Locanto – Free Classifieds

How good is Locanto compared to other services?

As you likely know, classified ad services are very often used not just to sell stuff you don’t want anymore or fish for job applicants nearby. It’s very heavily used for social interaction. In this context, it means dating and hookups.

This service is one of the biggest in this niche. In fact, their ‘adult’ section for ads is bigger than what most counterparts have to offer. And that means more users from all over the world. Considering that it’s a German service, it’s pretty remarkable that they have more US users than even some big American ad services.

But is Locanto actually better? And what do they have to offer, anyway?

General description

Locanto is a German classified ads service. It means that it was launched by Germans, is run by Germans, and was initially registered in Germany. Now, although the main website is locanto.de (the German domain), the users from this country are a minority – a sizeable minority, admittedly, but still.

There are lots of countries available on this website, for any services, not just for personals and dating. The most popular, of course, include:

• USA
• Canada
• Germany
• Australia
• Thailand

You can pick your country by clicking on the flag in the top right corner. For most people, the default would be the American flag. Click on it, and you’ll see a list of most popular countries available right away. And that’s not even all – there are more countries not immediately featured on this menu.

You can switch at any time, and they don’t restrict you to a certain location. With that said, the website doesn’t work well all the time. They detect where you come from anyway and don’t let you through if you come from one of the countries where this line of work is problematic.

In addition, the website is generally overstretched, and some versions of it can break occasionally. But you can use VPN to fix the issues if your location is the main reason behind them.

How to use Locanto

Locanto works like most classified ads services. Namely:

1. You enter the front page
2. You pick your location
3. You pick one of the broad categories
4. You narrow down your search from there

That’s the generalization, but Locanto isn’t much different from the similar services, which is probably why it’s so successful. It is, however, unique in many ways, and some parts that make it unique also make it very useful.

Locanto structure

On websites like Craigslist, the first think you would see once you’ve entered is an extensive catalogue of categories. More often than not, they would simply be written in text form – broader categories serving as headlines for the more specific services. For instance:

1. Performers

1. Musicians
2. Artists
3. Designers
4. Automotive

1. Car wash
2. Repairs

You would just have to click on one of the groups, even one of the bigger ones, to start going through ads that were left for this category by the people who either sell something that fits the group or provide some service. The same goes for mature services.

Not to mention that on some platforms, such as MegaPersonals, you’ll have to pick a location first and only then would you be able to view the categories and start your search.

All of this is done more practically on Locanto.

Structure differences

Well, firstly, the location choice is made for you right away. However, you don’t need it that badly in the start. You’ll obviously have to choose a country, but the city is a secondary parameter.

How do you pick it? In one of two ways:

1. Firstly, you can just pick one of the cities in the country that was picked before – either in the list on the front page or an extensive catalogue displayed inside a category. More on that last bit in a moment.
2. Secondly, you can simply type your city inside a large search bar right in the top. Not only is it quicker than having to slog through the lists, but it will also show you whether your city or town is even represented. If not, however, you can simply pick the closest large city and then specify the distance you are away from it.

These are both examples of using parameters to narrow down your search to specific ads initially. For instance, if you pick Phoenix, AZ as your location and then pick the secondary setting of 50 km from it (to show that you need a service about 50 km away from the city – it’ll show you the ads where people specified that they can do that.

It’ll also be too broad, because you haven’t even picked a category of service yet, but it’s a good start.

Search parameters

Approaching this subject from another direction, you can simply pick your category – Personals – right away. This category is one of the primary broad groups we mentioned. There are also many others displayed right on the front page. Personals is where all the hookups and dating occurs.

If you click on the icon that represents this category (it has a heart on it), you’ll be directed to the menu where you can start actually looking for people. You’ll also end up here if you pick a city first and then pick one of the broader categories. 

Regardless, that’s the place you need to start looking for adult ads.

Here (and in other category page) you’ll find an extensive catalogue on the left. You’ll be able to narrow down your search using different settings. Initially, you’ll be shown all people within your city – if you haven’t even picked that yet, then all those inside the category.

Gradually, you’ll narrow it down to just the right group of people by picking parameters from the left. They include:

1. The exact thing you want – Dating/Escort/Long-Term
2. The gender specifics – WM, MM, WW, Trans, etc

You can also change your city and how much distance away from it you are, in addition to several smaller distinctions. In general, you get the idea – the entire process is very detailed, thorough and in-depth.

