else. A follow is a bookmark, not a promise that she will answer, and it works best for people who visit often enough to cross paths.

Then look for two things: whether you can try the site without paying, and whether the price is on the screen before you confirm a purchase. If you have to commit before you can see either, keep looking.

iFlirts lets you start free, and coins are not asked for until the free matches are gone; the details are on is iFlirts free. Coin packs show their price before you confirm. Where it does not fit: if you are looking for a site that costs nothing however long you stay, this is not it, and that page says so plainly.

Then be honest with yourself about it, because the two formats suit different people. Typed conversation lets you take your time and choose your words. Live video gives you tone, timing and a reaction you can see, and asks you to think on your feet.

iFlirts is built around the live part. There is a text box inside every chat and you can message the people you follow, but those are the supporting act. Where it does not fit: if what you enjoy is a long written exchange and you would rather never turn a camera on, a site built on correspondence will make you happier. If you would take ten minutes of real conversation over ten days of letters, video is the better fit.

A little. If you flirt mostly from a phone, check that a site works in the phone's browser without sending you off to install something first. iFlirts opens in Safari and Chrome, and either one can pin it to your home screen; the steps are on the iFlirts app. The first-visit walkthrough is on how iFlirts works, and if trust is your main question, is iFlirts legit lists what you can verify before paying.