Technology

Seven years ago, Google introduced a more affordable series of Pixel phones, and we've seen 10 models since. The whole point of the lineup, at least to me, has been to give people the Pixel experience without the flagship price tag—and that's the basis on which I ranked them.

Most Fire TV updates feel like they change things just to change them, and I've thought that plenty of updates have made things worse. This recent update is different. Amazon pushed out changes that actually make the device easier to live with day to day, such as a smart home control panel that doesn't interrupt what you're watching, a navigation overhaul that puts everything where it should have been from the start, and a few other additions that fix things that should've been fixed years ago.

Encrypted DNS sounds like an easy privacy win if you set it up correctly, and it is, but please don't treat it as some bulletproof, foolproof solution that hides everything you do from everyone who might want to know. In fact, it doesn't hide your browsing from your ISP.

The youngest driver in the house often ends up with the oldest car in the driveway, or at least that is how it always went when I was growing up. When your teen takes the keys to a “hand-me-down” vehicle for the school year, there are a few things you can ask your mechanic to look at, or even do at home, to ensure its long-term reliability.

Apple Stores don’t typically have sales, but there are sometimes discounts — if you know where to look. Bridget Carey explains the fine print of Apple’s latest back-to-school promotions for students and offers some other tricks to scoring a cheaper laptop and accessories.

The original "notch" iPhone is now officially obsolete.

On Thursday, Apple added the iPhone X to its list of obsolete products. Originally launched in 2017, the iPhone X was the first iPhone to feature a "notch" on top of its display, ushering in the era of modern iPhones that are nearly bezel-less on all sides, aside from a camera/sensor cutout on top.

Being on the obsolete list means that the product is no longer eligible for hardware service at Apple Stores or the company's Authorized Service Providers. Being nearly nine years old, the iPhone X doesn't get the new versions of iOS either, so if you still use one, it's probably (definitely) time to move on and get a new phone.

SEE ALSO: Apple's iPhone Ultra might have a staggered, country-by-country rollout

In addition to the iPhone X, Apple also added the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro to the obsolete list. That machine still rocked an Intel processor; Apple introduced the first MacBook Pro with its own silicon (the M1 chip) in 2020 and hasn't looked back since.

There's some symbolism in the iPhone X going obsolete in 2026, the year when Apple is likely to usher in another radically different phone, the foldable iPhone Ultra. There are also rumors that Apple plans an iPhone 20 Pro with an all-glass, no-notch design for 2027, which could be the beginning of the end of iPhones with camera cutouts in their displays.

I'm a big fan of the Linux Operating System. I have been using it in some form or another for about two decades (starting with Red Hat). I enjoy working with it and experimenting with different distros. I even occasionally teach beginner-friendly Linux courses. While Mint has been my daily driver for a while (and is, itself, a derivative of Debian, according to Debian.org), I'm always open to test-driving a different distro and found myself pleasantly surprised when I took Debian 13.6 (released July, 11 2026) for a spin a few weeks ago.

Google accounts come with 15 GB of Google Drive storage. While 15 GB may sound like a lot, it fills up surprisingly quickly, especially once you realize all the things that back up to Google's servers—pushing you to the point where Google prompts you to pay for more.

SAVE $10.50: The DJI Power 140W GaN Charger is on sale at Amazon for $59.49, down from the list price of $69.99. That's a 15% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Power 140W GaN Charger $59.49 at Amazon
$69.99 Save $10.50   Get Deal

Our modern tech brings us plenty of joy. There's getting real-time livestreams of concerts, chatting with family across the globe, and never being more than one click away from streaming your favorite movie. While plenty of this tech has made our lives easier, there's a common complaint about a tech-ridden life: batteries die. Instead of dealing with multiple power bricks and charging cables, simplify the process thanks to this Amazon deal.

As of Aug. 13, the DJI Power 140W GaN Charger is on sale at Amazon for $59.49, marked down from the standard price of $69.99. That's a 15% discount, taking $10.50 off the price.

DJI is a standout brand for content creation. From drones to the Mic Mini and the Osmo Pocket 4, DJI makes life easier, and the Power Charger plays to the same tune. With a 140W power delivery, the GaN Charger ups the game, offering smart temperature control and stable charging across all three ports.

SEE ALSO: Amazon has the DJI Osmo 360 Standard Combo on sale for almost $120 off

The DJI logo on the charger itself is actually an LED status indicator that lets you know when the charger is in use. DJI says this is an ideal charger for high-performance devices in the DJI ecosystem. The brand says it can recharge three DJI Air 3S batteries in under 180 minutes or three DJI Mavic 4 batteries in 240 minutes.

If you're ready to streamline charging up life's essential tech, consider the DJI Power 140W GaN Charger while it's on sale for under $60.

The best DJI camera deals: Best DJI camera deal DJI Osmo Pocket 3 $399 (Save $100) Get Deal Best DJI camera bundle deal DJI Osmo 360 Adventure Combo $454 (Save $176) Get Deal

If you’ve had your eye on a DJI camera, Amazon has some decent deals worth checking out right now.

DJI cameras are also a popular choice for vloggers and content creators, so if you're looking to give your content a boost, these deals are definitely worth a browse. We've hand-picked some of our favorite deals to help you find the right product at the right price.

These are the best DJI camera deals on Amazon.

Best DJI camera deal Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Osmo Pocket 3 $399 at Amazon
$499 Save $100   Get Deal Why we like it

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is a small camera, but it packs a whole lot of punch. It has a 1-inch sensor for 4K footage, plus a rotating 2-inch touchscreen and 3-axis mechanical stabilization to keep videos smooth. It’s particularly handy for travel and vlogging because it’s small enough to slip into a pocket or bag.

Best DJI camera bundle deal Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Osmo 360 Adventure Combo $454 at Amazon
$630 Save $176   Get Deal Why we like it

The DJI Osmo 360 is built for shooting big, immersive footage. It has a 1-inch sensor, 8K/30fps 360-degree video, shoots 120MP 360-degree photos, and can record for up to 190 minutes. It also comes with a 1.2m Invisible Selfie Stick to help you take third-person-style shots. Memory is a big plus too, with 105GB of built-in storage.

With this bundle, you'll get the Osmo 360, a carrying case, three 1,950mAh Extreme Batteries Plus, a Multifunctional Battery Case 2, and a lens cleaning cloth.

More DJI camera deals

• DJI Osmo Mobile 8 Gimbal Stabilizer — $119 $149 (save $30)

• DJI Osmo Action 4 Adventure Combo — $288 $339 (save $51)

• DJI Osmo 360 Essential Combo — $389.35 $479 (save $89.65)

• DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Mount Bundle — $401.99 $501.99 (save $100)

• DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Vlog Bundle 2 — $483 $598 (save $115)

The Pokémon TCG remains the most expensive card game on the market, but you don't have to pay scalper prices for the latest expansion if you know where to look.

In fairness to the Pokémon Company, more cards are being printed than ever, but the supply of popular collections like Ascended Heroes is still not enough to meet the demand. To help with the higher prices, there are some go-to tactics to keep in mind to help take the sting out of your trading card budget. 

To pay as little as possible to the scalpers, here are the best places to buy Pokémon cards in 2026 — including packs and single cards. 

Quick links: Best Pokémon card prices right now Credit: Mashable Photo Composite/The Pokémon Company

• Mega Evolution Pitch Black Booster Box — around $180 on TCGplayer, market price dropped by over $100 since late June.

• Mega Evolution Pitch Black Booster Bundle — now under $40 at TCGplayer or around $44 at Amazon.

• Mega Evolution Pitch Black Elite Trainer Box — regularly under $75 across a variety of sellers at TCGplayer.

• Mega Evolution Perfect Order Booster Box — well under the $200 mark at TCGplayer, with occasional sale drops at Amazon.

• Mega Evolution Perfect Order Booster Bundle — currently on sale for just over $40 at Walmart, but as low as $41 at TCGplayer.

• Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Bundle — regularly under $40 at TCGplayer after another large market dip, and is frequently on sale at Amazon for just over $40.

