How AnnaBrides works

1. Look around, with or without an account

The members gallery is open to visitors. You can read a woman's full profile — her photographs, her video introduction if she has recorded one, what she writes about herself and what she is looking for — and you can search by age and city. Nothing here needs an account, and nothing here costs anything.

2. Create a free profile

Registering takes about a minute: a name, an email address and a password, or sign in with Google. We then ask for a photograph and a few honest lines about the life you would like to share. You need an account to write to someone, because she needs to know who she is answering. Which photographs, and what to say in a few lines, is covered in our guide on writing a profile when you are past forty-five.

3. Write a letter

A letter is the site's main unit of conversation. There is no character limit and no timer. Say who you are, say what caught your eye in her profile, and ask her something she can actually answer. Her reply arrives in your mailbox, and both letters stay there, so you can re-read hers before you write again. Sending a letter costs credits — the exact number is on the pricing page — and reading her reply is free. If you are not sure where to start, there is a guide to the kind of first letter that gets an answer.

4. Move to live chat when you are both ready

Live chat is for when letters start to feel slow. It is charged per minute while the conversation is open, and you can see the meter as it runs. Stickers and photographs can be sent inside a chat.

5. See and hear each other on video

Video calls are built into the site: no phone numbers, no other app. A call is charged per minute, messages you type during the call are free, and either side can end it at any moment. We recommend a video call before any plans are made — it answers more questions than a hundred messages, and it is the surest way to know the person you are writing to is the person in the photographs. The video dating page explains how to make the first call go well.

6. Gifts

From the gift window in any conversation you can send her a sticker or a virtual gift. It arrives at once, appears in the conversation and stays on her profile page. Some stickers are free; the rest are paid for with credits like everything else, and a membership level takes a percentage off the price.

What credits are

Credits are the site's single currency. You buy a package once, with a card, through our payment provider; it is charged once. Nothing renews. When the credits run out you can buy more or simply stop — your account, your letters and your contacts stay where they are. Prices, package sizes and the cost of each action are listed on the pricing page.

Who looks after the profiles

A moderator reviews every new women's profile — some before it appears, the rest once it is live — and can take any profile down. A man's account goes live at once. Anyone can report a profile or a message to us. What is checked, and what is not, is spelled out on the profile verification page.