11 Tips To Protect Yourself While Online Dating: The Ultimate Guide Usu

If you see a suspicious profile or someone acts inappropriately toward you, block and report their profile. Some scammers will tell you stories to get you to like and trust them. They might suddenly ask you for money because of a personal crisis. Your social media contains a lot of personal information that scammers or hackers can use to their advantage. So, make sure to keep your dating profile and your social media separate. But first messages aren’t everything in online dating tips, you need to keep the engagement up and move forward.

Share a photo of the person’s profile who you’re meeting and update your friend throughout the date so they know you’re okay. For this reason make sure your phone is charged or you have a charger with you so you’ve got a way of communicating with friends. If they don’t respect your decision and instead pressure you to send nudes this isn’t acceptable behaviour and it’s best to block them. Dating apps mean you have access to thousands of people but not everyone on dating apps is who they say they are, these people are known as catfishes. A person who makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable isn’t right for you anyway, even if they have no bad intentions. You’re dating online to find the right person, so don’t feel bad about eliminating those who aren’t.

Also, don’t use ‘live’ mode when you take the photo as this can include geolocation information that could allow them to trace your location. When you take your profile picture, ensure that there is nothing in the background that could identify where you live or work. If you need help right now, you can talk to a trained volunteer crisis responder about anything you’re going through. Donna was arrested in January 2023 for allegedly attempting to import drugs into Japan. She was under the impression that she was going to meet a man she had been corresponding to online. Scott says it’s important to know your limits, boundaries, and comfort levels.

Plus, our Trust and Safety team is always on the job, making sure that you have a safe, secure experience when looking for love. So don’t wait – sign up for eharmony and find someone who shares your values today. One of the most effective ways to protect yourself from fake profiles is to use apps with built-in video AI verification. These tools make it much harder for scammers to impersonate someone else. Check out our detailed guide on the Best Dating Apps with Video AI Verification to Avoid Catfishing (2025) to learn which platforms offer the strongest protection.

• Based on our decade-long experience in the safe online dating market, we’ve gathered invaluable insights that empower you to forge connections while safeguarding your well-being.
• This can save you from awkward and potentially dangerous dates.
• Even after you match with someone and you guys are hitting it off, only share more private information when you are sure you trust them.
• Fake profiles, romance scams, catfishing, and privacy risks are all too common in the digital dating space.

If your prospective date only has one or two pictures, it may indicate that they’re a bot or an otherwise fake profile. These identity thieves will, in turn, use your data to either commit crimes or take loans and other things in your name. You could incur financial ruin or a criminal record for stuff you had no hand in. If a dating platform seems shady, you should steer clear of them.

Identity theft is a real and pressing crisis today, so you must keep your private information private. If you share too much online, someone else can create a profile with all that information, posing as you. Scammers or catfishes can easily trick their victims with text-only conversations, but with a video call, the whole sham falls apart. So, if your date hesitates or refuses, that is your cue to block and report. A video call is one way to tell if the person you matched with is who they are.

It can encrypt your data and route your online activities through secure channels, ensuring total anonymity. Your Android device comes with a unique number from Google, which it uses to identify users and tailor personalized promotions and advertisements. As a result, you risk being blackmailed, catfished, or scammed online. For this reason, awareness of these risks and acquainting yourself with the protective measures is a great idea. It’s not uncommon to be wary about sharing your phone number with someone you have never met. People don’t come with papers warning you of all their difficult-to-detect antisocial behaviors, and hiding those behaviors can be a lot easier behind a screen than it is in person.

One aspect of online dating safety can also be the issue of stalking. Let’s look at the most common signs of a stalker, types of stalkers, what to do if you’re being stalked, and resources for victims. If someone is crossing boundaries, making you uncomfortable, or acting suspiciously, you should report them to the dating app’s customer service. Use unique photos for your dating profile that aren’t posted elsewhere online to prevent reverse image searches. By applying these safety tips consistently, you’ll not only reduce risks but also create space for genuine, fulfilling connections.

Maintaining Privacy On Social Media

Don’t see someone you met online in your apartment, their apartment, or your office when you’re meeting them for the first time. Choose a public place where there are lots of other people around, such as bars, restaurants, coffee shops, or movie theaters. While it’s important to meet your potential matches in real life, wait until you’re comfortable doing this, and don’t let anyone intimidate you. The right person https://jolly-romance.com/ would wait for you to be okay with meeting in real life instead of pressuring you to meet as soon as possible. Scammers can be incredibly charming and tell you very believable stories.

An important aspect of protecting your safety when online dating is to limit the information you share about yourself. When chatting to someone new, it’s perfectly okay to be vague about personal details like where you work, live or study until you know them better. Make sure your profiles are locked down so that only friends can see your posts, photos, and personal information. You might be surprised at what strangers can find out about you with just a few clicks. While there are still some people who can brag about a meet-cute at a dog park, the rise in online dating has turned traditional courtship on its end.

Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. If you live somewhere else, it’s likely your government also has some kind of cybersecurity watchdog you can contact. Ademola is a versatile and resourceful content writer specializing in copywriting, technical writing, security practices education, compelling storytelling, and in-depth research. He has edited different types of content for multiple organizations. Having written about TV shows and series for over 3 years, Ademilade strives to create high-quality content consistently. Ademilade watches his favorite episodes or plays Valorant when not writing.

You’ll be comforted knowing you can leave anytime, and you won’t be alone with the person while they’re still a stranger. It’s important to build trust before you share intimate pictures with someone. These people are essentially strangers, and you never know how your own photos could be used against you. Pick a dating site username that doesn’t reveal too much about you.

Telling someone about where you are is also good if your date makes you feel unsafe without actually intending to cause you harm. You should also watch out for anyone who requests your address, even if their excuse is wanting to send you gifts or flowers. It might turn up nothing at all if they are also following tip #2 on this list, but it might give you something to go on. We have articles that deal more specifically with rules for dating and etiquette but here are three important areas to consider and some tips.

Even if a person has a crisis, they will usually have someone to turn to other than the person that they haven’t even met in real life. So, don’t believe the stories that end with a request for financial assistance. Most of the time, this is what’s dangerous about the online dating world.

If you do receive an unwanted nude, you should report it to the dating app and block/unmatch with the person. 54% of dating app users believe that dating app profiles are less authentic today1. What’s more, cases of sexual assault and rape are reported by people using online dating apps, with sexual predators using these apps to profile and target their next victims. Being met with sexually explicit or nasty vitriol can unfortunately be a universal experience on dating apps. It’s not only uncomfortable, it’s also a major red flag if someone starts a conversation off with an aggressive message.

When you get to know someone better, you can connect with them on social media if you like. However, this information shouldn’t be available to anyone who looks at your profile. Also, keep in mind that, on some free websites and apps, your photos will be visible to everyone, regardless of whether they have a profile. So, when choosing the pictures for your dating profile, choose only the ones that you haven’t posted anywhere else. Alternatively, you could take new pictures specifically for dating online.

Online Dating Safety Tips In 2025: Navigating Apps And Meeting People Safely

With the advancement of AI, romance scams are only getting more sophisticated. Learn how to protect your heart, and your wallet, during the month of love. Following these steps allows you to enjoy your first meeting while prioritising your safety tips.

As much as you may want to increase your chances of finding a match by providing details about yourself, you are not advised to give out too much. Often, these apps will ask permission to access certain data, where you can take control of what you wish to share. Only grant permission to the things you are most comfortable sharing that do not reveal too much about you.

This can alert you if someone else is trying to log into your account and help reduce the chance someone may get access to your account. A prospective partner may do this to gain personal or financial information from you. Or, someone may choose you specifically if they have a personal vendetta against you or want to cause you embarrassment.

Oftentimes, when someone you’re unfamiliar with sends you money to help them purchase something and keep some for your troubles, it may be a scam. They may tell you they need your help because their bank is down or wish to convert the money to crypto. Congratulations; we recommend you delete your account once you find what or who you seek. When you match with the right person and hit it off, deleting your account symbolizes an end to the search and keeps your private data off the app. If you match with an account and they immediately send you a file to download, we advise you not to open it. These scammers often embed malware and keylogging viruses in files and send them to unsuspecting victims.

Don’t use your full name, or even your real name as your username. And only reveal your first name when messaging someone, not your last name too. In terms of online dating advice, this is nothing to do with age and everything about showing you can handle your emotions. Learn from it rather than taking it as a universal criticism of you and your dating efforts.

Politely decline if someone asks for your phone number and express a preference to keep the conversation within the app. By staying vigilant and recognising these warning signs, you can protect yourself from scammers and ensure a safer online dating experience. It’s safer to message within the dating app until you’ve met and feel you can trust them. If they ask for your number or switch to WhatsApp, just politely decline and say it’s nothing personal, you just prefer to stay in the app.

Just download the app and pick a number to chat with your app matches; they won’t even know it’s not your actual number. And if someone gets weird, you can just delete that number and cut all ties. Additionally, they partner with confidential and free advocacy groups, such as U-M’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) and SafeHouse Center. Make sure your cellphone battery is fully charged, experts say, in case you need to call someone for assistance.

With a sea of dating sites and apps out there, picking the right one can be as confusing as choosing a Netflix show on a Saturday night. Get real advice, dating app reviews, and free tools to build better connections abroad. Your information is collected and used in accordance with our privacy policy.

To protect your information, use a unique password that combines letters, numbers, and symbols. This extra layer of security ensures that even if your password is compromised, the hacker can’t access your account without a secondary code. It’s a simple step that significantly boosts your online safety. Remember how we’ve said to avoid sending money to people on dating apps? It would interest you to know that you should not accept money either.