With how much time we spend online, and how much of our own personal information we share with the world it's important to be as safe as possible. This is especially true when using online dating apps. You are putting a lot of personal information in your profiles so you don't want that information to be used by the wrong people. And if your goal is to meet your matches in the real world, you never want to find yourself in a situation where you've been tricked or taken advantage of. So, it should come as no surprise that many people are asking should dating apps come with safety features?

The simple, and frankly only answer, is yes. Dating apps should always come with safety features. In fact, we think they should come with even more safety features than other social networking sites. The fact that most of your connections will lead to in-person interactions means that dating apps need to take this subject very seriously. Everyone here at EzHookups.com feels very strongly about this topic, so keep reading to learn more about what features we'd like to see, what you can do to keep yourself safe, and what sites we think are taking user safety more seriously than others.

With all the recent movements happening in today's society geared towards making the online world a safe place for everyone, it's no wonder so many people are wondering if there should be safety features built into dating apps. We have safety features included in almost every major online tool that we use today. Think about how many passwords and identity checks you have to go to when you're online. On top of that, think about all the security tools in place when making online purchases or checking personal information such as your bank account.

All of your social media accounts are starting to take the safety of their users more seriously, and don't forget all the technology in place to protect our actual devices. So we're a little shocked the online dating app industry hasn't started trying to keep up. Some sites rely on the safety features of major social media sites to prevent dangerous or malicious users from creating an account, but that is easily worked around. Other sites just require a working email address and you can create whatever kind of account you'd like. So why do we think safety should be taken more seriously when it comes to dating apps? Simple. The apps are designed to connect people in the real world, they aren't just there be a digital communication tool. So the safety of the users should be even more important to the app developers.

There are so many dangers involved with connecting and meeting with someone you have only ever met digitally, and we really think there could be even more safety features in place to protect everyone.

There is nothing more terrifying than trusting someone you barely know and agreeing to meet them in person. From cat-fishers and stalkers to cheaters and people with even more malicious intentions, there are so many different kinds of people dating apps should be protecting users from.

There are lots of measures that a person can take to stay safe when meeting someone, but there could still be more done from the start to prevent those kinds of people from ever using a dating app. You shouldn't have to question whether or not an account is fake, or if the person is actually who they say they are when all you're looking for is the chance to meet new people and have some fun.

These dating apps require their users to disclose a lot of information when you create an account. From pictures to personal information in their bios. It takes a lot of trust in the service to create a profile, and even more trust to agree to meet with someone you connect with online. The app developers should do as much as they can to reward that trust with a safe and experience for everyone.

There are so many potential dangers involved with meeting someone you have only connected with online that you'd think there wouldn't be much of a debate when it came to making dating apps safer for everyone. We don't like to admit it, but there are a lot of really disgusting people in the world and dating apps can be just as unsafe as the rest of the internet. Anytime that the goal is to meet someone in person, you are trusting that the app is making sure that you are safe. You really shouldn't have to become a criminal investigator to figure out who you're really talking to every time you connect with someone online. A lot of apps do have safety features in place, but most of these rely on users reporting fake or inappropriate accounts so a lot of people can get through those safety checks. We really wish there were more safety features that prevent those people from ever getting an account to begin with. Hopefully, with the movement towards an increase in internet privacy rules and the work being done to eliminate sexual violence, dating apps will start taking more serious measures to keep their dedicated users safe and happy.

Like we said, there are a lot of apps that already have safety features in place to help protect their users. Most apps let you report fake or inappropriate accounts, so if you can tell something isn't right you can deal with it that way. And all of them require at least an email address or some other social network account to sign up. Which could help prevent most bots and fake accounts from getting access. But we think there could be a few more features to really help keep users safe. For starters, some way of proving you are who your account shows you to be. Could this be as simple as some level of facial recognition to match to your pictures? Or maybe the app requires you to take a picture of your face to show to the person you are contacting. And speaking about fake accounts, there must be some sort of feature they could do to analyze accounts for obvious signs of bots or spam accounts. They are so obvious to catch most of the time, how could they even get an account. Or maybe it's as straightforward as needing new accounts to be approved by the app. We're just throwing ideas out here, but we think these could be pretty good ways to increase safety in dating apps.

As we talked about, there aren't a lot of upfront safety features to prevent the wrong people from making accounts on most online dating apps. So a lot of the time it is up to the users to create their own secure environments and help keep everyone safe. One of the biggest ways to keep yourself safe is to limit the amount of information you include in your bio. Don't give away too much about your own personal life, such as where you work or live, and definitely don't include your email address or phone number. And you might not be thinking about it this way, but don't reveal anything about yourself that is included in your online passwords. You'd be surprised how many people use the information they list in their bios for their passwords. There are even more things you can do to stay safe once you begin chatting with someone too. Make sure you take a little bit of time to talk to them before agreeing to meet up. You'll be able to decide if the person can be trusted through your in-app conversations. Also, take a look at their photos, is there anything suspicious about them? Does the person in the photos match the person you are talking to? Lastly, when you decide to make plans with the person always ask to meet somewhere public and somewhere you have been before. Don't go out of your comfort zone and definitely don't meet them at their place.

Even after all the in-app safety features and your own attempts to make sure you are being safe, you might still find yourself in a bad situation with the person you've been connecting with online. And this might not even be something obvious un-safe, they might just be making you uncomfortable or the date might be going bad. In any case, it's a situation you don't want to be in without anyway out. The first thing to do before the date even starts is let a friend or two know where you are going and with who. Maybe even set up a way for them to bail you out of trouble if things aren't going well. We've definitely had some friends secretly hanging out at the bar, ready to whisk us away to safety, when we've gone on dates with someone new. At the very least have them phone you a little bit after the date starts to check in and provide you with an excuse to leave should you need it. You'll also find that any bar with half decent people on staff will be more than willing to help you escape an uncomfortable situation. Either they'll notice on their own or you can discreetly ask them for assistance. They'll gladly help you safely leave the bar, or give you a safe place to go. Be on the lookout for a special code word the bar uses for these situations, it might just be the best way to stay safe

We've talked a lot about how to stay safe when dating online, and ways to keep yourself safe once your connection moves into the real world. But the short answer to whether or not dating apps should come with features designed to keep you safe is undoubtedly, yes. With how popular and accepted dating online has become, there should be a greater effort done by the app developers to keep the wrong people from getting accounts through the apps. It shouldn't just be up to the users to keep the community safe. After all this talk about safety and negativity, we wanted to end this on a positive note. Despite all the horrible people in the world and, in particular, the online dating community its important to remember that there are still plenty of genuine and real people who really don't want to connect and have fun. It's important to stay safe but it's also important to go out there and meet new people. We've all heard the success stories of people who have used online dating apps, so it might just be the place where you find exactly what you are looking for too. We've seen the app developers start to take a more serious approach to user safety, and with the dating community as a whole working together it can be the perfect way to meet someone new, have fun, and make a lasting connection in a very safe way.

Did our advice on how to stay safe when using dating apps help out in your own search for that perfect match? We break down all the most requested questions about online dating here.

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