Top 5 Online Safety Mistakes

When you say the words ‘online safety’ most people think of either scammers or online payments, but when it comes to protecting yourself online, it’s important to think about what information you share on your profile.

Here are the top 5 online safety mistakes people make in their profiles, with tips on how to avoid making the same mistakes yourself:

1. Your display name – There are two key mistakes people make when choosing a display name on an online dating website; using their full name, or using their email address as a username. Both allow people to find you outside of the safety of an online dating site. This is why we only allow people to use a first name as their display name.
2. Sneaking your contact details into your profile – It may seem like a clever idea to put your email address/BBM/Twitter hook/Facebook display name… in your profile, but it is putting your personal details at risk.
3. Saying exactly where you work – People don’t need to know exactly where you work to get an impression of who you are. Talking about the type of work that you do, without mentioning a company name is enough.
4. Saying which sports club you belong to – If you mention the name of the sports team that you play for, it would be easy to find out your full name with a simple search. Instead of naming your team, just say what sport you play and what position you play in (if it’s relevant).
5. Saying exactly where you live – Very few people are silly enough to write their address in their profile, but you do find people saying “I live in a gorgeous little thatched cottage in…” before mentioning a tiny village with only one thatched cottage.

At Muddy Matches we read through every profile that is submitted to us to make sure that people do not reveal too much information. However, it is important to check these details for yourself, especially if you are using other dating websites in addition to Muddy Matches.