Date Safe! Online And Offline Safe Dating Rules

When I go on a date the last thing I usually think of is my personal safety. Who does actually bring along some mace in a purse, just in case, along with condoms and an ID? Not the sexiest thing for your romantic night. Relax, I am not here to ruin your date. Just saying that thinking about your personal safety on the first date is the least you can do if you’ve met your partner in some free dating app like Tinder.

I am here to remind you what you can do (no matter who you are – a man or a woman) to keep yourself safe when communicating on a dating site, meeting a stranger, or dealing with cyberstalking. Here are the pro dater tips.

4 Online Safety Tips For Men And Women

I don’t think online dating is any riskier than any other activity you can do in public, assuming you take similar, common-sense precautions. Here are the rules I used for safe online dating:

Registration And Profile

When registering on a dating site, take care of the protection of your personal data. It is better to create a new email address that does not contain your first and last name. If you want to be sure of the complete security of your sensitive data, then register on serious adult dating sites. Such sites, for the most part, are careful about the security of members: it is not transferred to third parties and cannot be found in search engines.

Online shopping, social networks, online dating – everywhere you need a password. Or maybe you generally use the same password for all situations? Try to fix this as soon as possible. You can increase password strength by using a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

Read Matches Profiles Carefully

Before you start dating, carefully study the profiles of potential favorites. If the information in the profile seems interesting to you, this is a great reason to start communicating with this person.

If, when viewing a profile, you come across conflicting or unlikely information, it might be better to avoid this online dating. For example, New York is indicated in the profile, and its owner is in a completely different city, or the person indicates that he works at the bank, but he constantly emphasizes that money does not matter to him. If you have doubts about the seriousness and honesty of the interlocutor or you received spam, be sure to inform the support team. After moderation, the profile will be deleted.

Control Information You Give In Messages

If you don’t know your match in person, limit what you share until you know them well enough to be trusted. I wouldn’t give information that can lead to you too quickly, like home or work address, phone numbers. You can limit to mentioning general areas when talking about yourself, use the county instead of the town. I wouldn’ t necessarily mention specific high school, for example. I recommend not revealing the regular rituals: places you like to visit, people you love to spend time with, etc. Any email or phone numbers should be as generic as possible, not something that can be traced to a place. Email addresses that are already in use could be associated with other identifying info. Before exchanging the emails, create a new one, if possible. Avoid referencing info during talking/typing that provides a location where you might be easily found.

Avoid Stalkers

“Where have you been? Why don’t you answer for so long? Give me your address, and I’ll drop by tomorrow morning! ” Treat such messages calmly, do not let yourself be pressured. Dating should be at a pace that is comfortable for you. The decision to translate online dating into real life is best made with complete confidence that you are making the right choice.

How to Get Rid Of A Stalker While Using Online Dating Apps

Don’t confuse stalking with a sign of love. In real life, chasing someone is not only creepy but also illegal. When someone shows such giant passion, this behavior frequently can be mistaken for love. However, online stalking is not about love, it is about an unhealthy obsession that can lead to ruining your private life. So, what can you do to get rid of an annoying stalker? Here are several precautions to take.

Report Annoying Or Suspicious Users

Almost all dating sites have the option to block and report suspicious members or fake accounts. Some advanced features also include the messaging restrictions for certain users: those who don’t have a profile picture, who don’t have a paid subscription, who did not pass the verification, etc.

Before Accepting The Requests Make A Background Search

Check the profile information, search for the profile pic on the Internet, try to find this person on Facebook, etc. Another major thing is to check how long this user has been registered on a dating site. Most stalkers create lots of accounts that are days or weeks old.

Don’t Use Other Messengers For Chats

The most popular trick is to make you change the means of communication. Don’t accept this offer. Never use Skype, WhatsApp, or other third-party tools for communicating with strangers.

General rules to get rid of a cyberstalker:

Create different passwords for the email, apps, social networks
Hide the location on Facebook, dating apps
Delete your browser cookies and history
Change the access to your banking data
To remove possible spyware, reset your phone
Create an Emergency SOS

Offline Dating Rules That Can Save Your Life

Never judge the book by its cover. You can chat with a gorgeous, smart, rich person, but these are only the facts that he/she has provided to you. Everyone can be perfect on a first date, especially psychos who know how to pretend. They may not look like bad people, so you should do your best to get them to talk, sometimes the topic can be uncomfortable.

Choose A Dating Place

If you are a woman, never let your date pick the place. First of all, if your partner chooses it, he can prearrange something that you would not like. Of course, the chances are miserable, but let’s not tempt fate – all you need to get in trouble is one person with bad intentions.

