Safe Dating Tips for Online Daters

Only share personal information that you feel confident about providing. Your full name, place of work, telephone number and address should not be made publicly available on your dating profile, and be cautious about giving them out to other members.

Always communicate through the website

When communicating with other members, only use the communication services offered by the dating website. You may prefer talking through email or other instant messaging services, but sharing these types of contact details with other people allows them to easily find more personal information about you. For example, it may seem innocuous to give out your email address, but a simple Google search of an email address could reveal your Twitter, Facebook and other social media accounts and profiles.

Meeting up

If you have been messaging someone back and forth for some time and feel confident enough to meet them in person, take plenty of precautions. Always choose a public place if you are meeting someone for the first time, like a coffee shop or pub, and tell a close friend where you are going and at what time. It can be a good idea to keep in contact with your friend during the encounter via text, or ask them to come along and keep an eye out to see if everything goes well (they don’t have stay through the entire date!). You can never be too safe, and you shouldn’t feel paranoid about being cautious. Safety is paramount with online dating, and taking the right steps can make the experience fun and successful.