Expert Tips For Staying Safe While Dating Online

Some people feel safer carrying a self-defense tool with them, such as pepper spray or a high-powered flashlight. If the person you matched with has posted only limited information and only one picture, it may be a fake account. Be cautious about connecting with someone you have so little information about.

Match Group invested in Garbo in 2021, offering users two free searches until 500,000 searches were claimed. Now, users can choose to continue using Garbo on their own, though each search costs around $3.25 with the additional processing fees. The study found evidence that assaults that were facilitated via a dating app were also much more violent, among other things.

In England in 2015, a 30-year-old man killed a woman on their first date after meeting on the popular dating app Plenty of Fish. Keeping your expectations realistic will help you to not discourage online dating too soon. You have the ability to learn if they have a good job, if they like the same music or sports as you, or (a growing concern among daters) where they stand politically. You can drink alcohol, but getting drunk on the first date is a bad idea, both for safety and other reasons. So, stay sober and don’t feel pressured to drink alcohol just because your date drinks it.

Sharing your phone number or your last name allows someone to quickly identify where you live and how to get there. Remember that if your new online friend has a problem with your approach than they simply aren’t the right person for you. Overall, 55% of adults who have used a dating app or site in the past year say they often or sometimes felt insecure about the number of messages they received, while 36% say they often or sometimes felt overwhelmed. The experts I talked to overwhelmingly listed eharmony as their top choice for the safest online dating app. After she was personally stalked by a sexual predator, Baxo urges women to err on the side of caution when it comes to safely dating online and to follow their instincts.

How Do I Stay Safe On Tinder?

Smaller shares say a major reason was to have casual sex (24%) or make new friends (22%). The sample primarily includes English-speaking Asian adults and therefore may not be representative of the overall Asian adult population. Despite this limitation, it is important to report the views of Asian adults on the topics in this study. As always, Asian adults’ responses are incorporated into the general population figures throughout this report. Asian adults are shown as a separate group when the question was asked of the full sample.

Experts estimate that in 2025, over 107,000 people could fall victim to online dating scams, with losses reaching as high as $2.5 billion. Romance scams alone are expected to make up 65% of these cases, with phishing and crypto investment scams becoming increasingly common. If you’re serious about meeting Mr. Right, you greatly increase your odds of meeting him sooner by doing everything you can to meet more single men.

Whether you’re new to online dating or have been using apps for a while, taking the extra step to ensure your safety is always a smart move. Don’t waste your time search public records and database search websites. If you’re in a relationship or have met someone new, speak to a professional investigator about a real investigation to uncover real evidence. In the digital age, there’s no excuse not to verify someone’s identity before meeting them. A quick Google search, reverse image lookup, or scan of their social media profiles can reveal inconsistencies in their story or photos.

Catfishing is similar to identity theft in that people pretend to be who they aren’t. They would have gotten the information they’d need to convincingly pass as the other person from stealing information on that person. Some of these extortioners will gain your trust, and then, when they receive the explicit images, turn around to demand money, or they would release it to the public. These files can also be obtained with the use of malware, which is why the use of antivirus cannot be overemphasized. As a result, be careful about the amount and quality of specific private information you give out to avoid this happening to you.

Bumble Safety Test Results

In the case that any money has been lost, contact your bank and file a police report. Something else worth mentioning in this discussion is that “street cred” is important when it comes to assessing the safety and validity of a dating app. To us, this means looking at any partnerships or endorsements the app may have through third parties completely outside of the dating industry. At Catholic Match, they have partnerships with schools, authors, groups, and prominent people within the Catholic Church. The jury’s still out, but if you take precautions like telling a friend where you’re meeting this guy, you pretty much eliminate most of the risk.

• Scott warns that it’s easier to hide online, so dating apps can delay finding out who someone really is.
• They’ll be more objective, which means they’ll be more likely to see dating red flags you might have missed.
• To maximize your experience, it’s crucial to be mindful of dating app safety.

