What Is Pernals?

Pernals is the dating app alternative to what posting on Craigslist’s Personals used to be. Couples and single adults can post personal ads to find relationships of any kind. Whether that is a casual dating experience, online sex partners, or serious relationships, the app will have what you need. It also follows FOSTA regulations to help fight against online sex trafficking and keep its members safe.

While it is free to sign up, being able to message others on the Pernals app will come at the cost of a VIP membership. Our Pernals review will go over the exact amount you can expect to pay, as well as the perks included. We discuss how to sign up, the features offered, and so much more. Read along to see if Pernals will be the right mobile dating app for you.

Pros

• Quick and easy signup process

• Uncomplicated subscription prices with no hidden costs 

• The mobile app is available on both iOS and Android devices

Cons

• An active subscription is required to send messages

• Some profiles and ads seem rather sketchy and are clearly fake

• Location settings are too broad resulting in matches from far away

• Expensive membership cost regarding what is being offered

• The app can be glitchy in logging your admirers and slow to load photos

Pernals Login Process

The only way to use the platform is through the Pernals app which can be downloaded from either the Apple Store or Google Play. To make things even easier, you could also go directly to the Pernals website where you’ll find the applicable download links on the homepage. Once you’ve downloaded the app, click ‘Sign Up’ and complete the following sections to create your Pernals account. No steps can be skipped, all are mandatory to continue.

Account:

• Email address

• Nickname (this will be your username)

• Password

Profile:

• Your age

• Your gender (Male / Female / Transgender / Couple) 

• Looking for (Male / Female / Transgender / Couple / All)

• Location (up to the closest major city) 

• Type out an “About Me” section of up to 500 characters 

Avatar:

• Upload a profile photo 

Your initial Pernals login won’t take very long at all. The required sections won’t take more than a minute or two to complete (depending on how long you decide to choose the perfect selfie of course). The photo verification on your profile also only takes a few seconds and then you’ll be on your way to posting your own personals and having some fun.

Profile Completion

Yay, you’ve made an account. But now it’s time to fill out your Pernals profile to attract only the right people to make contact with you. If you want to find love you don’t want to attract only the booty call type of people after all. And vice versa.

To add more to your profile, simply click on the three lines in the top left corner of the screen, then click on your nickname. Now click on the three dots on the top right corner of the screen and select either ‘Edit Gallery’ to add more photos to your gallery or ‘Edit Profile’ to add the following information:

• Height

• Level of education 

• Relationship status

• Ethnicity

Everything else that you’ve provided during sign-up will already be specified on your profile and can be edited at any time. You might however find that your initial “About Me” text did not save properly, so this might have to be filled in one more time.

User Account Quality

Thanks to the fact that all the steps of the login process are mandatory, you will never find any empty profiles on Pernals. Everyone will at least have a profile picture and the majority of profiles have added photos to their gallery as well. That being said, there are many profiles that are clearly fake as they use the images of pornstars. Whether these are scammers or simply women who are too shy to show themselves is unclear. 

While there is no matchmaking algorithm per se, the site does allow members to set their search parameters based on age, gender, and location. Because the location settings are not very extensive, allowing you only to select major cities, you are not very likely to always find someone close by.

Pernals Dating Features

Posting Personal Ads

Posting ads is what the Pernals app is all about. This key feature is just like how you used to be able to do on Craigslist to either post what you are looking for or browse through ads to find someone compatible. Each ad will require an eye-catching title and a description of what you are after. Ads are also location-specific allowing you to choose in which city it will be posted so only people in your selected area will see your ad.

An ad will also have a category, these can be selected from any of the following:

• Strictly Platonic

• Women Seek Women

• Women Seek Men

• Men Seek Women 

• Men Seek Men

• Misc Romance

• Casual Encounters

• TS/TV/TG Seek TS/TV/TG

• Couple/Group Seek Couple/Group

While you are browsing through posts on the Ads Page you can filter ads based on their location and category to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

Admirers

Catching someone's attention is one thing, but knowing whose attention you’ve caught is even more important. While browsing through users on the Members page or scrolling your local ads, you can click on the heart icon on someone’s profile to admire them.

On your Admirers page, you will then be able to see who has admired you, who you admired, and for whom the admiration was a mutual feeling. You will also see who has viewed your profile. From here you can message interested users and let the fun begin. Being able to see who has viewed or admired your profile is a premium feature that is only available for VIP members.

Search Bar

The Search bars on Pernals might not be all that in-depth, but this feature is your best chance at finding what you are looking for on the app. There are two different search bars available. One for filtering members and the other for filtering through ads.

A member search can be done by age range, gender, location, and whether they have photos. Seeing “photos only” members is however reserved for users with an active VIP subscription. This filters out anyone who doesn’t have gallery photos uploaded. The ads search bar will let you filter based on location and ad category. You can also favorite ads by clicking on the star icon to add them to your favorite list for later.

Prices & Costs

Pernals is primarily a subscription-based platform. While it is free to sign up to, browse through ads or members, post ads, and admire profiles, it requires an active VIP membership for its users to communicate with each other. VIP members are easily identifiable on the app, their profile and posted ads will have a purple border and a crown in the top-right corner.

