Illicit Encounters and Dating Affairs share a purpose: helping adults who are already in a relationship, or who want someone who is, to meet without drawing attention. Where they part company is in geography, in how memberships are packaged and in when you can reach a person for help.
The Illicit Encounters details below come from its homepage, its help pages and its stay-safe guide, all read on October 28, 2026. Its new-account form offers a choice of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, and its about page says it has operated since 2004. Dating Affairs lists prices in US dollars, Canadian dollars, pounds, euros and Australian dollars, and wherever you live, members must be 18 or over (21 in some US states).
How the two line up
| Area | Dating Affairs | Illicit Encounters, read October 28, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Time-based VIP and VIP Plus plans lasting 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or 12 months | Gold for 4 weeks, or Gold Plus for 4 or 8 weeks |
| Discretion tools | Private messaging, photo access you grant, adjustable profile visibility, discreet billing | Anonymous profiles, discretion over how card payments appear, encrypted email and messages, Invisible Mode and Holiday Mode on Gold Plus |
| Verification | Optional identity verification | Manual reading of profiles, profile updates and emails by staff, according to its help page |
| Support | Live help every hour of every day by chat and messages | Helpdesk listed from 9am to 10pm daily, plus email and a contact form |
| Where it operates | Prices in 16 currencies, with country pages for the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Australia | The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland |
| Suits | Adults anywhere in those countries who want short or long plans and help at any hour | Adults in the UK or Ireland who want a long-standing local affair site with Gold Plus tools |
Membership and what it costs
Illicit Encounters publishes its prices in its help section. On October 28, 2026, Gold was listed at £139.99 for 4 weeks, and Gold Plus at £169.99 for 4 weeks or £199.99 for 8 weeks. Its help page says male members need Gold or Gold Plus to read and send messages. Refund requests go to its support email within 7 days of purchase, and the page notes that a full refund may not be possible once you have used the service.
Gold Plus layers more tools over Gold, among them Holiday Mode, which suspends your profile for up to 3 weeks, Invisible Mode, which hides you from searches, auto-responders and prepared replies, a custom panic button and live alerts, for instance when a message has been read, which are not available on smartphones or tablets.
Dating Affairs works on time-based plans. In pounds, VIP is £14.99 for 1 week, £29.96 for 1 month, £64.16 for 3 months, £102.60 for 6 months and £155.91 for 12 months. VIP Plus is £15.99 for 1 week, £34.24 for 1 month, £77.01 for 3 months, £128.31 for 6 months and £208.05 for 12 months. In US dollars, VIP starts at $19.99 for 1 week. The pricing page covers every currency and what each tier includes.
The practical gap is plan length. The 1-week option suits a first look, while the 6-month and 12-month plans suit anyone who expects a longer arrangement.
Keeping the affair private
Illicit Encounters' stay-safe guide gives six steps. It recommends a brand-new email address, a username you have not used elsewhere and a password that is unique to the site. It says the site never asks for your real name, holds no payment data on its servers and encrypts your email address and messages. It also advises keeping first contact on the site rather than moving to WhatsApp or email, and arranging an audio call before any video chat.
Dating Affairs puts the controls in your hands. You choose which people can open your photos, you set how visible your profile is, and you can tighten either setting the moment something feels off. A chosen username stands in for your name, and your location shows only the nearest town. If a conversation turns sour, just let it end, and help is a live chat away at any hour. Scam warning signs and reporting contacts sit on the safety page.
The UK government's cyber security agency, the NCSC, publishes practical advice on staying secure online, covering strong passwords, two-step sign-in and device updates. Those basics protect an affair account as much as a bank account.
Payments and the statement question
Illicit Encounters takes card payments through its upgrade page and promises discretion over how the payment shows on your bank statement. Its help page also lists payment by phone, by bank transfer, and by check, cash or postal order sent through the mail, with postal payments taking 3 to 5 working days to process.
Dating Affairs bills discreetly on every plan too. Either way, think about who opens the post, who checks the shared account and whether your phone shows banking notifications on the lock screen.
Help when you need it
Illicit Encounters says its helpdesk is staffed between 9am and 10pm every day. It aims to answer emails within 12 hours and says the team reads profiles, profile updates and emails by hand, which can delay approval by up to 24 hours at busy times.
Dating Affairs offers support by live chat and messages at every hour of the day, every day of the year. That matters when the only safe moment to sort out a problem is after midnight or before anyone else in the house is awake.
Local reach on each side
Because Illicit Encounters focuses on the UK and Ireland, its search and messaging revolve around those two countries. Dating Affairs covers a wider map, with guides for the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada and Australia, and city pages such as London, Manchester and Dublin. If you travel for work between countries, that wider footprint may shape your choice.
Choosing between them
Illicit Encounters makes sense if you live in the UK or Ireland, want a service that concentrates on those two countries and like the Gold Plus extras such as Holiday Mode and the custom panic button.
Dating Affairs makes sense if you want a plan as short as one week or as long as a year, if you live outside the UK and Ireland or travel often, or if you want to reach a person by chat at 3am. VIP also brings members-only chat rooms, where small private groups can form.
Five checks to make on either site
- Confirm which countries you will use the account in, now and over the next year.
- Compare plan lengths with how long you expect the arrangement to last.
- Look at your bank app and statement through a partner's eyes.
- Decide what you will never put in writing, including your workplace, your home street and your children's names, and hold to it even when a chat feels warm.
- Plan how you would close the account and remove photos if circumstances change.