Would I recommend handing your face, location, and dating preferences to a data harvester? No. But y’all are going to use these apps anyway. Here’s the damage control.
⚠ WARNING: UNVERIFIED IDENTITIES DETECTED — PROCEED WITH CAUTION
General Rules
DO:
- Protect your information — set limits on what and when you share, and stick to them
- Provide your own transportation when meeting someone for the first time. Every time.
- Use more popular dating apps — better security infrastructure than obscure ones
- List your age but NOT your full date of birth
- Be anonymous: use a nickname, no last name, no PII in your profile
- Use a unique email address and username not associated with any other accounts you own
- Keep your financial information private — always
- Choose a public location for any first meeting
- Stay on the platform during initial communications — moving to personal phone numbers or email early gives strangers direct access to you
DON’T:
- Use dating apps on public WiFi — always use a secure connection
- Sync your social media accounts with your dating profile. That cross-links your data.
- Use photos associated with other online accounts — reverse image search is easy
- Give out your phone number, address, or employer
- Meet at your house or place of work for an initial meeting
Signs of a Scam
The usual suspects are active on dating apps. Watch for these patterns:
- Professes love quickly or claims to be overseas — military, oil rigs, international business are common covers
- Asks for money or sends links to follow off the dating app
- Claims to need money for emergencies, hospital bills, or travel to visit you
- Online dating scams are known to run for months before the ask comes — they’re patient
- Incomplete profiles or “too good to be true” profiles are red flags. Bots exist in large numbers on every platform.
Bumble
Navigate to the bottom left → person icon → Settings cog (top right).
Key settings:
- Current Location: Do NOT use exact location — use a general area
- Incognito Mode: Enable to prevent other people from seeing your profile while browsing
- Security & Privacy → Login Methods: Do NOT link external accounts (Google, Apple, Facebook)
- Privacy Settings: Enable “Strictly necessary permissions” only — decline the rest
- Complete My Profile: Avoid anything too personal — you can always share more later, but you can’t unsay something
Hinge
Go to top right → “Edit Profile.”
Key settings:
- Do NOT use your full name
- Change location to a nearby area rather than exact — Hinge does not allow fully hiding your location, so approximate it
- Use caution with employer, job title, and school info — these are data points
- Choose which profile fields are visible vs. hidden
- Under Settings: Do NOT connect Apple, Facebook, or Instagram
- Privacy Preferences: Turn off “Allow All Services” — enable only the services you actively need
- Read the “Safe Dating Tips” section in Hinge settings — it exists for a reason
Tinder
Open Tinder → Person Icon (bottom right) → Settings, Edit Profile, Safety.
Key settings:
- Under Account Settings: Do NOT connect any accounts; change location to non-exact
- Show me on Tinder: Toggle off to pause your profile without deleting it — useful when taking a break
- With Tinder Plus: Set “Who can see you” to “Only People I’ve Liked”
- Double Date feature: Review all settings carefully if you use this
- Community and Privacy tabs: Read the Safety tips and Safety Center
- Privacy Preferences: Choose “Refuse All” option to deny personalized ad tracking
Last one: before you go on a first date with someone you met on an app, run a quick search on their name and profile picture. You’re not being paranoid — you’re being switched on.