Global Penfriends

Being a person of color seems to be a red flag in and of itself for the white European admin staff of GPF. Ironically, I used to have an account with them which I paid for monthly (and for several years). Eventually I left for a few years when I didn't have the time to maintain a presence there.

Anyway, I recently tried to re-join the site only to find that this time they just deleted my profile after their "approval period" (which by the way they claim takes 8 to 10 hours but in my case took four days). As another reviewer mentioned, there was no explanation, no email, no request for further information to prove I was who I said I was. Just an arbitrary decision by a random individual, presumably based on their own personal prejudice.

Whoever runs this site now has clearly developed biases based on the color of one's skin. I'll take my monthly subscription and pay to join one of the competitors instead. Just be aware that if your face doesn't fit, your application will be denied.

I recently heard about team of journalists prepping a piece in which they're trying to root out racial bias online and who submitted the profile of a blonde female. It was totally fictitious yet readily approved by the GPF administrators. I think this says everything you need to know about the types of people running this site and in my opinion it's time they were called out on their practice of racial profiling.

It says it's a FREE site but it is only to a degree. If you don't want to pay for a "free" site this isn't for you. Some of the things that were once free are no longer. I was trying to send a message to a person asking to be penfriends and I received this message
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CONTACT DENIED
This randomly selected profile is restricted to you.
20% of profiles are restricted to free members.
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The member was not a paid "premium" member. I was denied for no reason.

I like GPF because it is very easy to make friends and the ones that I do make are super nice. It is just the only site I would recommend to make friends abroad

Set up an account and used it for a couple of weeks. Now I cannot access the site. Would give it zero stars if allowed

I have been an avid penpaller for many years. Almost my whole life. I discovered Global Penfriends about 12 years ago and have been ever thankful. True to their word they have managed to keep the site free of scammers and dirty old men that plague other sites i used to utilise.

Every time i make changes to my profile, it is reviewed by the admin team. They ensure that all profiles are well populated and genuine. Over the years I have met some fantastic friends from all over the world. One of my friends is so close that I feel she is more family than a penpal.

I hope many people can enjoy the benefits of penpalling as I have. Thank you to GPF for provided a safe platform to connect us penpalllers.

I wanted to quickly jump on here and let others know that I received the most wonderful feedback from the GPF team. I was enquiring about why it took so long for my profile to be reviewed and approved - they responded that they were ensuring that all content including profiles were socially responsible to ensure the website was adding to society rather than detracting - Wow i thought. If only the bigger social sites out there had the same philosophy! Great site - great admins!

I have tried so many penpal clubs over the last 12 years or so and wanted to share this gem with others. Its free to register and they give out free credits to contact other members. I think the system works good as this site is free of scammers and advertisers which seem to plague many other sites. I felt comfortable enough to register my children on the site and now they have met some wonderful penpals also! If you do register your children, ensure you are monitoring communications whilst they are establishing their friendships - just to be on the safe sife. This is the internet after all.

This site is well established and is reliable. I am very thankful that it exists! Thank you Global Penfriends.

I was looking for a international penpal site that was purely for making new friends. There are so many penpal sites related to dating - but I was only interested in friendship - Thank you Global Penfriends for providing a safe and friendly environment to find genuine friends. I now have 2 new friends from countries that I hope to visit one day and I couldn't be happier. They have been my ray of light during uncertain times.

Fifteen years ago, I joined the Global Penfriends Penpal Club and found an extraordinary friend who has become an integral part of my life. Through handwritten letters exchanged by post, we shared everything about life, nurturing a deep and meaningful friendship.
Global Penfriends provided a genuine platform for forging connections and lasting friendships. From the very beginning, my pen pal, and I connected on a profound level. Through our letters, we discussed our dreams, fears, and triumphs, offering support and encouragement to one another.

The beauty of pen pal communication lies in the freedom to express oneself openly and without judgment. Despite the physical distance, our friendship flourished, untethered by appearances or societal expectations. We learned to truly listen and understand each other through our written words, cultivating an authentic bond.

Thanks to GPF, my penpals and I were brought together despite the distance. The club's commitment to privacy and safety fostered an environment of trust, enabling us to share our lives.

