What Is TG Personals?
TG Personals is a completely free online dating platform that has been catering to the trans dating community since its inception in 1999. TGPersonals.com wants to provide a safe space where trans people can find friends online, build lasting romances, and enjoy casual relationships without having to fork up money for the right to do so.
But what can a free site really offer regarding dating features and online safety? That’s what we intend to discuss in this review. We go into depth about the good, the bad, and everything else in between. So, if a trans-positive dating site is what you are looking for, then read along to see if TG Personals will be the website for you.
Pros
The dating site is 100% free to use with no hidden costs
A very inclusive and open-minded user base of trans and allied daters
Registration is easy and completely optional (you can browse through profiles before deciding to sign up)
Cons
There do not seem to be many active members outside of major cities
The site does not perform any user verification (besides authenticating a member’s email address)
The platform feels rather outdated and would benefit from being modernized even slightly
The ‘Live Cams’ and ‘TS Local Dating’ features will merely redirect users to completely different (not free-to-use) trans dating sites
TG Personal Login Process
It’s not required for anyone to register an account to start browsing through profiles on the dating site. The TGPersonals.com homepage is its ‘Profile Search’ page from where you can select specific parameters to find who you are looking for right away.
If you do want to create a TGPersonals account, start by clicking ‘Register’ underneath the Login section which is on the right-hand side of the screen. There’s only one form to fill in and it won’t take much time at all. You’ll be asked to provide the following information:
A display name (what you would like to be called in communications with TG Personals)
Email address
Username for your profile
Password
Short headline for your profile to catch attention
A longer ‘About Me’ description
Date of birth
Your gender (Cis Man / Cis Woman / Trans Man / Trans Woman / Non Binary)
The gender(s) you are interested in
What you are looking for (Friendship / Love / Sex / Roommates)
Zip Code (non-US citizens can leave this blank)
City (an optional step)
State / Nation (US citizens are asked to give their state while other members only need to provide their country)
After filling in the TG Personal Login form, you will be sent a confirmation link via the email address provided. You’ll need to click on this link to continue. The site will then prompt you to upload a profile photo, but this can be skipped if you prefer to keep it blank and stay anonymous.
Profile Completion
Your TGPersonal profile has three sections, “Basics”, “My Details”, and “My Match’s Details”. Your Basics section is everything that you provided during your login, and this part will already be filled in. All that’s left is to select who can view this part of your profile information. You can make it private or public or only allow friends or logged-in users to view you.
The other two profile sections will be completely empty and can be filled in by providing the following information:
My Details
Personality*
Whether you want kids
If you have kids
Favorite Books*
Weight
Height
Politics*
Smoking habits
Work*
Favorite Places*
If you would relocate
Web Site*
Favorite Music*
Religion*
Ethnicity*
Income
Favorite Things*
Interests*
Drinking habits
Favorite TV Shows*
Favorite Movies*
Keywords*
Select who can view this section of your profile (Private / Friends / Logged in users / Public)
My Match’s Details
Select whether only matches can message you
Select whether matches should live in your state/nation
About my match*
Minimum age
Maximum age
Maximum distance
Select who can view this section of your profile (Private / Friends / Logged in users / Public)
*These portions of the forms merely have blank text boxes where you can type out your answer for each question in your own words.
There are no revolutionary profile sections on TG Personals. It almost feels a bit disjointed how questions that are similar are found on opposite ends of the form that you fill in to edit your profile. Some people might even feel willing to pay a small fee to use the site if they actually put a bit more effort into the overall design. It really could do with an update to stay more relevant.
User Account Quality
Profiles on TGPersonals will only display the most basic information about a user. There is honestly not much detail on a profile, but everything that you entered into the login form will show for others to see. Apart from a user’s profile photo, ‘About me’, and their headline, there is not much to attract other members to make contact.
Profiles will also have the user’s blog entries that they’ve posted, their photo albums, and their TGPersonal activity (who they befriended, etc.). While profile photos are visible for anyone to see, not everyone will have one uploaded. There are quite a few blank profiles. The available search parameters do, however, let you filter out any blank profiles from showing up.
Dating Features
TGPersonals Activity
TGPersonals gives you two ways to check what others are getting up to. By going to the Dashboard you can see all the recent activity of profiles the platform considers your matches. You can also see the recent activity of all members by navigating to and browsing through the Activity page. Here you can see who is active with uploading photos and making friends with other users.
Blogs
By far the most useful feature on TGPersonals is its Blog. The Blog page allows members to post about wherever they like. Other members on the site can then comment and start up a conversation if they wish. It’s also used by members as a forum to discuss various topics, almost like the Reddit of the transgender dating world (just with far fewer users on it).
