Here is the true, factual information about how Whispark and similar sites work. I was fortunate, I defied the odds, and at a cost of about $4000 USD to meet a woman from the site I did meet an amazing woman who has since shared with me the reality of this industry.
Unlike others, I never did have any problems with false credit card charges, but everything on the site is crazy expensive.
This is a situation of one man's experience, with one particular marriage agency in one particular city, but it is quite disturbing but I suspect typical. After months of separation due to covid, we are finally together for a prolonged period and having a wonderful time getting to know each other. We both feel so fortunate.
The women are generally represented by a "Marriage Agency", with whom you will never have direct contact. The women sign a contract that may have more restrictions on meeting a person than those of Whispark. For example, the site allows for asking contact information after exchanging 30 messages, but her agency did not allow her to provide contact information for at least 1 month, and until I spent sufficient money chatting and sharing photos with her. And then, said no contact information until we met.
10% of the money you spend on photos and chatting there go to the ladies, the rest goes to the marriage agency and Whispark. Women have an incentive to chat with anyone and everyone to maximize the extraction of dollars.
Sadly, it is exploiting both the women and the men.
The marriage agency does a photo shot, and photoshops the heck out of photos. They increased her breast size (her A+ breasts are perfect as they are), and told her to lie about her job, lie about her marital history.
When she objected, saying "What if I really meet somebody", they said, "We are creating a legacy for you on the site". At least in my experience though, most of the women would share more real life selfies quickly so you could see more what they were really like.
Some of the women there look like models because they are or have been, which was the case with the woman I met. But her agency told her not to disclose that, they created a fake more "professional" persona, when in reality she has a regular service industry job and modeling was in her past.
I flew to her city last year and had a "Romance Meet" setup for $150. Note you cannot setup a Romance Meet with one person, you blast it out to everybody in the area, and I got multiple responses, but of course only setup one for the response with my new friend.
This was supposed to pay for a translator for 90 minutes, and pay for the dinner. I paid for the dinner, I paid an additional $100 or so for the translator since the date lasted 3 hours, but the translator also acted as a chaperone to insure our physical contact was limited. I thought, what is the business of the translator if I want to kiss her?
My friend also knew enough English to also know that in some cases the translator was NOT accurately conveying what I was saying. The translator encouraged buying the most expensive dishes at the restaurant. I felt like I was more on a date with the translator than with the woman I wanted to meet.
Although I had to provide an IMBRA form before we could me, she never provided an IMBRA form to Whispark or the agency, which actually creates a problem should I ever sponsor her for and Fiancé visa. I would need to provide her IMBRA form on the visa application, tell about the marriage agency and the site, and this is now not possible and I have no information about the marriage agency. Whispark does not even disclose it's physical address, also needed for the visa.
My friend said her agency "is more interested in making money than making happy couples".
After a second date, with the same translator, we did manage to exchange emails and phone numbers, and we went private off the site. However, when she told the marriage agency that she found her match and cancel her profiles, they harassed her, insisted she should stay on the site (and others) to bring in more money for her and the agency.
Fortunately, she is a smart and strong woman and insisted that they deleted her account, which eventually happened months after we went private. They yelled at her. I had to ask multiple times for my account to be deleted.
She did not want me to complain about any of this to Whispark for fear of her safety, she said her marriage agency is associated with the local Mafia. She has changed her address and phone number.
I am sharing this here in a way not linked to my former account I had there and cannot convey this dissatisfaction directly with the site at her request. I suspect there was even an NDA saying she could not disclose the details of how this worked.
We Skyped for months, she learned English very well, and as the time got near for our second time together, she slowly started unwinding the lies, sometimes with lesser lies closer to the truth. She was terrified I would reject her. She has now disclosed everything about her past, her experience on this and similar sites. She is an amazing women, who has gone through so much in her life, and we are very much in love and happy to have found each other … but we defied the odds. We were both full of anxiety before we met for our prolonged time together, I did not know if I could trust her given all the lies, she did not know if I would reject her for the lies. Fortunately I am a mature, open minded, understanding person, and listened to her story, but told her I have no tolerance for any lies moving forward.
Men, it is possible for this to work. Ask them if they would provide contact information after the 30 emails. Tell them you have heard "some women on these sites are just making money and are already in a relationship, is that true?" Tell that if we do meet, and find out that anything you told me was a lie, it is a deal breaker. Take command, don't be a victim.
Setup a Romance Meet as soon as you are able to travel. Hire and bring your own translator as well, that will freak them out (don't tell her about your translator, just show up with a translator). After 90 minutes, tell the other translator, OK, your time is up, goodbye.
Get off the site if you really meet somebody. Ask Whispark and the translator to verify the lady has provided an IMBRA form. Verify the woman has gotten off the site if she says she has chosen you.
Whispark, if you are listening, please have a code of contact with the agencies. Vet them, enforce it. Why do the men provide IMBRA forms but not the women? Why do the agencies encourage the women to lie, to "play" men and stay on the site even when they have found someone? Be clear upfront that after 90 minutes there will be more charges for the translator.
I only give 2 stars because somehow I did meet my wonderful new girlfriend and hopefully future life partner. I am being generous because we are in love.