Been sitting on this question for a while — figured this community would have the best take. The ratio of serious users to time-wasters is way better on platforms requiring account setup.
Public first meetings are non-negotiable. Coffee shop, bar, anywhere visible. Real-time deletion features are more common now and do help with peace of mind.
Basic precautions I follow:
- Payment requests from matches should always be treated as a scam regardless of the story.
- Separate email addresses for dating activity is just good hygiene.
- Reverse image search is your best friend for quickly vetting profile photos.
- Check the privacy policy before giving any platform access to your contacts or location.