• Mega Evolution Ascended Heroes Booster Bundle — well over MSRP, but is finally starting to see dips at around $87 at Walmart and TCGplayer.

• Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection — another large fall-off in market price in June, now well under $50 across various TCGplayer sellers.

Where to buy Pokémon cards in 2026Amazon

A broad selection and frequent collection-box discounts make Amazon worth checking away from release week. Amazon may not always have the lowest of the low prices, but the larger selection of third-party retailers means you’ll always find Booster Bundles, Elite Trainer Boxes, Booster Display Boxes, and even single packs readily available. 

Plus, many listings come with Amazon’s 30-day refund/replacement guarantee, so you can get a refund if there are any issues.

Best Buy

Third-party listings are usually among the highest-priced here, but any rare "sold and shipped" online listings from Best Buy itself tend to come in at MSRP. 

These used to sell out instantly. Now, the retailer has changed the process so that you can instead register your interest via the "ask for an invite" button. Eventually, Best Buy sends out random invites to buy through a randomized lottery-style system. 

You won’t always get the opportunity to buy at MSRP, but consistently checking and registering interest for anything new gives you better odds of avoiding paying scalper prices. 

Target

Target is good for restocks like Walmart, but prices are usually higher. That said, Target Circle 360 members can get early access to restocks like Walmart+ — so it's still worth keeping an eye out for Target drops.

TCGplayer

If you want to pay the lowest prices for new Pokémon expansions on release, TCGplayer is still the go-to in 2026. 

Owned by eBay, this dedicated trading card platform is often packed with individual sellers who are always looking to undercut traditional retailers like Amazon and Walmart to maximize their chances of a sale. 

Unlike Amazon or Walmart, TCGplayer never sells and ships stock directly — meaning everything bought comes from a third-party seller. TCGplayer still offers buyer protections, but many buyers don't want to deal with external sellers. 

That said, TCGplayer currently holds the gold standard in market price tracking for every card and product, so you should always at least keep it bookmarked to be sure you’re getting a good deal on whatever you’re buying. 

Walmart

Walmart is useful for restocks and can often undercut Amazon listings on price — or at least act as a useful backup if good Amazon deals sell out. Having a Walmart+ membership can give you early access to restocks, but keep in mind those sell out very quickly.

Pokémon Center

The Pokémon Center is the best official retailer to buy Pokémon TCG expansions, since you can also get exclusive editions (like ETBs for new expansions coming with extra packs and an added promo card). On the other hand, any drops sell out almost instantly, as expected. With that, we recommend following deal-tracker accounts on social media, such as @PokemonDealsTCG on X (formerly Twitter) — or @pokemondealsuk on X in the UK. 

Accounts like these are great at detecting when the Pokémon Center website suddenly implements a queueing system, which usually means a new product drop is incoming. By turning on your push notifications for these accounts, you can join said queue and give yourself the best odds of having stock available when you finally get on the site. 

Tips for avoiding overpaying

• Check Pokémon Center first to establish the original price.

• Compare sealed products against TCGplayer's market price.

• Don't assume a six-pack Booster Bundle should cost $80+ just because several listings say so.

• Use Best Buy's invite system and local-stock tools for new launches.

• Buy singles if you're only chasing one or two cards.

Where to buy Pokémon TCG singles in 2026 Credit: Mashable Photo Composite/The Pokémon Company

TCGplayer remains the most useful all-around marketplace for U.S. buyers, since you can compare conditions, sellers, recent sales, and market prices in one place.

Interestingly, eBay (the company that owns TCGplayer) is actually the most useful for graded cards, older promos, Japanese releases, and listings where you want to inspect the exact card. Still, we recommend checking each card’s respective page on TCGplayer for its specific market price, rather than treating active asking prices as market value.

For new cards, patience still pays. That’s because release-week prices can skyrocket as demand peaks. After waiting a few weeks, the market price can drop — usually with cheaper listings following suit.  

Pokémon TCG 2026 release schedule and MSRP guide Credit: Mashable Photo Composite/The Pokémon Company

Using Pokémon Center pricing as the benchmark where possible, we’ve laid out the MSRP prices for each Pokémon expansion’s product following release. 

As mentioned earlier, shortages for the more in-demand expansions mean we often see these selling across the likes of Amazon and TCGplayer, so treat these numbers as more of a guide on how much more you’ll be paying — rather than a guaranteed checkout price.

Mega Evolution: Ascended Heroes (Jan. 30)

Ascended Heroes kicked off 2026 with a huge special set inspired heavily by Pokémon Legends: Z-A, mixing Mega Evolutions with more Trainer Pokémon. Products rolled out in waves.

• Booster Bundle (six packs) — $26.94

• Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box — $59.99

• Mega Feraligatr, Mega Meganium, and Mega Emboar ex Box — $21.99

Links: Amazon, TCGplayer, Walmart, Best Buy, Target

Mega Evolution: Perfect Order (March 27)

Perfect Order centers on more Pokémon Legends: Z-A Mega Evolutions in Lumiose City, with Mega Zygarde ex, Mega Clefable ex, Mega Starmie ex, and Meowth ex among its best cards.

• Booster Display Box (36 packs) — $161.64

• Booster Bundle (six packs) — $26.94

• Elite Trainer Box — $49.99

Links: Amazon, TCGplayer, Walmart, Best Buy, Target

Mega Evolution: Chaos Rising (May 22)

Chaos Rising put Mega Greninja ex at the front of the TCG alongside even more Pokémon inspired by Legends: Z-A.

• Booster Display Box (36 packs) — $161.64

• Booster Bundle (six packs) — $26.94

• Elite Trainer Box — $49.99

Links: Amazon, TCGplayer, Walmart, Best Buy, Target

Mega Evolution: Pitch Black (July 17)

Pitch Black is the newest full expansion currently available, built around Mega Darkrai ex, Mega Zeraora ex, Mega Chandelure ex, and Mega Excadrill ex. It is also one of the easiest 2026 sets to find near retail.

• Booster Display Box (36 packs) — $161.64

• Booster Bundle (six packs) — $26.94

• Elite Trainer Box — $49.99

Links: Amazon, TCGplayer, Walmart, Best Buy, Target

Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration (Sept. 16)

Pokémon's anniversary expansion is the next major release, introducing Futuristic rare cards while revisiting fan-favorite Pokémon across several product waves.

The Elite Trainer Box, Sylveon ex Box, and Greninja ex Box arrive Sept. 16. The Booster Bundle and Binder Collection follow on Oct. 2, while the Day and Night Ultra-Premium Collections and Figure Collection arrive Nov. 6.

• Booster Bundle (six packs) — $26.94

• Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box — $59.99

• Standard Elite Trainer Box — $49.99

Each 30th Celebration booster contains five foil cards plus a foil Basic Energy, so its price-per-pack isn't directly comparable with a standard set.

Links: Amazon, TCGplayer, Walmart, Best Buy, Target

Top value Pokémon cards among 2026 expansions Credit: Mashable Photo Composite/The Pokémon Company

Based on our latest full market sweep, these have been the headline pulls from this year's released expansions:

Ascended Heroes

• Mega Gengar ex — 284/217 — $1,118.76

• Pikachu ex — 276/217 — $1,093.18

• Mega Dragonite ex — 290/217 — $705.60

Perfect Order

• Mega Zygarde ex — 124/088 — $133.12

• Meowth ex — 121/088 — $128.68

• Mega Zygarde ex — 120/088 — $62.19

Chaos Rising

• Mega Greninja ex — 116/086 — $212.20

• Mega Greninja ex — 122/086 — $182.07

• Cinccino ex — 119/086 — $62.43

Pitch Black

• Mega Darkrai ex — 116/084 — $243.48

• Mega Darkrai ex — 120/084 — $172.86

• Morpeko ex — 117/084 — $100.30

Collecting strategy

At the end of the day, the best way to get Pokémon cards in 2026 comes down to your priorities: do you want to pay MSRP or as close as you can get, or are you looking to pay as little as possible for what’s readily available?

