July 21, 2024 Update: Fairytrail has been redesigned as an adventure buddy matching app. Fairytrail can be used 100% for free to make connections and chat– simply, use the explore tab to send connect requests and match.
After exceeding certain usage and safety limits, you may be prompted to verify. Entrance fee has been rebranded as verification because verification is more standard across social media (e.g. Twitter, Instagram, Tinder, LinkedIn).
Payment is one of the ways to verify accounts. We tried introducing verify with friends and other methods but Apple has made us remove those methods. We are exploring other ways to have people verify their profiles. If you need assistance with verification, contact us here.
Why a dating app has an entrance fee and the story behind it.
Step into Fairytrail and you’ll soon meet a park ranger …
On Fairytrail, all users are asked to pay a one-time entrance fee after a certain level of usage. Luckily, the entrance fee is only $2.99.
Our app is similar to a virtual national park. You come here to explore and meet awesome people from around the world. We work hard to bring you great people, keep the place running, and provide customer service. Once you buy a ticket to enter, you’re in and can stay as long as you like.
However, we also made the app to be 100% for free for anyone who can’t afford to pay and is sincere. Wholesomeness is at the heart of Fairytrail.
My family was very poor when we first moved to the USA from China. We couldn’t afford much. I wore donated clothes until grade 4 (one of which said Jennifer on it– my name is Taige). My mom worked 3 jobs and the food bank helped make ends meet. I am forever grateful for the kindness in people. One of my favorite childhood memories was attending summer camp– it’s hard to describe how amazing it was to sleep in a cabin, go canoeing, collect the daily ration from the tuck shop, sing by the campfire, and form the purest of friendships. It was all possible because of kind sponsors from the local church.
My life has been enriched by kind people. And as much as possible, I’d like to pass that on. We’re all in this world together. Although sometimes we can only see our own hardships, everyone has hardships. We can intentionally choose to be good to each other and make the world a friendlier place.
If you are not in a position to pay the entrance fee, reply to the welcome email and I will verify you manually to grant you free access. I will do my best to reply to you within 5-7 days.
If you are experiencing technical payment issues, you can pay with credit card here or pay with Paypal here . Also, let us know the email you signed up with. We will manually find you in our system and upgrade you. UPDATE: Quite some people are emailing me about how to pay entrance and support the app after getting verified manually for free and using the app for a while. There isn’t a way, but you can use the Paypal link above to send a donation.
…
If you’re interested in why we have an entrance fee, here’s the story …
Like many world wonders and national parks, Fairytrail started off free. Anyone could come in, explore, and enjoy. However, when we got to over 3,000 users, scammers started flooding into our world.
Even with 3 levels of fraud detection (we’re up to 7 now), it created heavy load for us and almost every day we received emails from people stating they had interacted with scammers. Some had been led on for weeks. Some felt violated. Some completely gave up on dating. They were heartbreaking emails.
Here are some emails with identifying information redacted that marked the arrival of scammers.
After reading many emails like these, we knew we had to fight back.
So we did what most dating apps won’t do– put up a paywall to fight scammers. Scammers would pay $3 and get disabled the next day (it takes some time for our fraud detection mechanisms to work). It was pretty cool to fight back and take money from scammers.
Soon, we saw a massive reduction in scam accounts being created. Emails like the ones above stopped coming in altogether.
We now have over 99.99% real users (based on fake/bad user reported and internal audits).
But it had a big cost for us too.
When we did this, it reduced our growth rate.
Not all real users want to pay. After all, there are free dating apps out there such as Tinder and Bumble. Some people didn’t trust us. Some people weren’t serious about dating. Some couldn’t afford it.
We were considering other verification systems such as phone number verification when we realized the paywall actually created a much better user experience. Perhaps people would want a dating app that has higher quality, more intentional people.
The truth is a dating app’s greatest asset is its users. A party is great because of the people at the party, and a dating app is great because of its users.
Here’s what we noticed:
1. People saved time and had a better experience.
Although we saw fewer users, we saw higher quality users. Since users paid $3, it meant they valued meeting someone (money talks). They completed their profiles. They intended to meet in person.
Users were wasting less time looking at low quality profiles. By cutting out just 10 low quality profiles, we can save a total of 56 hours for our users.
This created a better overall experience— less time spent swiping per match.
One of my philosophies is life is precious so I hate wasting time. (That’s why we do everything we can to get people on life changing adventures as quickly as possible– things like not showing people who already skipped you, who aren’t active, who have incompatible preferences, etc.)