First, don't sign the auto renewal if you sign up. This is the first attempt to screw you to their floor. I didn't do the auto renewal but wanted to cancel, to refund, even to delete - on the very first day but met with flat no. I quickly saw through this fake friends site. Terrible experience. Unforgettable bad taste in so called hospitality/friendship. These are very SHARP OPERATORS out for your hard earned cash. BEWARE.
BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE - YOU HAVE BEEN READING A USERS ACCOUNT. BAD BAD.
One star far too good for this outfit. Shop around. There are good sites and this BAD one.

If I could give 0 stars, I'll do it immediately.
I tried this site only to improve my English, I suggest to avoid it. A few years ago I was contacted by some time-waster (and bored) people, they wanted only information about my country because they were lazy to find them in the Net (they weren't really interested in my country and culture)
A lot of guys are not interested in other languages and cultures, they're narcissists and vain persons (they are know-it-all). No one of the users I contacted and I've been in contact was really interested in my mother tongue (Italian) and culture. Some of them insulted me with racial epithets, I reported them to the admin and nothing changed, they're still here. If you try to contact anyone, a few people will answer you: profiles are not reliable, and 5 stars reviews you find here are exaggerated.
If you're lucky to find someone who answer you, it doesn't last for a long time.
Messages you send to others are spied; if you write too personal questions, your profile will be blocked (you will be able to login, but if you click on my profile, you'll put out immediately). Many profiles are restricted unless you pay, it seems to be an extortion. This site is advertised as free, but in practice you have to pay if you want to use it. About the address you find on the site, you look on google maps and there is no building, only usual houses, perhaps this society is located elsewhere. Do you want to use it? It's up to you…

Many years ago, I joined GPF hoping to find some international friends from all around the world and I guess I just hung around. I started meeting incredible people from all corners of this amazing world and I was hooked. What i love about this club is that they are very strict on Male members that often join friendship sites to prey on woman that are just looking for friends. I was not suprised to see some grumpy men writing lousy reviews about this club as they are probably upset that their real motives were identified!

As a female I found their security settings very useful - I was able to block Males and restrict the age ranges of those that could initiate contact with me. This is a great feature and whilst it can be a little frustrating at first because you cannot contact some profiles if your outside their selected age ranges - it gives some peace of mind also.

Here is a site focussed on quality penpals - they don't let everyone in. I consider Global Penfriends to be a more exclusive club that is trying to ensure the club contains penpallers only interested in friendship - this is what I love most about them!

I had been a member of Global Penfriends for several years and suddenly I was asked to verify my identity with a security photo. They asked for me to submit a selfie in the mirror holding up some text. At first I was shocked and then after talking with the admin - I could not belive how security conscious this website is! Wow! In this day and age to find a website that actually checks to see if profiles are genuine and real - What a breathe of fresh air. Global Penfriends is certainly devoting a lot of resources to ensure that they have real and genuine members. I could see that that will rattle the scammers out there and I am very glad for that.

I had a best friend that was scammed on a so called penpal site and she was so embarrased she did not even report the incident. If only she had joined Global Penfriends in the first case - things could have been different.

Anyhow - if you are security conscious and worried about your data and if profiles are genuine - I suggest trying out Global Penfriends. Keep the conversation inside the club until you can trust them with your personal details.

Sincerely,
Petra

I want to share with the world my insights on Globalpenfriends.com. I came to GPF searching for a international penpal club that can provide me with a safe way to connect with my new friends. I found that the interface although a little dated was easy to use and it just works! Everything works and I was able to register for free, find friends and maintain my friendships through the site. I am not a premium member, i use the site for free and that is my main reason for providing this review - its my chance to give something back to the broader community.

One thing that i found a little quirky was that they even requested a photo of myself holding up a sign to ensure my profile photo was genuine. The admins at GPF go to great lengths to keep the site scammer free and whilst and whilst this can be restrictive - it is nice to be on a nice safe site without any scammers.

I came to to this club looking for friendship and i can honestly say that the friends i found at Global Penfriends are my closest and dearest friends. I even have a snail mail penpal. I wasn't really looking for a snail mail friend but I couldn't say no when i got the offer of an overseas letter from one of my pals. We mix up our communications, but I must admit I do enjoy the snail mail letters!

I hope this information encourages people to join up and start exploring the world of a penpals! You won't regret it!