I've been on and off as an Interpals member. I was active several years ago, tried returning, left, then came back more recently. Honestly, it hasn't changed as a site nor as a community, which is good and bad.

I'll start with the bad and try to sweeten it with the good.

CONS:

As a woman, I can tell you that other women can and will be spammed by 80% middle easterners, Indians, Africans, some obscure countries you've never heard of, all male, with photos that often look like mug shots (they aren't but I'm talking about the quality). Am I putting these countries or people down? Not at all. This is a rough estimate based on personal experience. During my first and second time trying to use the site, it was mostly middle eastern males. At the time, I actually did have photos up, and ironically it's middle eastern men and indian men roughly around 50 years old and above. Sorry, but I don't want someone the same age as my dad or grandfather hitting on me. I also had guys from various parts of Africa and the Carribean Islands sending me friend requests with no message. Like Facebook, that's just odd if you haven't sent me a message telling me why my profile interested you. Just the picture? Hell, I don't even think I'm average-level attractive.

In my current and probably last attempt at using this site, I chose not to upload any selfies. The sheer fact that I listed myself as female made the swarm show up. I only had middle eastern guys show up this time, but I preemptivly blocked certain countries from contacting me after one guy sent me a bunch of unsolicited videos. Just youtube and nothing bad, but what the hell can't someone just be normal and say hi? I blocked him and his country.

PROS:

It might sound like there are very little pros. However, after you configure your settings and filters, you can finally start sifting through the dirt to get to the gold. One thing that really, really helps is to write out a decent About Me section. Tell just enough about yourself and what you're looking for without offering up seriously personal information. There's a box labeled Requests. Fill this out and be specific about what you don't want people to do. A lot of people are actually dumb enough to use this site as a dating site. I thought this was a Penpal site, not Tinder's Rejects. Anyway. It is possible to make friends and find people willing to be friends and help you learn a language. The key is that you learn how to properly screen profiles and get that gut feeling for when something seem 'off.'

Now, if you want a more independent, alternative review, this Reddit thread is pretty open about more of the dark side of Interpals. https://www.reddit.com/r/interpals/comments/4gnfzs/interpals_review_why_you_should_and_shouldnt_use/