Interestingly, you may even leave some details out of the equation if that’s all the same to you. The catalogue is very flexible.

Ads

Once you’ve applied all the parameters you wanted, the list that corresponds to all of these details will be shown on the right. Like on other listing services, you’ll be given a list of ads, organized in single-file with headlines, descriptions (partially) and the age.

The most interesting thing about the ads is the icons on the left. Each ad has an icon, but they don’t showcase your pictures or anything else of your own make. It shows your category of service, which is very handy. It’s limited and not completely comprehensive, but you’ll learn soon enough.

In this category, it mostly shows the gender specifics in the form of Venus and Mars signs. For instance, two Mars signs mean gay relationship (or gay escort service), two Venus signs mean lesbian relationship, and two different signs mean the usual sort. There are also distinct signs for Transgender or general Dating.

If you don’t know what the specific sign means, you’ll just have to open the ad and explore it to find the answer.

Additional details

Once you’ve opened the ad, you’ll also be given additional info, including the photos, the name and other info that the poster decided to divulge. All of it, including the broader settings and specifics, can be taken into specified during the ad-creation process. That’s how people find you. You list them on your ad, and it gets shown.

Most of the minor details inside the ads can’t be sorted by, unfortunately. Nor can you sort by appearance. You’ll just have to use what settings you have – and they are already rather extensive – and just go through each application from there.

Locanto from provider’s perspective

Like on most similar website, you don’t need to create an account to browse through the ads. Yeah, you can sort and view ads and do everything above without even being authorized properly. However, you do need to sign up if you want to post an ad.

Just create an account, featuring your name and some personal data so that the website could know you are a real living human being and not a bot or a fake.

It’s not anything particularly exposing, you’ll just have to submit enough data so that Locanto could rule out you being a scammer. Well, it’s still very much possible for you to find a scammer there, but Locanto is a much softer option. Not only is there no specific escort services – just unpaid sex, every conversation is recorded there.

Unlike on websites like Bedpage or MegaPersonals, you won’t have to resort to leaving your phone number or other contact info so that people could reply to you with an offer. It’s not very safe actually.

Locanto has a much better system that actually allows you to message people and reply to them. You will probably need to sign up to use it to full extent, unless people leave contact data for you the old-fashioned way. Locanto way is much safer, and you can be sure there aren’t many real scammers. 

There’ll still be insolent and entitled people, but you can take them on.

Creating an ad

Creating an ad requires full authorization, as mentioned. Without an active account, you can pick a category, a headline and some initial settings, but everything beyond that is barred.

Once you’ve made an account, you’ll be able to specify a location, write a description, add some photos and include minor details. The entire process doesn’t take too long, actually. After just 5-10 minutes, you’ll post your ad. All that is left is waiting until someone picks you.

Well, this stage, in turn, can take a bit longer, but it won’t take an eternity, for two reasons:

1. There are many users
2. There is an ios app that tells you when you have a new message

You can actually tinker with your parameters a bit if you want more responses. You can increase the distance you’re willing to go away from your city and then either honor this detail or not (up to negotiation with the ‘client’).

But the app is one of the more useful things ‘Locanto’ company introduced.

Locanto app

Apps are wonderful for this line of work – especially if escorts are a good portion of your income. Apps generally simply the search process for the clients and make sure you’re always notified about the new offers.

For clients, it’s fantastic. Many apps, Locanto not excluded, use maps. You just set the parameters you want and then proceed to watch the ads on the interactive map. What it’s particularly good for is figuring out where the ads came from. 

The bad part about all these services is that simply sorting by cities is not nearly enough. What are you going to do if you want a service provided in New York City, which is enormous? Some services make even deeper parameters – they allow you to specify districts or suburbs.

The maps, however, are terrific, because they show you exactly where every ad is, and you can focus on those closest to you physically. 

Obviously, apps are also very useful for other reasons – they allow you to do everything quicker than on PC and do it anywhere. Stuck in the subway? Just go through a few ads. All you need for that is the Internet.

And Locanto app itself is designed very well. Not only is it a cheap, more user-friendly version of Tinder, but it’s also arguably designed better – it’s more comprehensive without losing attractiveness and practicality. It’s just a much better solution than Tinder. And Locanto as a whole is probably better than other listing escort services.