The VIP membership has three subscription options based on duration. Committing to a longer subscription period will work out much cheaper per month. Each subscription will automatically renew as soon as its respective time has expired and requires 24-hour notice before its expiration if you wish to cancel it.

Subscription Cost

Perks Of A VIP Membership

• Use an advanced search filter (search people with photos only)

• Chat with anyone you like (limitless messaging)

• Stand out from others with a unique VIP crown on your avatar, profile, and ads

• See who viewed your profile

• See your Admirers

How Safe Is Pernals.com?

Fake Profiles

It’s quite normal for people who have kinky sex in mind to lower their guard and be more vulnerable, and that’s exactly why it’s always advised to think first with the head that’s attached to your neck. This vulnerability that occurs when all the blood rushes downstairs is what scammers and people who catfish love to take advantage of. If you can think of how notoriously dodgy Craigslist has been known to be, you’ll understand why a ‘Craigslist alternative’ should warrant some caution from you on this matter as well.

The dating site Pernals is admittedly a great platform to post dating personals to find love or hookups, or whatever it is you desire. The environment that it creates, however, just naturally attracts those with less than virtuous motives. Some profiles that we came across were very clearly fake. These are easily identified by how quickly they ‘fall in love’ or want you to chat with them somewhere else (and this is their very first message to you). Some are quite brash and have photos of pornstars as their profile pics. Sometimes things really are just too good to be true.

Use of Personal Information

According to the Privacy Policy of the app, which is only available to read on the Pernals.com website, Pernals will only collect the most necessary information about its users. This includes the information you give when you create an account, complete your profile, contact customer care, or any chats with other members. Other information that is collected includes your app usage and device information which can be gained directly through your device or via online cookies.

User information will never be sold or used for marketing purposes and is only used for the following reasons:

• To administer a member’s account and provide the app’s services

• To ensure an experience that remains consistent across all your devices

• To improve their services and to help develop new ones

• To protect members’ information 

Online Security

Pernals reassures its users that their privacy is a top priority of the platform. As per the site’s Privacy Policy, they “take steps to secure your information”. Unfortunately, they don’t go into any detail as to what these steps might be besides monitoring their systems for possible vulnerabilities.

Where the Pernals app really shines with regards to online security, is the fact that (according to their terms of service) they may conduct criminal background checks. Not only that, but they may also do other screenings (which include sex offender registry searches) using available public records to help keep unfavorable people off the app. This is far more than what most other dating sites can claim to do for their users.

Final Thoughts

The Pernals app is all about posting personal ads to find open minded people who are into the same as you. But that’s as far as its noteworthy features go. With a lack of any matchmaking algorithm (besides the very basic search filters that are available), most of your time will be spent scrolling through profiles or ads in search of a match. And you’ll need to subscribe if you find someone worth chatting to because messages are not free here.

The platform is pretty much the marmite of dating sites. You will either love it or hate it. Having such a simplistic design and practically only one worthwhile feature (posting dating ads) will equally attract some as it will repel others. You could find what you're looking for just as well on any other dating site, but at the end of the day, it’s all about taste. And some people enjoy doing things the old school way - the Pernals way.

So in the end, Pernals might not be for everyone. It lacks some of the matchmaking skills and polished prowess that most people have come to love about modern dating sites. But if you are a big fan of posting Craigslist personals and need a new platform to get your fix, then the Pernals app will definitely be a good alternative for you. The fact that they do background checks on users is a big plus point to at least help keep the “dodgy red flag” level of the members to a minimum. So is this the site for you? And what will your next Peranls ad say? We’ll leave that for you to answer…

FAQ

What Is Pernals?

Pernals is an alternative app to Craigslist Personals. The dating platform allows open minded individuals to create a profile and post ads to help them find anything from a casual hookup to true love in their local area or abroad.

Is Pernals Any Good With Matching Like-Minded People?

The Pernals app bases its matches on the information you’ve provided as your search preferences. Therefore, the profiles that you are shown will always match your selected criteria.

Are The Women On Pernals Real?

Yes and no. Unfortunately, no dating site will ever be completely free of the odd scammer or catfisher. While there definitely are real women on the app, it’s always good to follow your gut and rather tread carefully online.

Pernals Is It Safe To Use?

Pernals is as safe as most other dating sites that implement online security measures. While the app is still relatively new, there have not been any hacks or safety breaches to speak of. It’s still advisable to take care while online and follow basic online dating safety measures.

How Much Does Pernals Price Its Premium Membership?

Pernals offers 3 subscription options for its VIP membership:

• 1 Month VIP: $14.99 ($14.99 per month)

• 3 Months VIP: $34.99 ($11.66 per month)

• 6 Months VIP: $59.99 ($9.99 per month)

Is The Pernals App Really Such A Good Craigslist Personals Alternative?

Definitely, and multiple other dating reviews online will also agree. After all, it was created for that exact purpose by its co-founder Alesandra Madison in 2018.

How To Use The APK Download For Android To Get The Pernals App?

It is no longer required to use an APK to get the Pernals app on your Android device. The app is now available directly from the Google Play store. Alternatively, you can simply head to pernals.com and click on the appropriate download link.

How To Delete A Pernals Account?