Dating is so damn exciting that sometimes people forget about the importance of safety that comes with it! We’ve highlighted some of our most important tips to follow before, during and after a date. Whether you’ve been chatting with someone online or met them in person first, go through this checklist to ensure you’re dating safely.
- ✅ Google search your date: Quite simply, type their full name in your Google search to see what comes up. This is a great way to conduct your very own background check on who your date is. If nothing comes up on Google, check to see if they have social media and do a quick search on Facebook and Instagram.
- ✅ Meet your date in a public place: When you have a great connection with someone whether it be in a bar or online, meeting them for a date in a public place rather than their home can be often forgotten, but is one of our most important tips. Always meet in a well-known public place when you’re getting to know someone.
- ✅ Always tell a friend where you’re going on your date and who with: Just like you would before going on a hike, always tell someone where you’re going before you head out on a date. In case anything were to happen to you, your friends know your last location. If you hop around to different spots on the date, be sure to update your friend. Also, be sure to fill you friends in on your date’s name so they know who you’re going out with.
- ✅ Arrange your own way to and from the date: Getting picked up by your date used to be the norm, but it’s much safer to meet with your date in a public place, not their car. You can easily take a bus, Uber, Lyft or taxi to and from your date.
- ✅ Make sure your phone has battery life: Before you leave the house to go on your date, make sure your phone is fully charged. The last thing you want is your phone to die during your date, leaving you with no way to call a cab, or book yourself a ride home.
- ✅ If you’re not 100% comfortable, leave the date: Oftentimes I think we worry too much about being rude, but if your date is making you feel uncomfortable, you have every right to leave. If this happens, you can excuse yourself from the table and call for your ride home.
- ✅ Never send money or share financial information with someone you’ve just met: If someone you’ve just began to date or are speaking with online, ever asks you for money, even if they claim it to be an emergency, do not send them anything. This is a huge flag that this person is trying to exploit you for money. Be sure to report this type of behaviour immediately.
- ✅ Protect your Plenty of Fish account: Always pick a strong password and be careful when logging into your account from a public or shared computer. We will never send you an email asking for your password information, if you do receive this type of email, report it to our customer success team at CSR@pof.com.
