Researching Your Date

If you are the sort of person who can’t make it through a film without Googling half of the characters, it is likely that you will use your snooping skills to find out about your potential dates.

So… how do you research your date, how do you stop people from researching you and how far should you go with your searches?

How to search

The more information you have about someone, the more you will be able to find out about them. For example, if you just have a first name and a general location you won’t be able to find someone (unless they have a very rare first name).

However, if you have more details, like their full name, or email address you can perform a search online. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are usually linked to an email address and will come up first.

How to filter what people see about you

If you do not want your date to snoop on you, you can put in measures to protect your details. For example, you could set up a separate email address and telephone number just for online dating.

You can also adjust the settings on your social media accounts to ensure that content is only available to people whom you are friends with.

How much to look at

Taking a brief look at someone’s online presence will help to reassure you that they are who they say that they are. Check that they look the same in their photos as they do in their dating profile photos and get a gauge of how old they are.

Don’t use it as an excuse to learn about what their exes looked like, what they have been up to every weekend and where they last went on holiday. As a rule, if you spend more than 20 minutes looking them up online, you will have gone too far and will spoil the process of getting to know one another.