2. It fostered a respectful, caring culture.
When people paid for something, they valued it more. In Yellowstone National Park, tour guides used to give water away for free. Guess what happened? People wasted it and littered. So tour guides tried charging just 50 cents and people stopped leaving half empty bottles all over the place. Suddenly, people cared.
Tour guides were able to help people change their mindset and behavior to care by charging a nominal amount.
To end toxic dating culture, we can’t think of people as free anymore. And we won’t because we paid a price.
3. It provided a premium experience and choice for consumers.
It feels good to spend money on yourself so you can have a premium experience. It feels great to be in the company of quality people.
Almost all dating apps are free, so there’s very little choice for consumers who want quality over quantity.
Now for the first time, there is a premium dating app so you can meet quality people. And the interesting thing is women are just as willing to pay as men.
Conclusion
Fairytrail is a place for people who are sincere in their quest for love and adventure. 99% of our active users pay the entrance fee and about 1% opt for the manual verification. It currently takes me 2.5 minutes to manually verify each user, so it does take several days for me to get to people. Thank you for your patience if you are opting for manual verification. I read each of my hundreds of daily emails, so no need to follow up unless it’s been a couple weeks.
I don’t believe the battle with scammers is over. They will constantly think of new ways to infiltrate our world and we will continue to fight them. For now, the entrance fee is working both in terms of keeping scammers out by draining their wallets and attracting sincere, quality people.
I care about everyone on Fairytrail and Campfire (our non-dating, social group). It’s a pleasure and honor to build this community together. Please continue to report bad actors and send me feedback, so we can improve your favorite dating and travel matching app. Our app is great because of its people, so thank you for making Fairytrail such a beautiful and kind place.
Refunds
We have a money back guarantee (terms). Android users can request a refund here. iOS users can request a refund here.
Sincerely,
Taige & the fairy dream team
Hello. I am sorry to say I don’t have a visa credit card recently, but if possible I can pay the fees by wechat or Alipay, thank you
Yes, it’s possible to pay via other methods. Here’s our paypal address where you can send the $3.
https://paypal.me/fairytrail
Also, let us know the email you signed up with. We will manually find you in our system and upgrade you.
Can i have free access please
Hey Rubes! Yes, happy to verify you manually. Thanks so much for your email and positivity on Campfire btw. Sorry for the delay– it does take up to a week for me to get to people. I appreciate the patience.
Could i get a free access please?
Awesome
It’s a very commendable job that you guys are doing to run this beautiful Meetup site. I’m so glad I’m here, unfortunately I can’t pay for the subscription you guys are asking for is their anyway you can give me a free pass ??
I’m into Graphic Designing and Conceptualizing so if you want I can help you with that in return. ??
Thanks for offering to help! Get in touch with us at team@fairytrail.app 🙂
Subscriptions are completely optional. You can use the app without a subscription. Apologies for any misunderstanding.
Regarding the entrance fee– if you read the article above, it provides info on how to manually verify for free access and why I am doing it.
Taige
How do I get it for free?
It says in the article. First section!
How do I get it free
It says in the first section!
Hello! I paid and it is showing up on my bank statement, but the ap keeps asking me to pay again. What can I do?
Thanks!
Hi Deana, we’re sorry for that unpleasant experience. Is the app asking you to pay the entrance fee or for additional adventures? We had some users getting those two things mixed up.
If it’s for the entrance fee– can you please email us at team@fairytrail.app with a screenshot of the receipt, your phone model, and OS version? We’ll get this resolved for you and fix any possible bugs on our side.
If it’s for additional adventures– we give you 5 adventures for free. If you choose more, it’s $2 each. This is 100% optional, no need to buy extra adventures.
I paid the amount to be verified and yet it asks me to pay again. Can you please check?
Hi Anshuman, thanks for emailing us at team@fairytrail.app. Looks like the payment was rejected by your bank. Feel free to use another credit card or Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/fairytrail)
May I have free access please. Thank you.
Yes! Just reply to the welcome email and ask to be verified manually. (You read the article above right? It says in the first section.)
I got a personal invitation from digital nomads. Please check my name for free pass 😉
Hello!! This app is amazing and very nice ppl on it.
May I request the free access pls?
Amy
Yes, definitely! You can reply to the welcome email and request manual verification.