If the latter, always check TCGplayer along with Amazon and Walmart — as sellers across all three (even Amazon and Walmart directly, not just third-party sellers) try to undercut each other below market price. For an even better chance at paying less, wait a few weeks/months after launch for prices to cool off. 

We should warn against waiting too long, as older expansions with in-demand cards (like Destined Rivals and Phantasmal Flames) end up bumping in price as stock runs low.

To pay around MSRP, you’ll need to keep your eyes on the market much more closely on a daily basis. Sign up for retailer newsletters like Target Circle 360 and Walmart+ for early access to stock drops, and follow deal trackers to be notified of new drops as soon as possible. Be sure to follow all your trading card shops on social media platforms as well. 

More often than that, smaller shops get frequent but small allotments of ETBs and packs from the latest expansions, but it is usually first-come, first-served. If you get lucky, you’ll not only be able to buy new packs of Pokémon cards at MSRP, but you’ll be supporting your local card shop business. 

The Daily Show hosts sometimes take audience questions between segments, and Jon Stewart was posed a great one by a recent attendee: Who's his least favourite interview guest?

The answer? Donald Rumsfeld, who was U.S. Secretary of Defense during the Iraq war. In the clip above, Stewart says he concocted a trap for Rumsfeld that he thought would allow him to "win the interview", but then got so focused on it that he missed something he felt undermined his argument.

"I did not, to my feeling, have a satisfying encounter with him. And it tortured me. Like literally, couldn't sleep," says Stewart. "I lost more sleep over that interview than he lost over the entire war."

Want more film and TV news and reviews delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable’s Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG: Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection is available for $60.95 at Amazon, down from its $99.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection $60.95 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $39.04   Get Deal

Mega Greninja ex’s big premium box has already come a long way down from the triple-digit prices we saw around launch, and Amazon is once again giving Pokémon TCG collectors a chance to grab the eight-pack collection for well below $70. 

As of Aug. 12, the Pokémon TCG: Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection can be picked up for as low as $60.95 at Amazon. Against its $99.99 list price, that knocks $39.04 off the box for a 39% discount — working out to roughly $7.62 per booster pack before you even account for the included promos and extra collectibles.

The cheapest Amazon option comes from third-party seller EmpireGameCenter, with free delivery currently estimated for Aug. 19. What’s more, this is the lowest price a third-party seller has ever sold this box for at Amazon, as confirmed via price tracker camelcamelcamel. 

Inside the collection are eight Pokémon TCG booster packs — two Chaos Rising, four Perfect Order, and two Phantasmal Flames, alongside a standard foil Mega Greninja ex promo card and a much larger lenticular version for display. You even get a Mega Greninja tech sticker, giving collectors more than simply opening another stack of boosters. 

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The Mega Greninja ex card is pretty handy in the trading card game. Its Mortal Shuriken Ability lets you discard a Basic Water Energy from your hand to place six damage counters on one of your opponent’s Pokémon, while Ninja Spinner can follow up with as much as 200 damage. 

As good as this deal is, you can still save more outside of Amazon. Walmart currently lists it for $59.99, while TCGplayer has unopened boxes starting from $49.06 with shipping included — going only $1.60 over market price. 

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Display Box is on sale for $189.94 at Amazon, down from its $279.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Box $189.94 at Amazon
$279.99 Save $90.05   Get Deal

The Chaos Rising expansion in the Pokémon TCG has been steadily dropping in price, and Amazon’s latest offer on the 36-pack Booster Display Box has finally seen it drop below the $190 mark. 

As of Aug. 14, the Pokémon TCG Chaos Rising Booster Display Box is now priced at $189.94 on Amazon, after having $90.05 taken off its $279.99 list price for a 32% discount. That’s not only a whole $40.01 below the $229.95 Amazon price we spotted over Prime Day in June, but also the lowest we’ve ever seen at the retailer, confirmed via price tracker camelcamelcamel. 

With 36 Chaos Rising booster packs of trading cards inside, the $189.94 price works out to roughly $5.28 per pack. Compared to the $8.49 price you pay to buy single Chaos Rising packs, this means you’re also saving $3.21 per pack. 

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TCGplayer is technically still a touch cheaper, with English Booster Box listings starting from $184.99 with shipping included — almost $4 less than its estimated market price of $188.55. 

Chaos Rising itself contains more than 120 cards, with over 35 Pokémon and Trainer cards featuring special illustrations — with SIR Mega Greninja ex, MHR Mega Greninja ex, and SIR Cinccino ex among the most valuable chase cards worth up to $212 each. You can buy any of these cards individually on TCGplayer. 

Speaking of Greninja, you can still buy the Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection for around $60 after an Amazon price drop. Plus, the Pokémon TCG’s Perfect Order Booster Bundle is now only $49.99 after a $10 price cut. 

TL;DR: Pay $129.97 once for a lifetime MagellanTV subscription with 4,000+ ad-free documentaries and new content added weekly.

Opens in a new window Credit: MagellanTV MagellanTV Documentary Streaming Service: Lifetime Subscription $129.97
$999 Save $869.03   Get Deal

Some nights call for another sitcom rerun. Others call for black holes, ancient civilizations, unsolved crimes, or the rise and fall of an empire. MagellanTV makes those deeper dives easy — and its lifetime subscription is currently just $129.97 instead of $999 through Aug. 23.

The documentary-focused streaming platform features more than 4,000 movies and series from filmmakers around the world. Its library spans space, science and technology, true crime, ancient history, war and military, nature, biography, travel, art, culture, social issues, and plenty more.

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Rather than scrolling through a general entertainment service hoping to uncover something substantial, viewers get curated collections devoted to real stories, discoveries, people, and events. Exclusive playlists make it easier to explore a subject in depth, while new documentaries added weekly keep the selection fresh.

Everything streams without advertising interruptions. Where available, documentaries include 4K quality at no additional charge, giving sweeping nature footage and ambitious historical productions the presentation they deserve.

MagellanTV works across TVs, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices, so viewers can start a series on the sofa and continue it elsewhere. Programs can also be cast from a mobile device to Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast, or a compatible smart TV.

Instead of adding another recurring charge to the monthly budget, smart viewers can make one payment and receive lifetime access.

For documentary fans who regularly have to work hard to find thoughtful, well-produced stories, this is a win.

Get lifetime access to MagellanTV for just $129.97 instead of $999 while you can.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Pay $199.97 once for lifetime access to 2TB of FileLu cloud storage (reg. $600).

Opens in a new window Credit: FileLu FileLu Cloud Storage Premium Plan: Lifetime Subscription (2TB) $199.97
$600 Save $400.03   Get Deal

Cloud storage is useful, essential even. Paying for the same space every month is less appealing. FileLu offers another approach. Pay $199.97 just once and get lifetime access to its 2TB Premium Plan.

That makes this limited-time offer a practical choice for anyone ready to replace a recurring storage bill with one upfront purchase. The plan provides room for work documents, family photos, videos, creative projects, device backups, and more, with no limit on the number of files or folders you can store.

FileLu also gives experienced users plenty of ways to move data. In addition to web and mobile uploads, it supports FTP, FTPS, WebDAV, Rclone, URL uploads, a command-line interface, API access, and S3-compatible object storage. The FileLuSync app can schedule automatic folder backups from a computer or server, making the service useful for both everyday storage and longer-term protection.

Security features include SSL-protected transfers and encrypted storage. For more private material, Secure-SoloCypher Encryption lets users control the decryption key, while multiple folders can be protected with end-to-end encryption.

The plan works across desktop, web, Android, and iOS, so files remain within reach across devices. Global CDN support helps uploads and downloads move quickly, and FileLu places no speed or individual file-size limits on Premium accounts.

Families and teams can create shared spaces, collect files from others through FileDrop, share direct links, and allow comments on folders. Bulk folder downloads, multiple simultaneous downloads, email attachment backup, and ad-free links round out the package.

