Best Rules for Online Dating Safety

Without a doubt, love is one of the eternal topics to discuss. This feeling can be completely different. It may hurt sometimes and bring the biggest joy of life the other day. It is up for debate how to define this beautiful feeling. But there is one thing that will definitely unite all of the possible notions — safety.

When it comes to communicating with a potential suitor, especially online, you shouldn’t just feel comfortable about such time spending. Although the number and quality of online threats may seem really annoying, that is not the reason to get rid of the opportunity to meet new acquaintances on the net just because you feel scared. 

Luckily, with the advancement in technologies and increase in popularity of digital dating platforms, the security measures one can take have developed as well. You are not obliged to be a superhero or a master in cyberscience to maintain your mental and physical health when dating someone online and then offline.

Online Dating Safety

There are several grounds why online dating is gaining momentum. First of all, customers achieve a unique opportunity to enhance their pool of potential candidates. Just think a bit about whom you can get acquainted with in reality. Don’t you feel embarrassed or scared to ask for a date with a stranger somewhere in a local restaurant or your neighborhood?

On dating websites, users already know what to expect, and social rules aren’t that strict. For instance, women aren’t supposed only to wait for somebody to write to them first. You are completely free to choose with whom you would like to communicate.

At the same time, digital platforms make users fill in so-called questionnaires during registration. Information achieved in such a way is applied by websites’ match-making algorithms to find perfect matches with similar or same tastes, views, and even features of character. You don’t have to scroll down the page to find the one you are looking for — the program simplifies this task for you.

Besides, service providers do their best to protect their followers. For example, various profound systems prefer multi-factor authentication and data encryption to ensure your personal data won’t be spread on the net without your confirmation. The process of accounts’ verification may also take place, when the activities of the user seem to be suspicious — everything to verify the true personality under the profile.

However, no platform can completely protect their customers from risks of failure. According to research, the percentage of sex offenders and scammers who use the services of online dating platforms is increasing: in the last five years, the six-fold growth of sexual assaults has been witnessed.

On the contrary, the number of Americans who prefer online dating offers and deals has already exceeded forty million. More and more couples find their happiness online not just for dating someone. Such communication gives a chance to build a solid soulmateship with your natives or test yourself by cross-cultural relationships. 

Still, there are more open-minded personalities than deceivers or cheaters. With simple online dating safety tips, you can become a part of the desirable statistics.

Top Safety Tips for Online Dating

If you are looking for a partner with the help of digital technologies, you are not alone. Those who have absolutely no desire to spoil this unique experience of getting acquainted with great interlocutors and even their next other half, should stick to the following recommendations.

Put a Premium on Your Privacy

A common account on any dating platform includes consumer’s photos and specific information about his or her views, tastes, life orientations, etc. A lot of dating guides recommend users to be sincere with potential suitors and skip telling lies about your appearance, age, dating goals, and more. 

But the balance between what should be mentioned and what has to be omitted is to be present. Don’t forget that your profile on a digital platform isn’t a sort of blog. You may use it as a tool to improve your self-esteem and self-confidence, but providing such details like your physical address or telephone number is a literal welcome for scammers to visit your page and put a fraud spell on you.

To start with, if you don’t like your account on a dating platform to be connected in any way with other social media profiles, you may use a nickname instead of your real name. It is not recommended to reveal details about your current place of work and similar facts. That doesn’t mean you can’t tell about that; it’s still better to be more general in sayings.

Choose the website as the main platform of your communication. Modern systems allow users to send text, audio, and video messages, so there is no need to forward your communication to other environments. You are also welcome to call your interlocutor via the web and send virtual and real presents. 

If you are sure that the person at the other side of the screen is worth your trust, then you can bring more freedom to your dating experience. To start a serious affair with someone with whom you are chatting for three days only is far from the best decision.

Another dating online safety tip is to download different photos for your social media and dating profiles. Don’t forget that modern technologies only simplify a quick Google search by images. But this method can be used the opposite way — you can check if your suitor is present on other social networks and see how much you both match.

Basic Reconnaissance Is Welcome

You can try yourself in the role of a spy or a special agent trying to find any clues and signs that this partner isn’t sincere with you. Apart from checking the information you can find on the net about potential candidates, you just need to be careful with which information you achieve from the partner. Over-flower language and proposal after a week of online communication isn’t the thing that may occur in reality. It is better not to be in a hurry and trusting everything your «opponent» says.

A lot of fraudsters use photos which are already posted by someone on other platforms. If you have found out the images belong to someone else, don’t miss this alarm sign.

When you just check how it feels like to be on the online dating scene trying to find the other half, you can communicate with a couple of partners simultaneously. If the other one is sincere, you won’t see any misconceptions and weird puzzles in his or her speech. Just remember it is a challenge to keep telling the same lies about yourself, especially in the long run, — mistakes will surely take place.

Say «No» to Suspicious Accounts

The best thing you can do according to spread safety tips for online dating is to avoid connecting with suspicious profiles on platforms. That can be an account which doesn’t have any bio or is copy-pasted. Moreover, you shouldn’t blame yourself for blocking and reporting about such ill-minded users. Here are a few examples of scenarios when scammers try to use your kindness or sincerity for their own benefit:

• This situation may occur in cases when you communicate with someone from your country and with foreigners who live abroad. A sudden personal crisis or any other emergence cases aren’t the reasons to let someone ask you for financial assistance. Lending money won’t make you generous and ready to help — you are not a volunteer on the dating platform. Even if it is not a scammer, it is a sign the person can’t take care of their problems without third parties, and such an individual is just not ready for a serious partnership.

• It is suspicious when an interlocutor disappears from the site and then suddenly registers on the other platform under a new username, isn’t it?

• Don’t trust in fairy-tales or grandiose stories. You can simply purchase a book if you would like to add more magic in life. Gobbledygook isn’t something that will help you find an ever-lasting love.

• If someone requests your personal photos and you decide to satisfy this inquiry, make sure the photos are «safe» to be viewed publicly.

• When it is far from your first chat and the person refuses to have a video call with you, that is suspicious and signifies that something is at least weird, when not wrong.

• If you see the provided information in a profile doesn’t match the way the person communicates with you, it is a sign for you to say goodbye to such an interlocutor. People with a high level of education may make grammar mistakes or use interesting abbreviations for fun, but this is acceptable when you know each other more than one day.

• One of the main rules for online dating safety is to block users who make you undertake some non-desirable actions. For instance, that may be pressing in order to receive your real telephone number. Besides, by complaining about life issues, a scammer may make you feel sympathy and act according to his or her rules.