Pen Pal Programs for Teens

Pen pal letters are a way for your teen to make friends in other countries without leaving her home and they're a convenient way for students to exchange information with students in classes in other countries. Pen pal programs are used by people of all ages and the programs usually do not include background checks. Users are responsible for maintaining the safety of their own identity, and should never send money to other pen pal service users.

Students of the World

Students of the World, Etudiants du Monde, is a nonprofit organization that provides pen-pal contacts around the world to individuals and to schools. New pen pals can register at the "Pen Pals Around the World Page" or teachers can register a class at "Schools around the World" within the Students of the world webpage. Registration is free and entitles users to email, blog and forum access. Personal information is confidential; users do not share real identity information with each other. The organization provides opportunities for both email and regular mail pen pals.

Pen Pals Now

Pen Pals Now offers a streamlined service. It is a free service run by Peterweb, where users of all ages can post their pen pal ads or search ads posted by others. Pen pals are divided into age groups and sex. The site is financially supported through ads. The opening page as of June 24, 2013, reminds users that pen pal contacts who request money are running a scam, and that users should delete any such emails and not give any information to the senders.

PenPal World

PenPal World offers both free services and subscription. the free services resemble other pen pal services. Users can select up to three pen pals. Subscribers are allowed to select up to 50 pen pals. The website will share with other users your age, country of origin and sex. But it will not reveal your email or any other personal information. PenPal World is the brainchild of Jakob Hermann, who came to the United States from Switzerland. He is a computer programmer, a father and an avid runner.

Inter Pals

Inter Pals bills itself as the largest pen pal network online. While it has the same general mission as other pen pal networks, which is to find friends and exchange friendly correspondence, it also has options for language study and practice. Inter Pals discretely warns against the "Nigerian scam," which is a catch-all phrase for pen pal letters that request money. Inter Pals has an easy-to-use search interface and a large data base. You information is kept confidential.