For buyers who know they will need cloud storage for years, paying once is a confident way to simplify the budget.

Don’t miss lifetime access to 2TB of FileLu Premium for a one-time $199.97 (reg. $600) for a limited time.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, The End of Oak Street plays like a twisted reimagining of Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. The suburban Platt family is having an average summer of block parties, parental bickering, and unrequited crushes when time travel upends their lives.

Dinosaurs now prowl their streets, tower over their homes, and descend from the skies. Neighbors are turned into bloody remains, bedecking their yards like grisly lawn ornaments.

And then comes that ending. Whether or not you liked The End of Oak Street for Mitchell's gruesome kills, slasher-style scares, or bewilderingly bad dialogue, you might well be scratching your head over that ending.

So, let's get into it.

SEE ALSO: 'The End of Oak Street' review: Imagine 'Jurassic Park' but bleak and stupid How does the time travel in The End of Oak Street work? Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

In the film's first act, set in 1982, there's a news broadcast about NASA researching temporal anomalies. But the Platt family is so caught up in their domestic drama, they don't take note.

The first family member to get a hint of what's to come is mother Denise (Anne Hathaway). When visiting her friend, the widow Mrs. Huddleston (Anne Gee Byrd), Denise is shown a strange plant that's come up inexplicably fast in Mrs. Huddleston's backyard. A subsequent research trip to the library garners little information in the books of contemporary flora. But librarian Mrs. Valcourt (Emily Kuroda) is able to look at Denise's Polaroid of the plant and instantly identify it as being from 200 million years ago.

Later come the flashing lights, noticed by adolescent Brian (Christian Convery) and his rambunctious dog, Starbuck, while Denise was working on her Erica Jong-like novel. These lights, as Brian's Carl Sagan-obsessed sister Audrey (Maisy Stella) will later posit, are effectively wormholes to another time. So, when the big flashing light sounds after father Greg (Ewan McGregor) gets back from his pizza deliveries, two miles of Flowervale are transported back to an age when dinosaurs ruled.

In this setting, the Platts must fight for survival against an array of prehistoric creatures that are all too happy to make them a family meal. But when Denise and Greg discover a large, shiny orb in a neighbor's house, they believe it's a portal back to their time, as they can see contemporary houses within it. Now, it's just a matter of making it to such a portal with their whole family before it disappears.

How does The End of Oak Street end? Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

After Greg is eaten by a T. rex, Denise, her children, and orphaned neighbor girl Jeannette (Jordan Alexa Davis) head to the home of the aforementioned librarian, because there's a possible portal floating near her roof. A shattered window suggests Mrs. Valcourt has already had some unwelcome company. And indeed, Denise and the kids soon encounter some crocodile-like dinos eating what was presumably Mr. Valcourt.

After much Scooby-Dooing around the second-floor hallway, Mrs. Valcourt gives her life to save the Platts from the dinos. Then, Denise, the kids, and the family dog leap through the portal and find themselves in a cement swimming pool. An understandably annoyed woman chides them for being in her pool, and then tells them the date is July 11, 1982. This is the same day their neighborhood was swallowed by a portal, but about twenty minutes before it will happen again. Jeannette runs off to warn her parents.

The surviving Platts look down on the doomed Oak Street, and Audrey wonders aloud if there are doubles of them down there, in their house. Unspoken is that Greg is still alive here.

The Platts fret about what they can do in such a short time to save others. Denise tells the kids to go to the hills, where the portal won't reach. She has phone calls to make.

While Mitchell's script doesn't let us in on those calls, the film's resolution will make clear who was on the other end. From there, the Platts sit at a bus stop and wait. For what? The arrival of a familiar vehicle with a Pete's Pizza topper. To bring Greg to them, Denise orders a pizza, calling him up to the hills where he'd be safe from the portal's arrival.

The family embraces, and The End of Oak Street cuts to a year later.

News reports detail how the neighborhood was swapped for one from millions of years before. But the authorities captured or killed the dinosaurs who appeared in 1982. As for the human residents of Oak Street, several of them give on-camera testimonials championing Denise's heroic actions. Mrs. Huddleston, Mrs. Valcourt, and the Platts' ornery next-door neighbor, Mel Jacobs (P.J. Byrne), were all saved, because they listened when Denise's phone calls told them to get out.

As for Denise, her book about her unhappy marriage was lost to time and a flooded basement. But her time in the past led to her penning a new book called The End of Oak Street.

Does the ending of The End of Oak Street create a time paradox? Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Mitchell's movie does not lay out the specifics of its time travel. Is it a time loop? Does it establish with its final act an alternate timeline? Within the film itself, it's unclear. But here's our best estimation.

The Platt family traveled back in time, and returned home through their joint efforts to survive. By calling Greg to them in the hills, Denise saves him from becoming T. rex food. However, she also dooms a version of herself and her kids to dino land without Greg.

And without her husband's intervention, Denise would likely have been eaten by the T. rex. So, did Denise doom another version of herself to death? Specifically, a version of herself that sought freedom over her family? It's a pretty intense way for Mitchell to make a family-first argument. But beyond that, is it even possible the Platts could survive without Denise? At the first sign of trouble, Greg's go-to is hidden whiskey and goofy dad jokes. His plan was to stay put in their house until the town blipped back. But in the film's finale, a year has passed and no such return blip has brought the houses back. So, even if they could have survived a year, that wouldn't have been a solution.

Beyond that, if post-dino fight Denise prevents pre-dino fight Greg from going back in time, then the path to her and the kids getting back to the future wouldn't happen. That would be a time paradox. However, The End of Oak Street may not be a time-loop movie. Perhaps Denise created an alternate timeline and pulled Greg successfully into that. If this is the case, The End of Oak Street offers a happy ending that's still bizarrely dark.

The final sequence shows Denise walking through her home, where framed photos hang of the family smiling, Brian with a girlfriend who probably doesn't prefer his sister, and the Polaroid of the Greg who did die, posing before some rutting brontosauruses. As Denise meets her family in the yard, they're joined by Jeannette and her parents. A family barbecue! What could be more indicative of an American happy ending?

Except, what did Greg make of all this information? The photo being framed in the home and Denise's book suggest he was told about what happened to him (or a version of him). He's not the man who risked his life to save his wife, but now he is her husband. Does he have any guilt for moving on with post-dino fight Denise while the family he knew is doomed to die in the past? Is Denise haunted by the choice to leave a version of her kids to be thrust into the prehistoric hell with which she is all too familiar? Are her children going to be able to form meaningful long-term relationships when they watched their parents bicker, their father die, and their mother replace him with the ring of a phone?

The End of Oak Street won't grapple with any of these possibilities.

Focus on the barbecue, it beckons, leaving audiences with a flimsy happy ending that hearkens back to the likes of 1956's The Bad Seed and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. All three movies offer a resolution that entreats: Forget the horrors you've seen! The child killer is ruthless, but she's been smote by lightning! The pod people are among us, but surely the U.S. government will stop them... somehow.

These 1950s movies aimed to coddle the audience with an ending that wouldn't leave them scared. In the case of The Bad Seed, they even added a curtain call, where the child actress is playfully spanked by her onscreen mother to give the audience assurance that the horrors of the film shouldn't follow them home. And perhaps we harbor a crooked sentimentality for these endings, because we like to think art and audiences have moved past such clumsy compromises. These endings certainly don't fit, as they seem ludicrously life-affirming and abrupt after so much horror. But it's 70 years later, and studios are still spoon-feeding us such senselessly happy endings, as if we can't recognize how pandering and preposterous they are. It's not charming now; it's infuriating slop.

The End of Oak Street is now in theaters.

Dylan Meyer has been building her career as a screenwriter with spirited movies like XOXO and Moxie. Now, she makes her directorial debut with The Wrong Girls, a stoner comedy that co-stars her wife, Kristen Stewart, and Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat.

SEE ALSO: 'The Wrong Girls' review: Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat shine in stoner buddy comedy

The pair play "nimrod" besties Frankie and Molly, who are bumbling around Los Angeles while high on psychedelic drugs made from giant squid fluids. This deep-sea dose has given them the ability to speak telepathically to each other and to their two cats, Dio and GG, voiced by Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani.