Matches
TG Personal Matches lets you scroll through a selection of profiles to find your next crush. Very similar to Tinder, you’ll see one profile photo at a time and either choose to skip to the next profile or add that user as a crush. You can also report the user or click on their photo to view their full profile. Only profiles based on your search parameters will be shown so you can toggle this to see more or fewer people.
Anyone whom you added as a crush, as well as anyone who mutually added you as theirs, will show up on your Crushes page. This is an easy and fun way to simultaneously find someone you like and to see who likes you back.
Members and Photo Albums
TGPersonals makes browsing even easier by letting users browse through not only all members who have joined but also all the photos that have been uploaded to the site. You can choose to see a list of all the members, or simply to view the most popular, the newest, or those online now. The list of profiles will show their profile photo and a summarized version of their profile and what they are looking for.
Browsing through uploaded photos you will only have the option to see everyone’s photos, your own, or just what your friends have uploaded. The name of the photo will also show to others, so be sure to change it to something fun if you want to stand out and not just have it be random numbers like most have.
Search
TG Personal members get to specify what they are looking for in a match during their initial registration and on their profile. These parameters will already be set on your search page and will be what the site prioritizes as you browse. These can be altered however you like, but there are a few extra specifications that can be made on the search page to help you find exactly what you are looking for.
Parameters set during registration or on profile setup (can be edited):
Your gender
Gender(s) you are interested in
Minimum age
Maximum age
Type of relationship you are looking for
Parameters only on the search page:
Their location (state/nation)
Distance from specified zip code
Has pictures
Sort profiles either by newest members or last online
Search by keywords
Prices & Costs
TG Personals is a completely free dating site that will never charge its users for anything. There is no premium membership and absolutely no hidden costs at all to worry about. The site does, however, display banner ads which is how they are able to pay for hosting the website.
You might think that it means the site must be inundated with ads all over the place. But that’s not the case! You will never feel like there are too many ads on any one page. They are never in your face nor will they make you feel like their presence is negatively affecting your online dating experience. It’s actually worth the trade-off to have 100% free use of the trans dating platform.
How Safe Is TG Personals?
Romance Scammers
Unfortunately, any free dating site is an easy target for scam artists who use the site to send free messages to unsuspecting victims. TG Personals provides a few good tips on how to spot romance scammers before it’s too late. It is also possible to block and report anyone that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Third Party Involvement
With such a basic platform (which lacks the usual payment portal) there are not a lot of third parties actively involved in its operations. The platform does however contain links to third party sites in the form of banner ads and also the “Live Cams” and “TS Local Dating” features. The site’s privacy policy states that they will only ever share non-identifiable information with a third party.
Final Thoughts
While TG Personals might not have an elegant design or boast all the bells and whistles that most modern-day dating sites do, it may still be a good platform for someone interested in matching with a trans woman in their area. Seeing how everyone gets free use of the site with no hidden costs to speak of is definitely its biggest plus point.
To get the best out of the site, members will have to be active to be noticed. This includes adding photos, writing and commenting on blogs, and adding other members as crushes. The dating site’s easy-to-use navigation bar is where you’ll find all the necessary features at your fingertips.
It’s always a bit risky to surf free dating sites online, so you’ll have to be extra careful to steer clear of romance scammers here. Other sites might be better as far as safety, member activity, and available features go. But in the end, it is entirely up to you to decide if you’d rather pay the monthly fee of other trans dating sites, or if you’d prefer to connect with trans women for free on TG Personals.
FAQ
How Much Does TG Personals Cost To Use?
The trans dating platform has always been, and will always be, completely free to use. Some features will, however, redirect members to other websites that require a premium membership package that comes at a monthly fee to use. But TGPersonals.com itself will always be 100% free.
How Does TGPersonals Make Money If It’s All Free?
TGPersonals is not a site that aims to generate revenue. They merely display a few banner ads on the platform to be able to pay for the hosting fees.
What Do MTF And FTM Stand For?
These acronyms identify transgender individuals who have had gender reassignment surgeries. An MTF (Male To Female) person is someone designated male at birth, but who has transitioned to female. An FTM (Female To Male) is a woman who has transitioned to be a man.
How Do I Delete My TGPersonal Account Permanently?
Log in to your TG Personal account. Open the navigation bar and click on “Settings”. Choose the “Delete your account and content” option and optionally provide a reason. Finally, click the “Delete account” button and select “OK” to confirm.
