7 Essential Tips for Women Dating Online

Online dating is now the most common way to find a partner, whether it be for short-term dating, long-term dating, or anything in between. When it comes to being a woman online dating, it is important to always be safe. Too much can happen and there are bad people out there. Today we are going to take a look at some of the best safety tips for women who use online dating site.

1. Never Give Out Information Before You Are Comfortable

It is essential to never give out information before you get to know someone and start to feel comfortable. Give it a few days of messaging, getting to know each other, and what you are both looking for at a minimum. Even then, make sure to think through what you know about the person and determine if it is time to give out information.

Even when you give out information, limit what you give out. Only provide what you are comfortable with and what is necessary to have a first date or hookup. Your new partner doesn't need to know every intimate detail of your life right off the bat.

2. Privatize Your Information

One of the things that the internet is great for is the ability to privatize your information. Before you give out any information, privatize it to make sure the person is not getting information that can be used to identify yourself. Here are a few tips to privatize your details:

• Use Google Voice to have a separate number
• Use an email address just for your dating
• Have separate social media and restrict your primary social media

3. Always Meet In Public Places

The first place that you should meet your new partner should always be somewhere public. The more people, the better. Restaurants, coffee shops, large parks, are all popular first date locations. When picking the location, also consider the time that you want to meet. Different places will have different levels of people and different times. For example, a weekend around noon might see a lot of people at a park while the same time on a weekday might not.

Try to pick a place that isn't too close to your home so that it isn't easy to follow you home.

4. Have Your Own Transportation

Carpooling for a date can be great but when you are meeting someone from the internet for the first time you should have your own transportation, whether that be a car, bus, or some other method. Having your own transportation means that you have peace of mind that you will be able to get back home. You won't have to get in his car alone. Make sure that he knows that you have your own ride so he doesn't try anything.

5. Have a Friend Know Where You Are Going

You are not alone in this world and you should use that to your advantage when it comes to online dating. Dating in the physical world too. Before going on any date let a friend or two know where you are going, when you will be back, and keep them up to date via text. This will ensure that someone will notice if you don't come home.

It doesn't hurt to have a phrase prepared that you can text them to signal them to call you to end the date. Doing so may seem underhanded but it can be a lifesaver (literally sometimes) if something doesn't go right on the date.

He doesn't need to know that you have a friend who is aware of what you are doing. You can save this information for if something goes wrong if you want. It all depends on what you are comfortable with.

6. Google Him

It sounds weird to do, but you should Google anyone that you meet on a dating site. All of the information on Google will allow you to find out more about the person you are talking to. You may not find anything but you might just find something important, negative or positive. If he has a generic name or too many results come back, you can narrow it down by adding additional search terms such as a city name or other information he has provided.

Something you can do to help you find results is to Google his phone number and email address. Many internet profiles and phonebook profiles are linked to contact information. Not only social media profiles but work profiles, dating profiles, etc.

A few websites advertise themselves as being able to help you learn about the background of dates but you should be careful with these. Many of these sites are not legitimate or just pull information from Google.

7. Take A Self-Defense Class

There is no way that you can guarantee your safety. Even with all of these tips there is the chance that something could happen. Being prepared with knowledge in self-defense is always a plus. Not only can you use it if a date goes bad, you can use it to help protect yourself at any time.

Not only is self-defense a good way to protect yourself but it can help your physical and mental health. Don't just take one class and be done, continue to go to classes, keep your skills up, improve your health, and enjoy yourself.

Just because you have to be safe with online dating, doesn't mean you should be nervous or scared of it. Taking these safety tips to mind can help you to be prepared and give you confidence. Besides that, there are so many great people out there waiting to meet you, ones that you wouldn't be able to meet if the internet did not give you a helping hand.