Online hookup apps are pretty good at what they do – as long as you have reasonable expectations, that is. The people who hop onto Tinder expecting to meet the partner of their dreams will most likely be disappointed. If you remember that nothing’s guaranteed, though, you can play your hand on a platform like Chatrandom, have some fun, and see if you get lucky along the way.
It’s great to have a picture in your head of what’s supposed to happen, but don’t forget about the stuff that isn’t really supposed to happen – but does anyway. Unsolicited pictures, harassing comments, or simply rude behavior is common on hookup apps, which is why you should try to find a platform that gives you some control over any potentially awkward situation. Staying safe online should always be a priority, but even more so on a dating app, where your information or identity could be exposed in the absence of common-sense measures. What would these measures be, though? Keep reading to find out!
Location settings
Many hookup apps find matches based on proximity or location. Knowing that someone is 12 miles away poses no danger to anyone, but someone being able to see where you live definitely does. Even if it’s just your general neighborhood, that’s an open invitation to stalkers and hooligans to start messing with you if you happen to grab their attention.
There are two different ways an app could prevent this from happening. Ideally, they’d simply hide that information from all users. If not, they’ll hopefully include a setting that lets you hide the information yourself.
Linking social media
There are pros and cons to linking your social media accounts to a dating profile. The main advantage is that other users can see that you’re legitimate, and not just some troll or catfish who’s looking for an easy target. You could also save some time in setting up your profile, as some apps auto-fill parts of your profile using information from Facebook.
The disadvantage is that this could give people way too much information about your personal life. If they’re able to see where you live, where you work, or even where you went to school, that’s enough for them to do some damage.
Some apps will give you the option to link a social media account, while others make it mandatory. If this is a concern for you, keep in mind that there are plenty of options for hookup apps; you don’t have to sacrifice your security just for the sake of convenience.
Personal information
Even if fellow online daters can’t see your address or your social media profiles, they might still be able to view other personal information on your profile. Contact details, in particular, are vulnerable to people who might try to scam you or steal your identity. If you meet someone and end up forming a connection with them, there’s plenty of time for you to share your phone number or email later. In the meantime, though, nobody else has any business getting that information from your online dating profile.
Blocking and/or reporting
Not everyone knows how to take a hint, especially if they think they have a chance at hooking up with the person they’re talking to. When that happens, you’ll need this crucial tool on your side: the ability to block or report inappropriate behavior. Whether it’s incessant messages or unsolicited NSFW pictures, you shouldn’t have to deal with that. Once you’re sure that a particular relationship is never going to happen (which usually doesn’t take long), you can feel free to block them from contacting you, and even report their account to the dating app if they’re violating the terms of service. Fortunately this is a pretty common feature for online hookup apps to offer; just double-check that it’s an option before making a profile.
Some useful background information on dating app safety
Blocking the troublemakers will take care of a lot of potential problems, but navigating an online dating site is a little more complicated than that. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say; with that in mind, here are a couple of things that you might be glad to know later on.
Dishonesty is pretty common
Even if it’s just about trivial details, expect a lot of people to lie about themselves. One study found that men often exaggerate their height by a few inches, while many women preferred for people to think that they were a bit lighter than they were in reality. People might also lie about their age, for instance, or whatever else they think might help them land a hookup.
You can’t do too much harm by lying about the little details, but some online daters take things way further than that. Catfish and romance scammers will invent entire personas in order to get attention, money, or both. As you meet people online and get to know them, pay attention for red flags like attention-seeking behavior or requests for money.
Online dating can negatively affect self-esteem
In a way, online dating is like shopping for a hookup or love interest. The users on each platform are basically reduced to product status, as you spend a few seconds evaluating each option before moving onto the next one. Since you’re making snap judgements on pictures, not on people, you never get the chance to discover what they’re really like before you dismiss them.
This works the other way around too – you might be getting rejected or ignored on a hookup app simply because other people aren’t drawn in by your profile pictures. If you didn’t prepare yourself for the possibility of failure, your self-esteem could take a pretty big hit.
The takeaway
You can’t control everything that happens when you use an online hookup app, but you can at least control your own safety. If you use an app with practical safety features (and head into the experience with reasonable expectations), you’ll have a much better chance of success.