To celebrate the film's release, Meyer sat down for a virtual interview with Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko.

Together, they dug into the personal origins of The Wrong Girls, as well as inspiration points like The Blue Planet, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, and Empire Records. Plus, they got into casting cats and how Meyer's collaboration with Stewart reveals a new — and more true to life — side to the critically heralded performer

Mashable: Congratulations on the movie. It's very, very fun. I know it came from a personal space for you. Can you tell me a little bit about the origins of The Wrong Girls?

Dylan Meyer: Yeah, I lived with my best friend Maggie McLean, who's now my producing partner, for five years. But it was definitely like the happiest and most, like, safe five years of my whole life. It was the first time I ever really felt like I had a home. Our little life together was very dysfunctional and very broke and very chaotic, but I really thought it was so sweet and funny in its own way. Like, the things that happened to us were deserving of the same kind of care and treatment that I see a lot of men's movies about their friendships get. I realized that there weren't movies like that really for women. 

Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat star in "The Wrong Girls." Credit: NEON

Like, when I was scraping my mind at the time, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion was almost the only girl-buddy movie that I could think of that was that straightforward. And we were such nimrods. I remember thinking, like, "God, I'm also an idiot." We could have our own movie, and, like, why isn't there one? You know, like, why isn't there a great Dumb and Dumber that's about girls? Girls are also Dumb and Dumber.

That's something I love about The Wrong Girls. It's a movie where women get to be dumb, and that's part of the joy and the freedom of it. I think like in Romy and Michele, like in Dumb and Dumber, there's a sense of defiance in it, like: These are the rules of being an adult. But what if I say no?

I agree. There are so many more ways to cut this cake than we've been led to believe. This is a 14-year journey to make this movie. I wrote the original draft of this in 2012, when we still lived together, and you know, it's really grown with me over the years. But like, I remember the [COVID] pandemic happening and me thinking, "Oh God, like, how will we ever tell stories normally again?" And then I was like, "Well, the one story I'm not really worried about is The Wrong Girls, because they probably barely even noticed there was a pandemic. They were just getting high in their house, as they were already before then." You know?

It's a very good point. Speaking to that, how did psychedelics derived from deep-sea creatures come into play?

I've been obsessed with giant squids since I saw 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea when I was five. Like, I think that giant squids have occupied a cosmic question mark in my brain. This idea that we've never really seen one, but they're massive, and they're down there? It's just this thing about how we know more about outer space than we know about the bottom of the ocean floor. Like, I'm really convinced that it's a psychedelic place down there, like, in the truest sense of mystery, imagination, possibility, freak-show stuff. It's all going down down there. We know it. 

Like, if you spend time watching Blue Planet or any other like deep-sea explorative programming, you will see that there is freaky stuff going on down there. So, it felt like a really natural fit to me that, like, if there's something mysterious and inexplicable and cosmic that we might be able to distill its origin point, [it's] that. Also, this is such a California movie, so the ocean being a part of it is, like, a key ingredient. So, it sort of all factors in. This is such a freak-flag movie for the two girls, and so I think the giant squids are, like, the natural other freak-flag contender. 

I've spent so much time watching Blue Planet and just sort of, like, truly immersing [myself] in what kind of chaos is going on under the sea, and I think it's bottomlessly inspirational.

Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat star in "The Wrong Girls." Credit: NEON

Are you the kind of person who's like, "I'm good watching it on the screen," or if you had the chance to go into a submersible and check those depths out, would you be the Steve Zissou?

This is a big question. No, I don't think I'm a submersible guy. My knee-jerk reaction is like, no, probably not. I mean, I am obsessed with sharks and terrified of sharks. Like, I would put sharks at the top of my fear and love list. So, I think that the ocean is kind of a complicated place for me. I don't think submersibles are for me. And I'm not even particularly claustrophobic in my life, but I do think that's not natural. I don't think we're supposed to go down there like that.

I do want to talk about the other key animals in this movie: the cats. Tell me about writing for cats.

So, obviously, I'm a cat guy. I currently have two. And when Maggie and I lived together, there was always some random cat living with us that didn't belong to us. Like just a cycle of never-ending —

Squatter cats?

Yeah. I've had a lot of different cats over the years. Not all of them are your soulmate. Some of them are terrible roommates. [In writing for Dio and GG,] I was looking for the perfect foil for people who, like, can't get it together. And cats are that. 

Cats have it absolutely together. Nothing has it more together than they do in certain ways. We all know cats are judgmental, but, like, these guys [Frankie and Molly] specifically are so dysfunctional that I wanted the cat voices to really be almost stand-ins for the rest of the world, filtered through the really limited experience they have. I also wanted to write cats that have just been absorbing everything all the time. So they're familiar with pop culture. 

I wrote them as just shitty roommates, judgmental shitty roommates, and then as we, like, filmed it and went back with Seth and Kumail [for additional dialogue recording sessions), then I was sort of working with like, "Okay, what is the thing that most complements like this expression [on the cat's face]?" And it was something that was able to evolve over the course of making the whole movie and wasn't like one static thing.

"The character was already very close to Kristen, which is sort of like a dirtbaggy skater punk type from the suburbs of Los Angeles that smokes a lot of weed. That's like Kristen in life and Kristen in art."

Tell me about casting both the physical cats and the human voices of them.

I looked through a lot of different cats that were available, which was a very challenging decision for me. It felt like the biggest decision I was ever going to make, in some ways. And I wanted cats that their physicality brought me a comedic experience, even if, like, they were refusing to perform comedically. Like, I was sort of hedging my bets on, "Okay, cats are not actors. We know this. What can I sort of get that will buffer the experience of looking at them and bring me comedic joy every time I look at them?" So I chose their faces for these exact reasons. 

I have never had a purebred cat, and I think those might be purebred cats. There's two per cat. They come in pairs. But I guess my feeling is that all kinds of cats wind up in shelters, and you don't know why they're there. 

Like my cat now, Cozy, he looks like he could have been designed in a lab in Korea. But he's just from the streets of Van Nuys, you know? He's just a Valley boy. I got his DNA tested, 82% American domestic cat. So, these cats, I chose them because they looked so funny, and especially that brown one's little wall-eyed thing. I burst into hysterics every time I even see him do anything. 

Then, Seth is a producer on the movie. And again, sort of in the shitty roommate category, Seth's voice to me just brings up like some dude you live with [who's] kind of a judgmental bro.

Kumail I targeted as a cat fan. This whole movie was really brought together as, like, a labor of love by the people that made it. We were not, like, dangling fat paychecks in front of anyone. [The pitch to Kumail was basically,]  "Do you really like cats, and would [you] like to be a cat?"

One of them was more frightened, and one of them was sassier. Kumail was just this frightened cat guy; it just made me laugh so hard. Kumail actually lost his cat of, like, 15 years during the process of making this movie. And I was having to ask him for voice notes as we were temping in, like trying out new dialogue along the way. And we only got to bring them in for official recording so many times, and I remember feeling like really worried about poking — 

The bruise?

Yeah, I was like, "Does it make you feel better to be a cat now, or does it make it worse?" He can always say no if he doesn't want to, but he's such an incredible team player. And everyone was so good to me in that way, so yeah, those are the cats.

Incredible. Then, you've got two incredible leading ladies. For Kristen in particular, she's a heralded actress. But she's not necessarily known for comedy, and I really enjoyed The Wrong Girls because it felt like watching her let go in a way I haven't seen in the other comedic work. So I'm curious for you, how did it come about that you were like, Kristen's the right pick for this?

I actually wanted Kristen to be in this movie long before we were ever together. We met a very long time ago. And when I met her, who she actually is in life is quite close to this character [Frankie]. It's not who we're used to seeing her perform in role[s]. But Kristen is from the Valley, and she's actually really funny. 