Meet In A Very Public Place

Avoid inviting your date directly to your home or near where you work. Inform your friends where you are going on a date and give them all the necessary contacts. Tell them, what are you going to do and the timeframes. The best idea is to ask your friends to call you during the date and when the date ends. If you really want to be James Bond-secret agent safe, maybe come up with a safe phrase that tells them you are fine. Another phrase if you are concerned and need help.

Control Your Drinks

First of all. it’s better not to set up your date in a bar. But if you are having a romantic dinner or so, be aware of the limits you can drink before you lose control. It’s better to watch the bottle and pour it on your own. You can make an excuse that you don’t feel good enough to drink or that you don’t like this particular wine.

Trust Your Gut

If you are not sure or are picking up a bad vibe make or pre-fab that you need to get going. Be polite, excuse yourself then go. Don’t isolate yourself with that person. Finished your dinner and want to go elsewhere? Go window shopping at a mall. Drive separately. Play down any safety behavior as “having paranoid parents” or what-not. A patient and an understanding person will appreciate the precautions and you don’t need to worry about those who find the precautions annoying. It will be something to joke around about late if it works out.

Feel In Danger On The Date? Here Is Your Escape Guide

Millions of people get stuck on some very bad or even dangerous dates. Here are the 9 ways to run away from bad dates if you feel unsafe.

1. Emergency Call

This is a popular trick that you’ve probably seen in many movies. For this, you need to ask your friend to get ready for such an outcome. Your friend should call you in the middle of your date. If everything is good, then continue your conversation as nothing happened. In case of a disaster, you can make up some emergency, like your best friend is going into labor. Anyway, be polite and excuse yourself for the ruined dinner.

2. Pretend You Are Allergic To Some Ingredients

You ordered a dessert and unexpectedly there is clover honey in it. Pretend that you cannot breathe and call a taxi to get home and take your antiallergy drugs.

3. Make Your Date Uncomfortable With Too Many Personal Details

Be annoying and raise the uncomfortable topics about your ex, your family, your first pet, etc. Drive your partner crazy and he will soon end this date up.

4. Don’t Mind Your Manners

Talk with your mouth full, be very rude and correct your partner on every little thing – those things will drive crazy even the maniac.

5. Nag About The Restaurant, Bar, Or Food

Storm off because of the food, hygiene, or bad interior. Show your utmost disgust towards the service. Your date will not feel a tiny bit of regret if you are such a pain in the ass.

6. Use Children As An Excuse To End The Date

You probably don’t have kids, and if you do, don’t use this technique. Pretend that you forgot to buy something for them or that you have to take them from someplace. The fact that you have kids will scare off the guy, as he probably never thought of any commitment.

7. Pretend To Be A Medical Employee

You are an on-call doctor and your patient is in critical condition. You don’t have any time and need to end up the date immediately. This is not your fault!

8. Cry

If you have great acting skills just cry for no reason. Yes, you are an emotionally unstable person and who wants that? Provide no explanation and keep being hysterical.

9. Ask Your Close Friend To Appear From Nowhere

Your pretend-to-be-old-friend can enter the restaurant and unexpectedly see you. Cheek kisses, Hugs, and OMGs, you are here! I haven’t seen you for ages! He or she joins your table without asking and starts talking too much. The date s ruined. Again, not your fault!

What’s Next?

Yes, online dating can be safe if proper safety precautions are taken when meeting new people. However, online dating is never 100% safe.

I always tell my friends that online dating apps can attract both good people and scammers.

That is why it is important to follow the proper safety precautions when getting to know someone online. Never give any personal information or money to someone you just met on a dating website.

If you want to be extra careful, you may want to also do a deep web search on the person you are communicating with online. Most online daters use some sort of verification method to check the dating profile of the person they are going on a date with.

Here are some good rules for a great date:

Date if you want to. Not because you think you need to for whatever reason.
No dating without a clean slate. If you are getting over your ex, be single for a while. It doesn’t hurt.
Know yourself before you try to get to know another.
Split the bill.
Honesty is very important. So is clarity. What are you looking for? Set your expectations right. Firstly within your own self.
Know how to have a good conversation. The most important part is listening to the other. And I don’t mean listening to react. But plain listening.
Don’t take the other for granted. Agreeing to date is like giving you a shot. It doesn’t mean the person is in love with you.
Dress decently. Look clean and fresh. Reach on time.
Don’t text or talk on the phone unless it is extremely urgent. If that is the case, excuse yourself.