Report Inappropriate Behavior

An easy way to make sure that someone is who they say they are, and to eliminate any fake profiles, is to have a video call before the date. Since people often don’t look like their photos, this is also a great way to see how your date actually looks before going out with them. Most fake profiles will have pictures of above-average attractive people, usually just one, with little to no information about them. So, it’s in your best interest to learn how to stay safe while dating online. Sometimes, people’s concerns about online dating do become a reality. After all, online dating, just like dating in the real-world, doesn’t always go to plan, and it can hurt when this happens.

Many people that are on the online dating scene are young, as the 33.8 average age suggests, with 43% of year olds using online dating services. This tech-savvy age group is likely embracing online dating as a way to meet interesting new people while balancing busy professional lives. Scams can take place even in gaming platforms — especially online games, said Kankaala. Oftentimes, in‑game items can have real life monetary value and stolen accounts or items can be sold for profit. Encourage and help children in setting up strong pass­words and in case their accounts are compromised, aid them in the recovery process.

Some scammers pretend to be overseas doctors or developers to seem more legitimate. They may also say they’re in the military and stationed in another country. The scammer might also send you to a spoofed version of a site you recognize — like Facebook or Twitter — and steal your login credentials. Apps like Bumble promise to ban or warn users who do not adhere to community guidelines, but there is no clarity on how one can effectively be banned from the app.

On one side, some highlight the ease and efficiency of using these platforms to search for dates, as well as the sites’ ability to expand users’ dating options beyond their traditional social circles. Others offer a less flattering narrative about online dating – AmourFeel – Discover Real Connections! ranging from concerns about scams or harassment to the belief that these platforms facilitate superficial relationships rather than meaningful ones. This survey finds that the public is somewhat ambivalent about the overall impact of online dating.

A new report from Pew Research Center explores the upsides and downsides of online dating by highlighting Americans’ experiences and views about it. If you suspect the person you’re talking to is using a fake photo, you can download and run it through Google’s reverse image search. This will show if the image was pulled from a website or another person’s social media account. 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. Our team is dedicated to providing you with the most effective strategies for a secure online dating experience. If you’re going to meet someone in person, make sure it’s somewhere public.

At the same time, a small share of U.S. adults report that they found a significant other through online dating platforms. Some 12% of adults say they have married or entered into a committed relationship with someone they first met through a dating site or app. On a broad level, online dating users are more likely to describe their overall experience using these platforms in positive rather than negative terms. Roughly seven-in-ten online daters believe it is very common for those who use these platforms to lie to try to appear more desirable. And by a wide margin, Americans who have used a dating site or app in the past year say the experience left them feeling more frustrated (45%) than hopeful (28%).

But it’s also important to note that Statista data from a 2022 survey shows that the majority of adults ages feel that it’s safe to meet people online (those in older age groups are more likely to feel unsafe). While the dangers of online dating can seem scary, it’s no reason to give up on it. Stay safe by being cautious about who you interact with until you can confirm their identity. And always be on the lookout for the warning signs of typical online dating scams. Even if you accidentally give up details to a romance scammer, you can take preventative measures to protect your accounts. Use secure passwords, a password manager, and 2FA on all your accounts.

There are some other online dating safety best practices you should keep in mind. Make sure to keep your full name and any other personal information you have out of the public eye. So don’t share personal information such as phone numbers, IDs, or pictures that can easily identify you in public or social media. Think of a blind date the same as a first date with someone you met on a dating app. You’ll want to meet in a public place and ensure that people know where you are. We also recommend against connecting your social media with your profile—and this could help encourage meeting in real life sooner rather than getting stuck in the “pen pal” stage.

When looking at sexual orientation, lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) adults are more likely than their straight counterparts to say they have ever used a dating site or app (51% vs. 28%). “The detectives on the case enlightened me that often women who are attacked had a gut feeling that they were unsafe but didn’t listen,” she says. “Notice if the person is asking you about things you have posted on your social media,” Barnett says. If you feel the other person is acting unnaturally, or if something feels wrong, trust your instincts. You can also find information on sexual offenders on certain databases. If you want to take things a step further, you can also do a background check on them.