Zoosk in Review

• Sign up with Zoosk using your Facebook or Google account. If you do not wish to use these accounts, you can sign up with another type of email as well. 
• Fill out your basic information (body type, ethnicity, number of children, smoking status, etc.)
• Upload a profile picture to the site. 
• It's exceptionally easy to create a profile on Zoosk. All you need to do is upload a photo and take 2 minutes to fill out basic information about yourself. 
• It takes as little at 10 to 15 minutes to fill out your entire profile, if you choose to do so. 
• Although Zoosk does not offer any personality tests like other sites, they do give you an option to include your interests on your profile. Such interests include favorite type of music, movies, etc. on your profile. 
• Other members only have access to the most basic information about you. Such basic information includes smoking status, education level, religion, ethnicity, body type, etc. 
• Members can see whether you have received digital gifts like flowers, teddy bears, or jewelry from other users.  
• Members can see whether your photos, Facebook and phone number have been verified by Zoosk. 
• You can choose to provide a brief life story so that members can learn more about you. 
• You can choose to include information about your perfect match and your ideal date. 

Pictures

• You can upload up to 6 photos to your profile. 
• Zoosk has moderators that view short videos of members and verify that their photos like them. 

Contact options

Free search

You can search through members using a free search option. Doing a free search will enable you to browse through members at random. Member activity levels are displayed on each profile photo. You can send winks to other members for free. Paid members can send messages and digital gifts to other members through a free search. The free search option is pretty effective, allowing you to narrow down potential matches substantially. You can choose to do an advanced search, which allows you to narrow people down by relationship status, age, height, body type, smoking status, religion, etc. Search options can be saved. 

Automatic contact proposals

Zoosk has a "connections" feature which gives you the option to accept or reject potential matches who have shown an interest in you. It's possible to have 30+ connections at time. 

Zoosk recommends exceptional matches using its SmartPick™ algorithm based on your interests and behavior on the site. 

Facilitation of contact

• The majority of profile photos are visible. 
• Zoosk offers Carousel, a game used to facilitate contact among members. Carousel learns your likes and dislikes and makes recommendations for matches based on your behavior. 
• Zoosk enables you to send out standardized flirty messages called Mega Flirts to many people at once. 
• You are notified when non-invisible members view your profile and message you. 

Conditions of contact

• It is not possible to contact or chat with members unless you have a paid membership. 
• You can send digital gifts to members using Zoosk coins. 
• You can wink at anyone without a paid membership. 
• Communication with other members consists mostly of flirtation and small talk. This is typical with many dating sites.  

Experience contacting other members 

Contacting other members on Zoosk is simple and easy. If you're a free member, you can only send winks to other members to get their attention. If you're a paying member, all you have to is go to a given member's profile and start chatting!  You can also choose to get notified via e-mail or SMS whenever you get a chat, decreasing the likelihood of a missed connection. If you'd rather use Zoosk on your mobile device, you're in luck- Zoosk is available on both Android and iOS!  However, video chats are not available on Zoosk. If you do not wish to talk to someone who has started a conversation with you, you can either remove their ability to chat with you or you can block them. When viewing a member's profile, you can choose to add them as a "connection." Adding someone as a connection will let him or her know you’re interested and want to talk. Anytime you wink or send a message to someone and they respond back, they automatically become a connection.  The best ways to get someone's attention on Zoosk and chat with them is through the direct texting chat function or by adding them as a connection. 

Overall, the quality of the profiles on Zoosk is good. It's easy to get the gist of a member's personality and looks and most profiles are verified. Most member profiles are straightforward and somewhat complete, making it easy to learn about and cruise through potential matches quickly. When looking at a profile, Zoosk will let you know if the member has recently been online or is currently online. It's possible to get real dates, especially if you chat with people and get to know them first. 

Safety and Privacy 

Although some members have complained about "fake profiles," we have not found any. Most profiles are verified by Zoosk moderators using the member's Facebook or Twitter account or their phone number. If you see a fake profile, you can report it to Zoosk. To report abuse and block a member on a computer, first visit the profile of the person you’d like to report or block. Next, click on the grey arrow located next to the member’s display name. Then, select Report/Block. Although you do have the option to report or block members, Zoosk does not take responsibility for routinely screening members, inquiring into the background of members, attempting to verify information provided by members, or conducting criminal screenings of members. 

Although quoted as monthly fees, all paid memberships to Zoosk are charged as a once off payment up front.

Zoosk operates using Zoosk coins. You can use coins to unlock Carousel matches, boost your profile, get delivery confirmations on messages, send special pop-up deliveries, etc. You can earn Zoosk coins for free by watching video advertisements or taking surveys.

Both free members and paid subscribers can purchase Zoosk coins to unlock and access premium features that help them promote themselves and stand out beyond what a subscription provides.