Adult FriendFinder AFF is an internet-based, adult-oriented social networking service , online dating service and swinger personals community website , founded by Andrew Conru in In AFF was one of the most popular sites in the United States; [ 1 ] its competitors include sites such as Match. In , Andrew Conru created the first online dating site, [ 3 ] WebPersonals. After selling that site in , he launched FriendFinder. As a result, Conru started Adult FriendFinder, which he described as "a release valve".
The parent company Various, Inc. A representative of the agency stated that it was "always great to combine a very sexy high octane record with a very sexy brand. On September 17, , parent company FriendFinder Networks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Accessing certain features, such as e-mail , private chat rooms, webcams , blogging , and a web zine , requires paid membership. Adult FriendFinder has an affiliate program, whereby webmasters are compensated for referring users to the site.
Adult FriendFinder has been accused of committing systematic billing fraud. Former employees of the company have claimed that this is their standard policy and not the result of errors. These employees have stated that the majority of customers do not notice the charges for many months. Adult FriendFinder's acquisition by Penthouse was the subject of a lawsuit by Broadstream Capital Partners, a merchant bank that assists with mergers, alleging Penthouse breached a contract by purchasing the company without obtaining Broadstream's consent, a claim Penthouse denies.
In May , Adult FriendFinder was hacked by users associated with the Hell forums, [ 22 ] with the hackers stealing personal information about as many as four million of the site's users.
On November 13, , it was reported that a database of usernames, e-mails, and passwords had been breached and leaked from Adult FriendFinder and other FriendFinder Networks websites. The breach included million Adult FriendFinder user accounts, including account data for 15 million accounts that had supposedly been "deleted". The passwords had either been stored in plain text, or hashed without a salt with the obsolete and insecure SHA-1 hashing algorithm.