Like in my life with her, I have experienced her own comedic timing enough to know that I'm like, "This is a missed opportunity in terms of this performer." And comedy is very vulnerable in a different way than what I think she's been used to doing. 

All of the comedy is an extension of the regular performances. So the character was already very close to Kristen, which is sort of like a dirtbaggy skater punk type from the suburbs of Los Angeles that smokes a lot of weed. That's, like, Kristen in life and Kristen in art. 

And then to me, in the next era of whatever movies are, you should just hire a really good actor because a really good actor is a good actor. And I knew she's funny because I live with her and she makes me laugh all the time. But she's a really brilliant performer and just not given the right set of circumstances to really showcase that [sense of humor]. So, I think the part being right allowed her to showcase some other stuff that people don't see from her as often.

I love that, and I love the final dance number. You mentioned Romy and Michele, and The Wrong Girls' climax did remind me of the "Time After Time" number or like Barb and Star, where you have this like musical moment amid the comedy. But I also enjoy that your approach to it is a little more grounded, I think because it doesn't create a gloss for these girls. Can you tell me a little bit about how you approached that final dance number?

There's a couple of components. Like, one thing is that I really wanted it to be... It's not a musical number in that, like, a song descends from nowhere. It is very much playing internally in their shared brain. I thought that was such a funny use of that kind of set piece that we've seen in other capacities. But, it was really paying off the premise of the telepathy, which is the wish fulfillment of having it with your best friend; you could effectively share earbuds or whatever and listen to a song that no one else can hear. Like [you can] have an experience that no one else is a part of, that's so private and so shared. 

So, narratively, it really was the final extension of everything else we'd been working on in the film. And then there's this question of like, "Can you suddenly know a choreographed dance number, or are you still, like, yourself?" And I think in asking myself that, I was like, "It would leave the reality of this movie for these girls to suddenly become incredible dancers that, like, have a routine. So, it needs to be more like in the spirit of you're eight, and you're making up a dance with your best friend." 

LaKeith Stanfield and Kate McKinnon co-star in "The Wrong Girls." Credit: NEON

There's just enough coordination between the two of them that they feel like they're in the same space, but also that no one is magically a professional dancer. It's born from just, like, the freedom of self-expression and the joy of self-expression, which is what it should be coming from. And as I said, this is such a freak-flag movie. So, to me, it was like the culmination of joy, connection, and private moments. 

And Céline [Dion], who's, you know, obviously the patron saint of feelings, as far as I'm concerned, a big operatic feeling...

And patron saint of also dancing to the beat of your own drum —  

Yes, like, dude, that is a freak-flag lady. You know what I mean? She is like on her own vibe, absolutely in the same way. And I think it was important to use Céline for me, because I wanted someone who felt a little like underrated in the way that the girls feel underrated. Céline Dion in the scope of the universe, not underrated. But by like arty punk guys [that Frankie and Molly are around] —

Céline is not considered cool. 

Right. Underrated, not cool. This movie's got a lot of earnestness. And so her being the patriot saint of feelings, and like allowing the girls to have this just true joy finale that's totally private and shared, and then you get this like fun comedic button with it being witnessed by people, who cannot hear that song — it felt like the exact right ending. 

But that dance sequence didn't become a part of this movie until maybe a year before we actually made it. I was driving around in Albuquerque, listening to the radio when Love Lies Bleeding was happening. And suddenly, like, I think Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors" came on. And I was like, "Oh, the movie wants it. Absolutely. What am I doing? Like, it needs this. It needs this, like, big feeling." Empire Records is such an influence on this movie. And I I wanted it to feel as good as it could possibly feel, and so that's how I feel when I watch them do that. I just feel such pure joy.

The Wrong Girls opens in theaters Aug. 14.

If you haven’t heard of AdultFriendFinder (AFF), honestly, consider yourself lucky. This online platform has seriously earned its reputation for being one of the raunchiest and spammiest "dating" sites cluttering the internet.

Sure, the name sounds wholesome and innocent enough, right? But peel back those endless paywalls, and what you find is a digital den packed with X-rated content, questionable profiles, problematic language, and aggressive marketing tactics that seem way more interested in your wallet than your actual experience. They constantly push you to spend more money on basic functions. (Oh, and did I mention it’s also visually offensive? Seriously ugly, aesthetically speaking.)

The best way to describe the AdultFriendFinder website (no app) is through its overall layout, which feels like a relic from the early 2000s internet. It's a mess of flashing banners, intrusive ads, and a user interface so poorly designed it feels intentionally built to overwhelm and confuse anyone brave enough to sign up. You know that scene in Because I Said So where Diane Keaton’s character awkwardly stumbles upon AdultFriendFinder while trying to vet dates for her daughter? Yeah, that's still the energy.

But is there anything redeemable behind the chaos? In this review, we do a deep dive into the AdultFriendFinder experience to figure out exactly how it works (or doesn't), what features it offers, and whether it actually connects people looking for hookups.

This site is for making adult "friends," not friends who are adults. Credit: Screenshot: AdultFriendFinder What is AdultFriendFinder?

AdultFriendFinder is one of the most well-known sites for finding quick sexual encounters and literally anything else even remotely related to sex. The rowdy feed of matches makes it heaven for anyone looking for a good time with no filter — and hell for someone who wouldn't be caught dead clicking on a "There are hot singles in your area" ad.

SEE ALSO: Tired of Pornhub? These raunchy dating sites are worthy alternatives.

On AFF, you can find someone to sext via messaging or video chat (and plan to get it on IRL, if that's what you're looking for), watch live streams, or join niche group chat rooms to connect with other members. You can easily view photos and videos from other members, though interacting is often locked behind a paywall. Is it worth $20-something per month? Depends on how much fishy content you're willing to overlook for a juicy sexting session.

Opens in a new window Credit: AdultFriendFinder AdultFriendFinder   Learn More

So, who's actually on this platform? While the site used to flash huge, questionable stats like "98,897,765 hot photos" on its signup page, those crazy numbers seem to be gone now (though they may show for people who've never logged onto the site before; we couldn't get it to replicate it in incognito mode, so it's probably safe to say they're just gone). According to Similarweb's data for May 2026, AdultFriendFinder has pulled in around 9.8 million visits.

AdultFriendFinder's ranking has slipped significantly; noting a steady drop from previous years, it currently sits at 84th in the Adult category in the United States. This suggests people might be finding better alternatives elsewhere, and we're not surprised. Today, you can download kink- and poly-friendly hookup apps like Feeld and Pure, plus hookup destinations like Tinder, which have a huge user base of people ready to meet.

SEE ALSO: Is Tinder Platinum worth it? I tried it for 3 months to find out.

Specifics on the demographic that most people care about — the gender ratio — can be hard to track down. According to SimilarWeb, the audience is roughly 76.44 percent male and 23.56 percent female. This kind of imbalance is pretty common on hookup-focused sites. It means it's likely a paradise if you're a straight man, maybe hit-or-miss if you're a straight woman or LGBTQ man, and probably an actual hellscape if you're an LGBTQ woman trying to navigate it.

On the flip side, AFF does let you identify as and search for a man, woman, a couple, or trans. They've made some attempts to be a "sex-positive" site with blogs, groups, and even a "sex academy." However, their language around the LGBTQ community has historically been anything but inclusive or positive. Previously, the AFF sign-up page listed "TG/TV/TS" as the "trans" gender selection — we'll let you infer what those stand for. After reaching out to AdultFriendFinder about it, this language has improved somewhat with more gender options that are appropriately labeled, though "trans" is still a separate selection from "man" or "woman," which feels more like fetishization than inclusivity.

The sexual oreintation selection is a bit more inclusive than the "searching for" section. Credit: Screenshot: AdultFriendFinder Is AdultFriendFinder legit?

As far as legitimacy goes, AdultFriendFinder is a real site with real users. However, the question is whether you can really find what you're looking for there, or if you'll mostly find a bunch of bots and scammers. Many users report that it feels like a scam site due to the number of fake profiles and the pressure to spend more money. Compared to other legit sites, its reputation is definitely questionable.

