#2A Security and Being Out: Online Dating

Although these might be good advice on any dating website, extra precautions may be necessary on lifestyle-specific sites, or sites that allow you to specify non-normative lifestyles. - Don’t use the same screen name you use elsewhere. - Don’t make your profile picture the same as your facebook or personal social media picture. If the site requires a photo of you, put on sunglasses, wear your hair differently, and make sure the background isn’t identifiable. Take a picture at an outdoor setting somewhere you don’t frequent or doesn’t hold salient landmarks or signs. - Phone cameras embed GPS information in photos. If you’re uploading photos taken on your phone, or from your phone, dig into settings and turn the gps feature off, if you can. If someone really savvy decides to troll or stalk you, they can find your location through your photos. More on Thursday!