Backpage Escorts
Backpage Escorts refers to escort advertisements that originally appeared on the classified website Backpage. Before its shutdown in 2018, Backpage was one of the largest online classified add platforms for adult services, similar to how sites like Craiglist operated for general classifieds.
The escort section of Backpage became widely known for listings posted by independent escorts, agencies, massage providers and other adult service advertisers. Because of its massive traffic and city-based structure, the site became one of the most heavily used platforms for escort advertising in North America and later in parts of Europe and Asia.
Contents
History
Backpage was launched in 2004 as a classified advertising website. Over time it expanded into hundreds of cities worldwide and included categories for jobs, housing, services and adult classifieds.
The escort advertising section became one of the most heavily visited parts of the site. Listings typically included photographs, descriptions of services, pricing information and contact details such as phone numbers or email addresses.
In April 2018 the website was seized by United States authorities and permanently shut down following investigations related to the adult advertising sections of the platform.
Escort Advertising on Backpage
Before the shutdown, Backpage escort listings were organized by city, making it easy for users to search for escorts in specific locations. Large metropolitan areas such as New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Miami often contained hundreds of advertisements at any given time.
Listings were usually posted either by independent escorts or by escort agencies promoting multiple providers. The platform functioned primarily as a classified advertisement system rather than a managed escort agency.
Successor Websites
After Backpage closed in 2018, a number of new classified websites appeared attempting to replace the traffic and advertising market that Backpage once dominated.
Some of the platforms that emerged after the shutdown include: Bedpage, ListCrawler and CityXGuide
These sites operate in a similar way by allowing users to browse escort listings organized by city.
Types of Escorts Advertised
Like most escort directories and classified sites, the Backpage escort section included a wide range of listings. Common categories included: Female escorts, Transsexual or Shemale escorts, Male escorts and Erotic massage providers. Most of the advertisements were posted by independent escorts rather than large agencies.
Safety and Scams
As with many classified advertisement platforms, fake profiles and scams were sometimes reported by users.
Common issues included stolen photos, misleading advertisements and requests for advance payments before a meeting. One frequently reported fraud scheme across escort directories is the escort deposit scam, where someone posing as an escort asks for payment before a meeting and then disappears after receiving the money.
For more information see Escort and Sex Scams.
See Also
- North America | South America | Europe | Asia
- Gay | Lesbian | Bisexuality | Shemale
- Age of consent | Stay safe | Scams | Safe sex | STD