Because AFF is pretty spammy, it's hard to tell how many active members are actually using the site. The 1.4 Trustpilot score isn't reassuring either.

SEE ALSO: 10 fastest-growing fetishes of 2025 so far

From the start, AdultFriendFinder makes it clear that it's not really aiming to build long-term relationships. The site emphasizes casual hookups and even allows for explicit content, so users know what they're getting into. But if you're looking for something more than just a one-night stand, you might want to consider other platforms.

One of the biggest turnoffs for potential users is that so many features are locked behind a paywall. While you can technically sign up for free, you can't do much beyond browse profiles or view photos from other members. Free members have very limited interaction options; you typically need to upgrade to send messages or see anything substantial. There’s also a brand-new age verification feature that won’t let you past the home page unless you verify you’re actually of age. You can either take a photo of your face to confirm your age or upload a valid photo ID that confirms your birth date. (Honestly, we’re glad they’re at least trying to protect minors from seeing anything they shouldn’t be seeing or connecting with pervy older people.)

There's brand-new age verification feature that won’t let you past the home page unless you verify you’re actually of age. Credit: Screenshot: AdultFriendFinder How does AdultFriendFinder work?

Signing up takes like 30 seconds. Seriously, just an email, username, password, and a quick intro will do. Of course, you'll have to go through the strict new age verification process too, but it's pretty quick.

Once you're in, brace yourself for the instant notification spam; apparently, a gray silhouette is enough to attract attention here. To even think about connecting with someone real, you absolutely have to add photos and details to your profile — essentially, prove you're not just another bot contributing to the noise.

AdultFriendFinder features a personality questionnaire to personalize your profile and up your chances of finding a compatible match. Credit: Screenshot: AdultFriendFinder

After registering, there are a ton of ways to personalize your account (way more than you'd expect for a hookup site, honestly). The more you fill out, the better your chances of meeting someone (and improving your sex life). There are the basic physical appearance questions about eye and hair color, and since I identified as a woman, cup size was an option. (If you identify as a man, I'm sure you can guess what question they ask.)

SEE ALSO: How to unblock Xnxx porn for free

The site also features a Personality Type test and a "My Kinks" form where you can select whether or not you're "curious about, into, or can't live without" a certain kink (e.g., anal, bondage, role play, etc.). It also lets you choose whether you're a voyeur, the giver, or the receiver.

One weird thing about the Personality Type test is that it asks several questions about whether or not you enjoy shopping at discount stores — not really sure what that's about. It also asks whether or not "a quiet time for prayer should be allowed in school." You can choose "strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, somewhat agree, or strongly agree."

Once you finish the personality test (20 questions), you can opt to have your Personality Type show up on your profile or have it hidden. It will also show you which personality types complement yours.

Credit: Screenshot: AdultFriendFinder Matching on AdultFriendFinder: What to expect

Here’s what you can expect when you're looking for a connection:

• Like a traditional dating site, AFF throws a collage of potential matches at you, showing who's online or nearby. But any resemblance to a "traditional" site stops there.

• You barely have to scroll before noticing that there's no shortage of nudity. Depending on whether you set your preferences to men, women, or both, you'll see all of that stuff up close, personal, swinging around, in action. You name it, it'll pop up.

• You can try to refine your results by gender, age, location, race, sexual orientation, body type, etc., but good luck making a dent in the sheer volume of profiles (real or otherwise).

• The message section looks weirdly like old Gmail. You'll get a mix of messages; some might be genuinely friendly, but expect a fair share of instant, crude ones too. It's the online dating equivalent of creeps on Tinder, but amplified.

SEE ALSO: Tinder releases yet another feature to stop inappropriate messages How much does AdultFriendFinder cost?

You can do a decent amount of looking without paying (this includes browsing profiles, getting limited messages, and hitting up some chat rooms). But hit any of that "juicier hidden content" or try to actually talk to someone, and you'll smack into a paywall or the site's non-monetary currency, "points." You earn points through activity on the free version, which is kind of like playing a mini-game just to unlock basic functionality.

To really get anywhere, especially if you're a guy looking for women (as some on Reddit noted, women prefer paid members for perceived credibility), you'll need a Gold membership. The prices bounce around a bit, but generally, the longer you commit, the cheaper the monthly rate.

Here is how the current pricing breaks down:

• 1 month of Gold is $24.95 (billed monthly)

• 3 months of Gold is $20.95 per month (billed quarterly at $62.85)

• 12 months of Gold is $14.95 per month (billed once at $179.40)

The prices bounce around a bit, but generally, the longer you commit, the cheaper the monthly rate. Credit: Screenshot: AdultFriendFinder

The site shoves other weird add-ons at you, too. For example, there's a separate fee required just to "interact with standard members" on the platform. That costs $19.95 for one month, or $11.95 a month if you bill it quarterly. These layer-on costs, meaning the price you see for Gold might not be the actual price of a usable experience.

AdultFriendFinder also gives members the option to confirm their identity with ConfirmID. If you do this, the site promises to give you two weeks of Gold for free. The ConfirmID works by entering your legal first and last name, home address, gender, and date of birth, and uploading a copy of your driver's license, passport, or other government-issued ID.

If you spend more quality time on the site than expected, springing for a paid membership is definitely something to consider. Once you're paying, you basically become royalty on the site: Your profile will appear way higher in searches, you can use the most advanced searches, unlock profiles with private photo albums, check out video profiles, and message to your heart's content. A general rule is that increased involvement and payment on your end generally equals more success on the website, as your constant activity and heightened searchability make it easier for others to find you.

So, does AdultFriendFinder work?

Once you get past the in-your-face sexplosion of naked profile pictures, horny AIM-era profile names, and explicit videos, the big question is: Does AdultFriendFinder actually work? Like, can you realistically log on and find what you're looking for? The short answer is... maybe, but probably not as well as you'd hope. While you're there, you will have to stay on guard for window shoppers and scammers.

Let's put it this way: AFF might work if you are very open-minded, specifically looking to blow off steam with casual sex or explore niche kinks, and you're completely over the slow pace of traditional dating sites. It has a ton of activities, ranging from direct messaging, sending virtual gifts and tips, watching live videos of people in your feed, joining adult chat rooms that can get very niche, or entering photo contests.

Aside from the NSFW content, the website is relatively straightforward (albeit ugly). Every feature is advertised in big letters, notifications are displayed clearly with labels, and you don't really have to click around to find anything. This makes it super accessible for users of all ages, even those who aren't tech-savvy and can't even figure out Facebook. Buttons are all over the place, but you figure it out after messing around for a few minutes.

AdultFriendFinder is like a PornHub that you can interact with.

Think of AdultFriendFinder as the dating site version of New York City — it never sleeps. It's like that booty call who's always awake when you text them. Or at least that used to be the case... 10 years ago. What was once a hot site that a few Reddit users were quick to hype up is now one of the dating sites that Reddit users can't help but diss — in the few instances that AFF is even being discussed at all. It's notable that, on a site where online dating is such a mammoth topic of discussion, AdultFriendFinder has rarely been mentioned in a positive light since the early 2010s. The Reddit community is diverse and open-minded; if a dating site exists, someone on Reddit has used it and has an opinion. When an innocent soul does ask if it's legit, AFF usually gets dragged for sketchy pricing and being riddled with fake profiles.

However, some Reddit members have praised AFF as a site for men meeting men. Even so, the site's still buggy and isn't exactly great for meeting real people who aren't, as one Reddit user so eloquently put it, "busted and unstable."

SEE ALSO: Is Bumble Premium worth it? I tried it for 2 months to find out. Good for: Very open-minded people looking to blow off steam

Stating the obvious, AdultFriendFinder is a space for people who want to bang with no strings attached, people who are in a sexual rut, people who are tired of porn, and people who find sites like eharmony boring. Getting to know someone for weeks before meeting up can be exhausting, and sometimes, you want to skip the small talk and do the dirty with a random. It's gonna get kinky out there, and that's great for those who are dying to blow off steam and want someone who will respond well to a brusque, sexy message.

