Profile and Photo Safety

Online dating is as safe as meeting someone in-real-life, but it is still important to remain vigilant to ensure that you have a safe experience.

Profile

Your online dating profile should reveal enough about you that it encourages people to get in touch with you, but not so detailed that they know everything about you without even meeting you.

Make sure that you do not include personal details such as your phone number, your email address, or your website address (if you have one). It might mean that you will save money on a dating website subscription, but it will also put you at risk of being contacted by scammers and by marketeers.

You also need to avoid adding specific details about your workplace and any clubs that you belong to. For example, it is fine to mention your job title, but it is not a good idea to say the name and location of the company. In terms of your hobbies, you should mention what you enjoy doing, but should not name the team name, or meeting place.

Being too specific could mean that someone could find you through the details that you have provided.

Photos

Take a look at the photos that you have choosen to use for your online dating profile and make sure that they do not show any personal details, such as your door number, street name, or your work uniform.

We have seen people who have tried to overlay their contact details onto their photos, but it looks tacky and it puts you at risk of unwanted contact. Using the website’s online messaging is the safest way to communicate with someone new.

It is also a good idea to choose a photo that you haven’t used on your social media profiles, or on your business website as it is possible to search online for an image (although it is very unreliable).