May I request the free access please? I don’t have money
Hi Fairytrail Team,
This is actually my first time on an app to meet people. Not sure if this is really my thing. Could you please verify me without payment.
Thank you
Yes! Just follow the instructions above (in the first section).
Hey there!
Thank you for a wholesome and fun app.
May I please request manual verification?
Yes! Just follow the instructions above (in the first section).
Hi, it’s embarrassing but I need the free manual verify. Sorry..and so glad you don’t exclude struggling individuals. I won’t always be this broke.. positive thoughts and energy right!
No worries at all. This is what the program is designed for. Please don’t feel embarrassed. We want great people in our community! People have changed my life and I hope through this app, you’ll meet people who can change yours. My first job. My first love. My spirit for adventure. They were all because I met someone. Just follow instructions to verify manually above in the first section.
I paid bit everytime I go on it it takes me to the pay here thing again, I have sent a receipt to show it was paid 2 days ago but still the same, not a good start!
We’re sorry for any possible bugs. We’ll work through any issues together but it may take some time. Our customer service SLA is 3-4 business days. See this: https://www.fairytrail.app/support.html
Team @Fairytrail, kindly allow me for free. Thank You to entire team for making this app a great app. Appreciate it
You’ve been approved. You’re super kind for offering to volunteer at Fairytrail. We will be in touch!
Hello I’m just writing to let you know that I do not have the $3 you are asking for, is it okay with you if I can get started on this app even tho I haven’t paid?
Yes, just follow the instructions for manual verification (described in first section of this post). Make sure your profile is high quality (e.g. good photos that show your face, filled out answers), otherwise you won’t be be verified.
Please I need the free verification for now, i lost my MasterCard I will pay as soon as I get a new MasterCard.thanks in advance
This sounds scammy as heck, but yeah follow the verification instructions.
Hello,
I’m noticing that many users are having issues after paying the fee. I’m not quiet sure to use a credit card to pay for something or an app that have bugs..etc
Thanks
How are you noticing that? We’re working to fix bugs and we apologize for any glitches. If you experience any bugs before or after payment, just reach out and we’ll help you resolve it– even if it requires a manual workaround. Our email is team@fairytrail.app
Okay then so how do you pay? Where is the link? So IF I get rejected by Campfire does it mean that I get rejected by Fairytrail or the App itself.
What about being overcharged? What do you do about that?
How are you sure that the people who do not pay are not really “quality matches” or won’t complete their profiles fully or completely?? What you know each of them personally to make such judgment or assessment ??
Why do I have to talk about “my culture” or be treated as some kind of cultural experiment or cultural “meat” on Campfire ??? What is this? Is it so that Westerners can get their “tourist on” Because my homeland is not just some tourist destination. Thank you.
Why does the Explore Owl (whether it be a fishing or night owl) have the unmitigated gall to send me matches above my age bracket and then tell me “look at what I’ve found” Oh brother. That Owl needs a new hobby or aspire to be a better Owl.
You’ll be asked to pay entrance after some usage or you can go to the ‘Shop’ to subscribe to a pro tier which includes entrance!
Campfire is our free social community on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/campfirebyfairytrail
They’re independent but some people have been banned from both due to malicious acts. A few bad people will hurt a lot of good people, so we’re very careful.
It’s just what we’ve found through our data.
You don’t need to share something about your culture. It’s just a good icebreaker as most people who travel love to learn things about different cultures.
Haha, you can set your age preferences in settings. We don’t have the ability for you to limit which people can see you by age yet, but we’ll get to working on that soon.
Please email team@fairytrail.app if you have any suggestions or feedback. We’re always looking to improve!
Can I be verified manually?
Hi,
I simply do not believe that the three profiles I was shown before being asked to pay was anything but bait to make me think about what I’d be missing were I not to pay. Knowing the value of that, it’s not a massive leap to suppose they’re fake profiles, an idea i resent.
You can see unlimited profiles for free actually. You have a limited number of admires though Re: fake profiles, I don’t know what to say. The goal of this app is to get you on adventures with someone you like, we monetize on that. It doesn’t really make sense to have fake profiles as you can’t travel with a fake profile.
If you’d like to truly see how we operate, you can join our team! Here’s our open jobs: https://angel.co/company/fairytrail/jobs
Could i get a free access please?
Yes, just follow the instructions for manual verification (described in first section of this post). Make sure your profile is high quality (e.g. good photos that show your face, filled out answers), otherwise you won’t be be verified.