The short answer: Backpage.com was an online classifieds site with an adult section. It ran from 2004 until federal agents seized it on April 6, 2018; its CEO and the company pleaded guilty, and it never came back. By March 2025, the backpage.com address pointed to an unrelated adult webcam site. Sites using the Backpage name today have no reported connection to the original: YesBackpage’s own search listing calls it a Backpage alternative for escorts, Bedpage is described in legal coverage as hosting escort ads, and reviewers of 2Backpage describe ads that asked for payment up front. For personal ads between adults, here’s where people post now.
Backpage and Craigslist Personals both went offline in 2018, and no single board took their place. These are the personal ad sites we checked in October 2026, for ads between adults rather than commercial services:
| Site | What it is | Free to post | Who can see your ad | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AseeksB | A text-first personal ads app | Yes, 1 active post | Only the audience you choose, by gender and age | iOS, Android |
| Doublelist | Classified personal ads | Yes, up to 3 posts | Any account holder | iOS, Android, web |
| Lex | Text posts for LGBTQ+ people | A set number each month | Members whose own filters include you | iOS, Android |
| Locanto | General classifieds with a personals section | Yes | Anyone | iOS, Android, web |
| Reddit r4r | Reddit’s personal ad boards | Yes | Anyone reading the board | Web, Reddit app |
The full comparison, with what we found in the newest ads on each site, is in Craigslist Personals alternatives. For where to post in your city, see personal ads, city by city.
By the time it was seized, federal auditors called Backpage the largest online platform for buying and selling commercial sex (GAO), and prosecutors said it took in $500 million in prostitution-related revenue between 2004 and 2018 (AP). Here is how it ended, with a source for each step.
After the seizure, backpage.com showed a federal seizure notice for almost seven years. In early 2025 the notice came down, and by March 2025 the address redirected to an adult webcam site. Reason, which reported the change, found no connection between that site’s operator and the original Backpage. Nothing at the old address is the classifieds site people remember.
Search for Backpage today and you’ll find sites with the name in their address. None has a reported connection to the original. This is what’s on record about the ones that come up most. We don’t link to any of them.
The first came right after the seizure. Court documents say CityXGuide’s owner registered 1Backpage.com, CityXGuide.com, and half a dozen other domains the day after the FBI seized Backpage, and an advertiser wrote that the site was “taking over from where Backpage left off” (CBS News). Federal agents seized CityXGuide and its sister sites on June 19, 2020, and in 2022 its owner was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison (U.S. Attorney). The FBI calls CityXGuide Backpage’s successor site.
Its own search listing calls it a Backpage alternative for escorts.
Its Trustpilot profile, which the site hasn’t claimed, rated it 1.8 out of 5 from 31 reviews on October 26, 2026. Reviewers from June to August 2026 describe ads that asked for a deposit or a gift card before any meeting.
Described in legal coverage as hosting personal ads, including ads for escort and adult services.
A 2021 report by the Government Accountability Office found that after Backpage was seized, the market split up: many of the platforms moved overseas, no single one became dominant, and spam and scam efforts on advertising platforms increased. Our Craigslist Personals alternatives page lists the other adult-services boards we leave out, and why.
Whatever site you use, don’t send money to someone you haven’t met, and treat a request for a deposit, a gift card, or a payment app transfer before meeting as a reason to stop. Meet somewhere public the first time, tell a friend where you’re going, and keep the conversation on the platform until you trust the person. On AseeksB, chats stay in the app, and you can report anything against our guidelines, even after someone unmatches you, and even if it happened after you’d moved to another messaging app. More on our Safety & Moderation page.
AseeksB is a personal ads app for adults, free on iOS and Android. You write an ad in your own words, choose who can see it by gender and age, and reply in the app; photos are optional, and must be of you. It’s for people looking for each other, not for commercial services, and admins actively monitor posts. Supporter, from $7.99 a week, adds more active posts, unlimited post views, and filters like requiring a photo before someone can message you.
Post yours and become part of the community. If there’s a feature you’d want, tell us through the app, from the profile tab; we’d love to hear it. And if you know people who miss the old personal ads, share this page with them.
Say what you’re looking for, in your own words, choose who sees it, and reply in the app. The key features are free, and Supporter is there when you want more.
Federal agents seized Backpage.com on April 6, 2018, and a 93-count federal indictment charged seven people, including its owners, with facilitating prostitution and money laundering. Its CEO and Backpage-related companies pleaded guilty that month, and the site never came back. Backpage had already shut its US adult section in January 2017.
No. The original site has been offline since the 2018 seizure. By March 2025, the backpage.com address redirected to an adult webcam site, and Reason, which reported the change, found no connection between that site and the original Backpage.
No reliable reporting connects them to the original site. YesBackpage’s own search listing calls it a Backpage alternative for escorts, Bedpage is described in legal coverage as hosting escort and adult-services ads, and recent Trustpilot reviewers of 2Backpage describe ads that asked for a deposit or a gift card before meeting.
James Larkin died in July 2023, before his trial. Michael Lacey was convicted of one count of money laundering and sentenced in August 2024 to five years in prison and a $3 million fine; AP reported in September 2025 that he was free while he appealed. Scott Spear and John Brunst were each sentenced to 10 years, and CEO Carl Ferrer, who pleaded guilty and testified at trial, was sentenced to three years’ probation in September 2025.
Craigslist took down its US personals section in March 2018, right after Congress passed FOSTA, a law aimed at online sex trafficking. Backpage was seized about two weeks later. Our Craigslist Personals alternatives page compares where people post personal ads now.
For personal ads between adults, see our Craigslist Personals alternatives, our city-by-city guide, and our guide to Reddit r4r. AseeksB is a free personal ads app on iOS and Android: you write an ad in your own words, choose who can see it, and reply in the app.