Safety tips
Most people on RealOneDating are here for the same reason you are. A few aren't. These habits cost you nothing and protect you from almost everything.
Before you meet
Keep conversations in the app. Scammers push to move you to text, WhatsApp, or Telegram quickly — partly because it's off our moderation systems. There's no rush. Move when you're comfortable, not when they are.
Video chat first. A short video call confirms the person matches their photos. Anyone who repeatedly refuses, or whose camera is always broken, is telling you something.
Do a quick search. Reverse-image search their photos. If the same face turns up under a different name, you've found a fake profile — report it.
Don't share identifying details early. Your home or work address, your employer, your financial details, your kids' school. Not on a first conversation, not on a fifth.
Never send money
This one is absolute. Never send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or banking details to someone you met online — no matter the story. Common ones:
- A sudden medical emergency or legal trouble
- Travel money to come visit you
- A customs or shipping fee on a gift being sent to you
- A can't-miss crypto or trading opportunity they'll "help you" set up
- A request to receive or forward a payment on their behalf (this can make you a money mule)
Anyone who asks is running a scam, without exception. Report them.
When you meet in person
Meet in public, and stay in public for the first few dates. A café, restaurant, or busy park — not their place, not yours, not somewhere secluded.
Tell someone. Share who you're meeting, where, and when. Send them the profile. Check in during and after.
Arrange your own transportation both ways. Don't be dependent on your date for a ride home, and don't let them pick you up at home on a first meeting.
Stay in control of your drink and know your limit. Don't accept a drink you didn't watch being made.
You can leave at any time, for any reason. You don't owe an explanation, a full evening, or a polite exit. If something feels wrong, trust it and go.
Sextortion
If someone pressures you to send intimate photos and then threatens to release them: don't pay, don't send more, don't delete the evidence. Paying escalates it. Take screenshots, block them, report them to us at safety@realonedating.com, and report to law enforcement. In the U.S., the FBI takes these reports at ic3.gov, and the Take It Down service can help remove images.
If something happens
Block and report. Blocking cuts them off immediately. Reporting brings it to our safety team — we review reports within 24 hours and can remove the person from the platform.
Preserve what happened. Screenshot conversations before blocking if you can.
In an emergency, call your local emergency number first.
Resources (United States)
- Emergency: 911
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (or text START to 88788)
- RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673, online.rainn.org
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988
- National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov
Outside the U.S., contact your local emergency services and national support lines.
What we do — and don't do
We screen images and messages for known abusive content, act on reports, and permanently remove people who break our Community Guidelines.
We do not run criminal background checks on users, and we can't verify everything a person tells you. Photo verification confirms a person matches their pictures — it doesn't confirm they're a good person. Use these tips regardless of anyone's badge.