How to Safely Meet a Person You Met Online
Keep personal information off your profiles., Check your privacy settings., Look into the background of people you meet., Avoid giving away any personal information., Take it slow., Trust your instincts.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Keep personal information off your profiles.
If you want to stay safe online, anonymity is the way to go.
Don't even use your real first and last name, or list where you live or go to school.
You don't want strangers online to know too much about you.With some dating apps, you have to enter your real location to get the most out of the app.
Keep your location as general as you possibly can and still use the app properly.
Be extra cautious who you talk to.
On some social media platforms, such as Facebook, you can create groups of friends and control who sees what information on your profile.
For example, you could have your high school only visible to a group of your friends who went to high school with you, and invisible to everyone else. -
Step 2: Check your privacy settings.
Every social media platform or dating app has privacy settings that are designed to protect you.
These settings allow you to control who can see specific information or posts you make.If you don't understand the way the privacy settings work, talk to a friend who can help explain them to you and get things set up the way you want.
Most social media platforms give you the option to view your profile the way a stranger would, so you can make sure you're not revealing more information than you want. , Once you've started talking to someone regularly, it may be time to do a little online sleuthing before you meet up in person.
Even if you don't have a lot of personal information about them, there are still ways you can determine if they are deceiving you.Look carefully at their page.
If you have any friends in common, contact those people and ask how they know the person and if they've ever met them in real life.
Copy their photos and do an image search of them to see if they appear elsewhere on the internet.
If someone is trying to pretend to be someone else, they may intend to harm you.
See how far back their page goes, and look at any comments or interactions they have with other friends or followers.
You can usually tell by these interactions whether they actually personally know each other. , In general, you want to avoid telling anyone too much about you until you've met them.
Get to know them a little better before you tell them your address, your birthday, and your life history.This can be a delicate balance.
If they are being safe, as you are, they won't reveal any personal information either.
This can make it difficult to look into the person's background, but try to respect that they have the same privacy concerns you do. , It can be easy to divulge too much information about yourself too quickly when you're talking online – especially if you talk to the person frequently.
Keep your emotions in check and check yourself regularly to make sure you're not getting ahead of yourself.You don't want the person to know too much about you until you've met them in person at least two or three times.
Keep conversations focused on common outside interests, such as music or movies, and avoid talking too much about your own life or your thoughts and feelings. , When you make friends with somebody, it can be tempting to shrug off comments or behaviors that normally would give you pause.
Keep in mind that this person is a stranger, and avoid giving them the benefit of the doubt.If the person says something that bothers you, mention it directly.
Be honest, and don't allow them to think you're okay with something when you're not.
If you don't feel comfortable saying something to the person directly about something that's bothering you, that in and of itself is a red flag that maybe this person isn't the best friend for you. -
Step 3: Look into the background of people you meet.
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Step 4: Avoid giving away any personal information.
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Step 5: Take it slow.
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Step 6: Trust your instincts.
Detailed Guide
If you want to stay safe online, anonymity is the way to go.
Don't even use your real first and last name, or list where you live or go to school.
You don't want strangers online to know too much about you.With some dating apps, you have to enter your real location to get the most out of the app.
Keep your location as general as you possibly can and still use the app properly.
Be extra cautious who you talk to.
On some social media platforms, such as Facebook, you can create groups of friends and control who sees what information on your profile.
For example, you could have your high school only visible to a group of your friends who went to high school with you, and invisible to everyone else.
Every social media platform or dating app has privacy settings that are designed to protect you.
These settings allow you to control who can see specific information or posts you make.If you don't understand the way the privacy settings work, talk to a friend who can help explain them to you and get things set up the way you want.
Most social media platforms give you the option to view your profile the way a stranger would, so you can make sure you're not revealing more information than you want. , Once you've started talking to someone regularly, it may be time to do a little online sleuthing before you meet up in person.
Even if you don't have a lot of personal information about them, there are still ways you can determine if they are deceiving you.Look carefully at their page.
If you have any friends in common, contact those people and ask how they know the person and if they've ever met them in real life.
Copy their photos and do an image search of them to see if they appear elsewhere on the internet.
If someone is trying to pretend to be someone else, they may intend to harm you.
See how far back their page goes, and look at any comments or interactions they have with other friends or followers.
You can usually tell by these interactions whether they actually personally know each other. , In general, you want to avoid telling anyone too much about you until you've met them.
Get to know them a little better before you tell them your address, your birthday, and your life history.This can be a delicate balance.
If they are being safe, as you are, they won't reveal any personal information either.
This can make it difficult to look into the person's background, but try to respect that they have the same privacy concerns you do. , It can be easy to divulge too much information about yourself too quickly when you're talking online – especially if you talk to the person frequently.
Keep your emotions in check and check yourself regularly to make sure you're not getting ahead of yourself.You don't want the person to know too much about you until you've met them in person at least two or three times.
Keep conversations focused on common outside interests, such as music or movies, and avoid talking too much about your own life or your thoughts and feelings. , When you make friends with somebody, it can be tempting to shrug off comments or behaviors that normally would give you pause.
Keep in mind that this person is a stranger, and avoid giving them the benefit of the doubt.If the person says something that bothers you, mention it directly.
Be honest, and don't allow them to think you're okay with something when you're not.
If you don't feel comfortable saying something to the person directly about something that's bothering you, that in and of itself is a red flag that maybe this person isn't the best friend for you.
About the Author
Brian Ross
Writer and educator with a focus on practical lifestyle knowledge.
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