Global Penfriends claims that they are ’spam free’ and they actually are – no advertisements or annoying pop-ups!

BUT, it is not a free site (you cannot contact other penpals unless you pay money for a membership). This is not necessarily a negative because it should foster the legitimacy of the penpals (if you are going to pay, you are probably real, right?).

The front page of the site states their goal which is to find penpals that meet the needs of their members. There are also four main links: Email and Postal Penpals by Internet; Get Snailmail Addresses Online; Global Fling – New Global Dating and Singles Club; Home Exchange Partners. The second last link (Global Fling) leads to a dating site (warning). The last link (Home Exchange Partners) is a novel idea wherein you can find families around the world to swap homes with. The first link is our focus for this review (Email and Postal Penpals by Internet).

• Penpals: about 40,000
• Activity: Not sure (because there are no dates on the penpal profiles)
• Hidden email address: Yes
• Internal messaging: Yes
• Profile pictures: Yes
• Block penpals from contacting you: Yes (and a very accessible feature)
• Ability to hide/pause account: Yes

Pros: No advertisements or annoying pop-ups!

Cons: It is free to sign up but there is a premium membership (a monthly fee) in order to contact any penpal, get their email or postal addresses. There is no way to tell when the penpal placed their profile message (no date) which makes it difficult to know how current or active the penpal is.

Global Penfriends: http://www.penfriends.com.au/