The complete online dating safety guide

Stage one: reading a profile before you match

A profile is the cheapest safety signal you will ever get, because it costs you nothing to read carefully. Before you like someone, spend thirty seconds actually looking at what is there rather than what you hope is there.

• Photos across different settings, seasons, lighting and company suggest a real life being photographed over time. A single studio-perfect set does not.
• Written answers that reference specifics — a job, a neighbourhood, a bad habit, an actual opinion — are much harder to fake than generic lines about 'good vibes' and 'looking for my partner in crime'.
• Check whether the words and the photos describe the same person. Mismatches in stated age, city or life stage are worth a question, not an assumption.
• A verified indicator tells you the person matched their photos in a live check. It does not tell you they are kind, honest or single.

If a profile gives you almost nothing to react to, that is information too. You can match anyway, but go in expecting to ask more questions before you invest.

Stage two: keep early conversation on the platform

The single most common feature of dating scams and harassment cases is an early push to move off the app. Once a conversation is in a personal messaging app, three protections disappear at once: moderators can no longer see the messages, blocking no longer removes the person from your life, and your phone number or social handle is now permanently in someone else's hands.

There is no rush. A genuinely interested person will happily chat inside Mekora for a week. Someone who insists on your number in the first ten messages is telling you something about their priorities.

Stage three: what not to share, and when

• Home address, workplace address and your regular gym or café schedule — hold these until well after you have met in person.
• Full legal name early on, if you would rather not be searchable before you have decided you like someone.
• Financial details of any kind, forever. No exceptions, no emergencies, no investment tips.
• Photos you would not want forwarded. Anything sent digitally can be screenshotted, whatever the sender promises.
• Identifying details about children, roommates or family members — their privacy is not yours to spend.

None of this means being secretive. It means sequencing: the more someone has demonstrated over time, the more you share. Trust earned gradually is still trust.

Stage four: a voice or video call before you meet

A short call is the highest-value safety step available to you, and almost nobody does it. Ten minutes on video confirms the person matches their photos, gives you a sense of how they handle a small unscripted moment, and makes the first date feel like a second one.

Someone who has chatted enthusiastically for two weeks but will never do a five-minute video call has a reason. Occasionally it is shyness. Often it is that they are not the person in the photos.

Stage five: the first meeting

1. 1Choose a busy public place you already know — a café, a bar, a gallery. Not their home, not yours, not a remote hike.
2. 2Arrange your own transport there and back, so leaving is never a negotiation.
3. 3Tell one friend where you are going, who you are meeting and when you expect to be home. Share the profile link or a screenshot.
4. 4Keep the first meeting short and daytime if possible. Ninety minutes is plenty to know whether you want a second one.
5. 5Watch your drink, and keep your phone charged. A power bank is an underrated safety device.

Read the full breakdown in our first-date safety checklist, which covers the pre-date, on-the-date and after-the-date steps in more detail.

Stage six: when something goes wrong

You do not need proof, and you do not need to be certain, to act. Blocking is free and instant, and it does not notify the other person. Reporting takes under a minute and helps protect people you will never meet.

• Block first, then report — you do not owe an explanation or a goodbye message.
• Screenshot anything relevant before blocking, especially threats, scam attempts or requests for money.
• Report to Mekora through the profile or message menu so our moderation team can review the account.
• If money changed hands, report it to your bank and to your national fraud reporting service as well.

The habits that matter most

If you remember nothing else: stay on the platform until you have met, never send money, always tell someone where you are going, and leave the moment your gut says leave. Those four habits prevent the overwhelming majority of bad outcomes in online dating, and none of them cost you a good connection.