Safety · every app · updated September 2026
Online Dating Safety
Thirty rules in the order you'll need them: what strangers can see, how to handle the chat, the five non-negotiables before a first date, what to do on the date and after, and the three things every scam is after. Plus red flags at a glance, how to report, and a first-date checklist.
30rules, five stages
5non-negotiables
0money to anyone unmet
Online dating is mostly uneventful, and the harms that do happen are unusually predictable: nearly all of them come from a few scam scripts, a few kinds of bad first-meeting decisions, and a few things people share too early. That makes safety less about vigilance and more about a short set of habits you decide on in advance, so that a charming chat can't talk you out of them. This page gives thirty of them, in the order you'll need them: what strangers can see when you set up, how to handle the chat, the five non-negotiables before a first date, what to do on the date and after, and the three things every scam is after. It applies to every app; where Badoo's tools help, it says so.
For the scam scripts in detail, with real message examples, see AI scams and fake profiles; for the app's own tools, Is Badoo safe?. If a chat already feels wrong, the free scam risk checker scores it in a minute.
30 online dating safety rules, in the order you'll need them
1Setting up: what strangers can see
Your profile is visible to everyone nearby. Build it so that's fine.
- Leave out the identifiersNo surname, employer, street, school, phone number or car registration in photos or bio. First name, area and interests are plenty.
- Use photos that aren't on your public socialsA reverse image search on your lead photo shouldn't land on your LinkedIn or public Instagram. Pick a set just for the app.
- Verify, then filter to verifiedThe badge proves your photos are you and lifts your ranking; the verified-only filter removes most fakes from your feed. Two minutes on any app.
- Check the location settingApps show distance, not a pin; use hide-distance if you live somewhere small, and keep location permission to "while using the app".
- Use a strong, unique passwordAnd a login email you check. Real support never asks for your password, in the app or by email.
- Read the app's safety features onceBlock, report, private mode, explicit-image filters. Knowing where they are means you'll use them. Is Badoo safe? covers Badoo's.
2In the chat: keep it on the app, watch the pace
Almost every scam and most harassment follow the same pattern in the first messages.
- Stay in the app until you've metMoving to WhatsApp, Telegram or email in the first messages is the top scam tell, and it gives up the app's reporting tools.
- Notice the pace"Dear" and "baby" on day one, love in a week, a story about being abroad, widowed, deployed, or on a rig: a script, not a person.
- Ask for a short video call before meetingA real person says yes. Persistent excuses are the answer.
- Never click links or download apps from a chat"See my private photos", a "trading platform", a "game": all routes to malware, paid sites or theft.
- Block early, don't engageHostility, pressure for photos, sexual messages you didn't invite: two taps, no reply. You owe nobody a debate.
- Run anything fast through a checkerThe free scam risk checker scores a conversation on the behavioural signals in a minute.
3Before you meet: the five non-negotiables
Decide these while calm, so a good chat can't talk you out of them.
- Public place you choseA café, a bar, a walk in a busy park. Not their home, not yours, not a car, not a "quiet spot".
- Your own transportArrive and leave under your own power. No lifts on a first meeting, however nice they seem.
- A friend knowsName, screenshot of the profile, where and when, expected home time. Share live location if your phone can. Check in after.
- Keep it shortCoffee or one drink, an hour with an easy exit. Extend it if it's good.
- Stay sober enoughOne drink is fine. Watch it being poured, keep it with you, and don't accept drinks you didn't see made.
- Have a way outA friend's planned call at a set time, or just "I've had a nice time, I'm going to head off." Leaving is always allowed and needs no reason.
4On the date and after: trust the feeling
Most dates are fine. These are for the ones that aren't, and for the day after.
- Leave if something is offRudeness to staff, pressure, a different person from the photos, anything that makes you uneasy. Pay for your own drink and go.
- Don't go home with themHowever good the date, a first meeting ends in public. A second date is soon enough for anything else.
- Keep your address for laterMeet at the venue, get a taxi to a nearby spot if you'd rather they not see your street.
- If you're harmed, it is not your faultGet somewhere safe, call a friend or the police, keep evidence, and report to the app too. Sexual assault services and police take dating-app reports seriously.
- Report bad behaviour even if you're fineReports are how apps remove people who do this repeatedly. Two taps protects the next person.
- Say no clearly afterwardA short, kind message ends it. If they don't accept a no, block; that itself is the answer.
5Money, images and data: the three things scams want
The financial and image harms on dating apps are almost entirely preventable.
- Money: never, to anyone unmetNo transfers, gift cards, crypto, "customs fees", tickets, "investments" or loans, whatever the story. This one rule prevents most of the harm on dating apps.
- Images: nothing with your faceSextortion starts with a request for intimate photos or a recorded video call. Don't; and if you already have, don't pay, stop replying, save evidence, report.
- Data: don't answer the quizMother's maiden name, first pet, birthday, where you bank. Innocent-sounding questions that reset passwords.
- Codes: never share oneA code sent to your phone is for you. Anyone asking for it, including "support", is stealing the account it protects.