As with all dating sites, catfishing is a big buzzkill. Your chances of being pursued are way higher if you have a lot of pictures of the same person (AKA you), videos, and a genuine profile that lets people know they're not dealing with something sketchy. Even if you've had bad luck with online dating in the past, AdultFriendFinder is the place to be honest.

SEE ALSO: What is consensual non-monogamy? Bad for: People looking for a real relationship and the entire socially conscious community

If you're a cynic, conservative by any means, get sketched out easily, or aren't a fan of dick pics, you'll probably hate it. Similarly, if you appreciate a well-crafted, aesthetically pleasing website that feels safe, no matter how badly you want to have sex, one glance at the landing page likely signals that it's not for you.

AdultFriendFinder is not the place to be if you're trying to make friends unless "with benefits" is tacked onto the end. Every inch of the site screams: "This website is used to have sex," and you should really listen to that.

As illustrated by the flood of artsy activism guides on Instagram in recent years, it's clear what content appeals to young people on the internet: Something aesthetically pleasing, shareable, and digestible. The "shareable" part doesn't totally apply to online dating, but apps like Hinge and OkCupid closely follow this design trend by limiting the number of words (and ads) in each tab, steering clear of endless scrolling, and ensuring that important info isn't cluttered with flashing clickbait.

AFF could do so much more to make people take it seriously

We're not knocking a quick hookup or no-strings-attached relations. This isn't about morals. Genitals are quite literally in your face from the moment you make an account, and that's just not cute. There are chiller ways to go about insinuating that this is a hookup website without feeling like you're trapped in a sex dungeon with strangers.

I could not get past the fact that the entire site looks like it's about to invite five viruses to your computer. We're talking terrible graphics that look like they were made on Microsoft Paint and pictures of women who look like they're from Pornhub in 2007. (That's when AdultFriendFinder was officially sold and rebranded from its original parent company.) Reddit user Snoo53279 summed it up in a comment from July 2020: "The people on AFF are definitely real, but there is a huge smattering of bots that also get in the way, so it can be a bit of a PITA to use." If they're not bots, they could be men posing as a couple to seem less threatening.

The parade of women on the landing page is questionable for two reasons. This shouldn't even need to be clarified, but not everyone is looking for a woman. At the least, the advertising isn't inclusive — but this crosses into fetishization territory. The cherry on top is that the women in the photos (unsurprisingly) probably aren't even members of the site, according to a disclaimer at the bottom of the landing page.

SEE ALSO: What is cockfishing? Why some men lie about their size on dating apps.

AdultFriendFinder's overall outdated vibe goes past an aesthetic annoyance — it's downright problematic at times. The lack of inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community is nearly unforgivable, and we'd be scared to see some of the related rhetoric that AFF users feel comfortable spewing. Without even a dash of social awareness, it's hard to see how anyone who's not an out-of-touch straight cis man would feel comfortable on this site.

Attempting to navigate the shoddy design might be enough to smother your horniness. Three main issues can make the site borderline unusable: It looks shady as hell, an alarming portion of the user base is made up of bots and spam accounts, and the user interface itself is outdated and rife with bugs.

AdultFriendFinder alternatives

Given AdultFriendFinder's... challenges... you're probably wondering where else you can look for casual connections or kink exploration online. While AFF might feel slightly more "legit" than sites with names that scream spam (you know the ones), there are definitely much better places to spend your time and money.

Here are a few alternatives that offer a significantly better experience:

• Pure: Think of Pure as a more modern, less eyeball-assaulting option for no-strings-attached hookups. It has a sleek, "hella-millennial" design (way better than AFF's retro mess) and features like self-destructing messages and profiles that disappear after an hour, giving it a casual, in-the-moment feel. It's basically a sexier, more private Snapchat for hookups.

• Feeld: If you're a single or couple looking for group sex, polyamory, or exploring LGBTQ+ friendly dynamics, Feeld is a much better bet than navigating AFF's often problematic space. It's designed for open-minded individuals and couples and is generally praised for being more inclusive (though it had some bugs after a recent update, which seem to be getting addressed). It skips the unicorn hunting and rampant fetishization found elsewhere.

• FetLife: If the "My Kinks" section on AFF piqued your interest but the endless bots scared you off, FetLife is exactly where you need to be. It's kind of like Myspace (RIP) for the BDSM, fetish, and kink community. You can find local kink events, join hyper-specific groups, and connect with real people who share your exact desires in a much safer, community-policed environment.

• Sniffies: If you're a gay, bi, trans, or queer man looking for a hyper-direct hookup, skip AFF entirely and head to Sniffies. This map-based cruising platform lets you see exactly who's looking for action in your immediate area. You don't even need to register for an account to browse the map, and it displays users' intentions and preferred sex positions right on their avatars.

• Mainstream Apps (like Hinge or OkCupid): While not strictly hookup-focused, even mainstream apps offer a more palatable and less spammy user experience. Their design is cleaner, there's less ad overload, and they prioritize clear information over flashing explicit content, which some users might find a relief compared to AFF's chaos.

Ultimately, you have options that are more modern, more inclusive, and simply less likely to make you feel like you need a virus scan after logging on.

SEE ALSO: Best hookup apps and dating sites to find casual sex with no strings attached The final verdict: Is AdultFriendFinder worth it?

AdultFriendFinder is a low-pressure way to find a friends-with-benefits situation without insulting anyone. Everyone is pretty much there for the same reason, and though it'll feel pretty unorthodox if you've only ever used Tinder to scope this type of thing out, AFF's blunt advertising at least means you won't have to explain that you're not looking for a relationship. It's niche-friendly and has a ton of interactive outlets to indulge your primal urges.

But that freedom comes with a price — the price is feeling like one of those people who fall for the ads that pop up before a free Pornhub video. It's not that a site dedicated to sex and sexting is inherently scammy — it's that AdultFriendFinder drowns you with explicit photos on profiles that might not even be real people while asking you to pay for a subscription with every click.

Unfortunately, no matter how in the mood you are, some people aren't cut out for the nothing-left-to-the-imagination approach with grammar mistakes all over the place. It wants to be sex-positive so badly, but the language the site has used in reference to the trans community is the furthest thing from that.

The site's functionality and safety aren't where they need to be in 2026. If security measures were tightened, graphics and photos were cleaned up to feel more relevant, and decision-makers behind the scenes were given a lesson in inclusivity and pronouns/identities, AdultFriendFinder could be a handy tool to find attachment-free hookups and connect with a community that's down for anything.

This isn't a dating or hookup site we would personally use, but if you're feeling brave, you can register for AdultFriendFinder here. Just don't try this at work.

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SAVE $200: As of Aug. 14, the Eufy Omni S2 robot vacuum and mop has been discounted to $1,399.99 at Amazon. That's $200 off its full price of $1,599.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Eufy Eufy Omni S2 Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo $1,399.99 at Amazon
$1,599.99 Save $200   Get Deal

Keeping your house clean, especially if you have a busy summer schedule, can feel like a lot. That's where robot vacuums come in handy. While the FCC may have banned models made outside the U.S., you can still get models already in circulation, and Amazon's a great spot to find deals.

If you're looking for a robot vacuum that can also mop, the Eufy Omni S2 is one option on sale right now.

As of Aug. 14, Amazon has the Eufy Omni S2 robot vacuum and mop discounted to $1,399.99 for a limited time. Compared to its full price of $1,599.99, that's $200 in savings.

SEE ALSO: Purple's Labor Day sale gets you a king mattress for the price of a queen — shop now for up to $400 off

With such a premium price tag, the Eufy Omni S2 offers quite a lot when it comes to cleaning. In terms of vacuuming, it features AeroTurbo 2.0 technology and 30,000 Pa of suction with 100 AW airflow, which can clean deep into carpets. It also comes with a DuoSpiral main brush and anti-tangle side brushes that help prevent hair of all lengths from getting caught up inside it and slowing it down.

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