{"id":16280,"date":"2018-05-21T09:15:18","date_gmt":"2018-05-21T17:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=16280"},"modified":"2022-04-13T12:14:47","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T20:14:47","slug":"ashley-madison-popularity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/ashley-madison-popularity\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Ashley Madison More Popular Than Ever?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an era of big data breaches, the 2015 hack that nearly took down Ashley Madison stood out. The hackers who stole the controversial dating site\u2019s user data weren\u2019t after money. Rather, they wanted to compromise its users in hopes of shutting down the site. <\/span><\/p>\n

While the fallout from the breach resulted in <\/span>millions of dollars in class action settlements<\/span><\/a>, at least according to its VP of Communications, Ashley Madison is more <\/span>popular than ever<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is Ashley Madison?<\/h2>\n

So what is Ashley Madison and why is it so controversial? Well, is not your mother\u2019s dating site; it may be your partner’s, though, and that\u2019s the problem. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ashley Madison\u2019s tagline is brief and to the point: \u201cLife is short. Have an affair.\u201d Its <\/span>homepage<\/span><\/a> features a mysterious woman wearing a wedding ring and gesturing for silence with a finger to her lips. The site emphasizes user privacy and discretion \u2014 blurred user photos, no links to public social media profiles, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To put it more bluntly: Ashley Madison is a dating service aimed at people looking for extramarital relationships. <\/span><\/p>\n

How Many People Are On the Site?<\/h2>\n

Ashley Madison proudly states that they\u2019ve had over 50 million users since their founding in 2001. Although there was <\/span>some debate<\/span><\/a> about the veracity of these numbers, the dating site reported last year that they\u2019re continuing to thrive even in the wake of the much-reported data hack, to the tune of some 400,000 new users every month. <\/span><\/p>\n

While there\u2019s no way to verify these stats, it\u2019s safe to say that married people are still looking for affairs. And Ashley Madison is more than happy to oblige them. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why is Ashley Madison So Popular?<\/h2>\n

Although they say they\u2019re \u201cmore than an affair site,\u201d Ashley Madison markets itself specifically to people in existing relationships. <\/span><\/p>\n

Estimates vary, but studies seem to indicate that at least <\/span>25% of married men will have an extramarital affair at least once in their lifetime<\/span><\/a>. While some men cheat with people they know (female friends, co-workers), others look online for willing partners. It\u2019s not uncommon to meet someone using Tinder or OKCupid only to <\/span>later find out they\u2019re married<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

But using a more traditional dating app to have an affair is risky, as the cheater\u2019s partner can easily <\/span>search their email address<\/span><\/a> using a people search engine. This can pull up incriminating dating profiles or \u201csecret\u201d social media accounts that the cheater is using to connect with people. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ashley Madison, on the other hand, markets itself as a \u201cdiscreet\u201d solution for people looking to conduct their (literal) affairs in absolute secrecy with other like-minded individuals. <\/span><\/p>\n

Is Your Partner on Ashley Madison?<\/h2>\n

Following the 2015 hack of the site, millions of Ashley Madison users were <\/span>exposed to the public<\/span><\/a>, including <\/span>several high-profile celebrity names<\/span><\/a>. T<\/span>he only way to find them on Ashley Madison would be to create an account of your own. Who knows what you may find? <\/span><\/p>\n

If you don’t want to go that route, here are a few things you can do to investigate your mate:<\/span><\/p>\n