Senior Dating Online Safety

Online dating later in life can be a safer experience than traditional dating. It offers more choice and enables you to keep your distance from whoever interests you until you are ready to meet up.

If you've never tried such a service before, or if you are concerned by stories you may have been told, here are a few ideas to get you dating online safely and confidently:

• Go with your gut feelings. If something just doesn't feel right, you needn't take any chances. Disengage your communication with who you may be concerned about gracefully, if this doesn't work, and you feel awkward about letting them down, you can simply ignore that person.
• Be honest when creating your member profile. Online dating is based on trust. You wouldn't want to be misled by a potential dating partner, nor would they want to be misled by you. It's easy to lie online, but when you meet somebody, it's harder to look 60, if you're really 70.
• Protect yourself and your loved ones when you upload your photo. Make sure nobody else that may accidentally appear in your photo can be recognised, be they family of friends. Also make sure your home, car or anything else that may give away your whereabouts don't appear in your photo too.
• Keep any personal information to yourself until you are sure you know exactly who you are giving it to. Even then, try to keep sensitive details about your self private.
• Protect your identity. Websites like ours, hide your email address from other members. So if you stop communicating with anyone within your dating account, they can't get in touch with you any other way.
• Try not to talk about, and definitely don't share any of your financial information with other members. Nobody else using online dating should ever need to know this kind of information. The only time you should ever input any financial information when using online dating would be when you upgrade your account, which you would do within your account settings, and not in any chat window. If in doubt, just give our friendly UK based support team a call on our freephone number below.
• Don't be fooled by members requesting financial help from you. This also applies to somebody you may have been in contact with through the service for some time, who you may have grown to trust. This is a common ploy of a scam artist, to lull people into a false sense of security, before asking for money. If you suspect somebody of being a scammer, give out support team a call on the freephone number below.
• Don't let other dating members pressure you into giving them more information or more photo's of yourself than you are comfortable with sharing.
• Don't be pressured into meeting somebody before you are ready. This is your dating experience, and it is your right to take as long to get to know somebody online as you choose. If somebody is becoming too pushy, don't feel bad for ignoring them.
• If you're worried about the dating member you are talking to, ask for a recent photo of who you are talking to. Then, if you do meet, you can always take the photo on your date, either printed out or save it on your mobile phone.
• Have a think about how you describe yourself in both your profile, and when chatting to other members online. Does what you are saying truly convey the correct tone and your intention? Simply keep it up beat and honest, which will save any misunderstandings.
• Be wary of somebody who declares their love for you early on in your communications together, and especially if you have never met this person. Be realistic.
• So, you're ready to meet the persona you have got to know online?

Meeting Your Date In-Person - Safety Advice

Dating via an online senior service like ours is a safe experience, but be sure to keep a clear head, when you're over exited about meeting your date, remember, you want to stay safe offline too.

The person you have been talking to may sound like the woman, or man of your dreams, who you may be keen to meet up with. Whether you're a seasoned dating expert or maybe you're trying dating for the first time after the end of a long relationship, either way, here are a few words of advice:

• Don't let yourself be pushed into a date you;re not sure about, and don't give away your personal details unless you are comfortable enough to do so.
• Don't give your date your work or home address, or even telephone numbers to your date unless you are 100% confident you know you can trust your date.
• Avoid people who want to talk about sex or your finances before you have even been on a date.
• When you meet your date for the first, and even first few times, choose to meet somewhere neutral, public and in sight and hearing distance of other people.
• Tell a friend, member of your family or somebody else who you trust who you are meeting, exactly where you are meeting, the time you plan to be there and importantly; the time you should be back home by. If your destination or time changes, keep whoever you informed about your date up to date. Don't be embarrassed, it's better to be safe than not.
• Don't forget to take your mobile phone with you, so that you can keep whoever knows about your date informed about how and where the date is going. It may also be a good idea to arrange a coded way to inform your contact how things are going, an example of which could be "The food is better than I thought here" which could mean everything is great, or "I didn't fancy the calamari" which could mean that you're not getting on that well.
• Always trust your instincts, if something doesn't feel right, you can always make a polite excuse and leave. Remember, it is your absolute right to end a date if you want. If your date disagrees, don't be afraid to ask somebody nearby for assistance.
• Don't rely on your date for transport to, or from the venue that you are meeting at. Always plan your journeys both to, and from your date. Remember to take a taxi company number with you, in case you want to end your date early. You can always slip into the bathroom, and call a cab from there.
• A simple way to end an uncomfortable date in a believable way might be to slip into the bathroom, call a friend on your mobile, asking them to call you back in 5 minutes, pretending there is some kind of emergency or situation that requires your presence.
• We do not advise sharing a taxi with your date, but if there is no choice, you can insist that the taxi drops you off last, so as to keep your home address private. If your date argues, then maybe refuse to share the taxi altogether.
• Don't drink too much on your date. You have to keep your wits about you, and a clear head, even if alcohol does help you relax a little, avoid too much. If you have the slightest suspicion your food or drink has been tampered with, don't consume it, and alert somebody nearby if possible.
• Make sure your mobile phone is fully charged before you head off, just in case.
• Remember, your date may have the same worries as yourself about the date, so try not to be pushy, or try to coerce your date into doing something they are uncomfortable with.
• Try not to take it personally if your date wants to leave. While getting to know somebody in the flesh is exciting, it can also be quite nerve wrecking. Give your date space and the respect they deserve. They have already agreed to meet you, which is a great privilege.
• Have fun! And Be Safe! :)

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