- If money went outCall your bank now (transfers can sometimes be recalled within hours), report to your national fraud service, screenshot everything, and ignore "recovery" offers.
- Tell someoneScripts rely on isolation and shame. Saying it out loud breaks both, and a friend spots the next one faster than you will. AI scams and fake profiles has the scripts and the reporting contacts.
Red flags at a glance
On the profile
- Model-quality photos, only one or two, not verified
- Far away, or a job that explains why they can't meet (rig, deployed, UN doctor)
- Empty or generic bio; contact details in the bio
- Joined today, messaging within minutes
In the chat
- Off the app in the first messages
- Never a live video call, always an excuse
- Love, "baby", marriage talk within days
- Doesn't answer your questions; asks if you live alone, what you do, are you honest
- Odd hours; English that swings between fluent and stilted
- Any mention of money, crypto, gift cards, a link, or a code
Around meeting
- Pushes to meet at their place, yours, or somewhere isolated
- Insists on picking you up
- Cancels repeatedly but keeps the chat intense
- Pressure for photos before meeting
- Won't accept a no
- Looks or acts nothing like the profile
None of these alone is proof; three together almost always is. Fake profiles on Badoo goes through each with examples and the four scripts they lead to.
How to report, and where
| Situation | In the app | Outside the app |
|---|---|---|
| Fake profile, spam, scam attempt | Profile or chat menu → Report → reason → Block. Screenshot first. | Not needed unless money or images are involved. |
| Money sent | Report and block. | Your bank immediately (recall may be possible within hours); national fraud service (Action Fraud UK, IC3 US, ScamWatch AU, or local equivalent); keep all evidence. |
| Intimate images and threats | Report and block; don't pay, don't reply. | Police; an image-removal service if your country has one (e.g. StopNCII, Take It Down); save evidence. |
| Harassment or threats | Report and block. | Police if there are threats of harm or they know where you live. |
| Assault or feeling unsafe in person | Report afterward. | Get somewhere safe; call a friend or emergency services; sexual assault support services; keep evidence. |
| Account compromised | Change password; log out all devices; Settings → Help. | Change the password anywhere you reused it. |
Reporters are never identified to the person reported. Reports feed the automated systems (on Badoo and Bumble, Deception Detector) that catch the same operation's other profiles, so a report protects people you'll never meet. Badoo not working covers the account-compromise steps in detail.
The first-date checklist
- Video called; they match their photos.
- Public place I chose; I know how to get there and back.
- A friend has their name, a screenshot, the place and my home time.
- Live location shared, or a check-in call planned.
- Phone charged; money for my own way home.
- Drinks watched; one is enough.
- First date ends in public; no going home with anyone.
- Exit line ready; leaving needs no reason.
- Nothing sent: no money, no intimate images, no codes, no address.
- Report anything bad afterward, even if I'm fine.
Say it out loud once: nobody I haven't met in person gets money, gift cards, crypto, bank details, a code from my phone, or a link click from me. That sentence is most of online dating safety.
With those habits in place, the rest of the process is the fun part: online dating tips covers profiles, messages and dates; Badoo profile tips and how to start a conversation on Badoo the specifics; the AI dating tools the awkward parts; and the Badoo review and app ranking the choice of where to be.
Online dating safety: FAQ
Is online dating safe?
As safe as meeting strangers anywhere, provided you use the tools the apps give you and a few habits they can't: verify and use verified-only filters, keep the chat in the app, video call before meeting, meet in public with your own way home, tell a friend, and never send money. The large majority of dates are uneventful; the risks that remain are predictable and this page covers them.
What is the single most important online dating safety rule?
Nobody you have not met in person receives money, gift cards, crypto, bank details, a code sent to your phone, or a link click from you, however good the story. That one rule removes almost all of the financial risk, which is by far the most common harm on dating apps.
Should I video call before a first date?
Yes. Thirty seconds on camera confirms the person matches their photos and is who they say, and it tells you more about chemistry than a hundred messages. A real person says yes; a persistent refusal ("bad network", "shy", "next week") is the clearest scam tell there is.
How do I tell a friend without it being awkward?
Send a message: who you're meeting (first name, a screenshot of the profile), where, and when you expect to be home, then check in after. Many apps and phones can share live location for a couple of hours. It takes a minute and it is the standard thing to do, not paranoia.
What information should I never share on a dating app?
Your surname, address, workplace, daily routine, school, phone number and ID documents, until you've met and trust someone. Also intimate images with your face in them; sextortion is a real pattern. Your profile is public to strangers nearby; write it as if it is.
What do I do if I think I'm being scammed?
Stop replying, don't send anything, screenshot everything, then block and report in the app. If money has gone out, call your bank straight away and report to your national fraud service. Ignore anyone who then offers to recover the money for a fee; that's the same operation. The scam risk checker scores a chat, and AI scams and fake profiles explains the scripts.
Does Badoo have good safety features?
Yes: photo verification with a verified-only filter, AI fake-profile detection shared with Bumble, explicit-image blurring, block and report in two taps, private mode and hide-distance. Is Badoo safe? goes through each, and Badoo photo verification shows how to get the badge.