Meeting and Dating Safety

Meeting someone new you’ve connected with for the first time can be an exciting experience for most of us. We would like to help keep it stay that way for you. As humans, we all have to power to connect with other people. Sometimes things may go better or worse than expected. Here are some ideas and good good tips to help you stay safe online and get the most out of your in-person experiences on MeetPeople.

1. Stay on the site until the feeling is mutual

It’s easy to let our emotions run wild and let new people we’ve met take control over our decisions. But remember to remain in control by communicating here until you've developed mutual grounds for taking things to the next level and meeting offline. Move forward with a new language connection or potential matches only when you’ve figured out all the things you feel you really need to know about the other person.

2. Share your plan to meet with someone else you trust

If you decide to meet other singles near you or from any part of the world for that matter, be sure to tell a close friend or relative about your plans to meet someone else. Also, try to be transparent if you decide not to meet. If the feeling is not right quite yet, just let the person know it’s something you both need to work on. Postpone your meeting for another time until you feel confident about meeting.

3. Ask the right questions upfront

Try at the very beginning to get a sense of who the person you’re meeting is. It’s not easy to guess someone’s true personality online. When online, it’s quite easy for someone to paint an image of a perfect person, but in actuality, people’s personality, how they look, and how sincere they are may not be as they claim. Scheduling a quality date should depend on how comfortable you are with this person. However, keep in mind, what goes on in the head on one person may be different from her/his actions online, so be prepared to ask the questions that matter to you the most before the both of you plan to meet.

4. Be aware of your surroundings and sudden changes to it

If you decide to meet, stay in control of how you get around, where you go, and remain attentive to any changes of plans or people present around you.

5. Pay attention to drastic changes in behavior

Simply put, people will change moods and their behavior to get what they need all the time. Our tolerance levels will vary depending on what someone does or say. Something that one person finds to be joke may be offensive to others. While you interact with other people online and offline, hone in on behavioral changes, or things people say that are not consistent with a previous conversation the two of you had before. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable for saying or doing something you believe has crossed the line, just leave or walk away.

6. Meeting up in Person

Meetpeople is a site intended to give you an online space and quality talk time before you get to know that special potential date or language exchange friend. While we aim at helping to create a safe, online space for all to enjoy, some people may not always be who they claim to be. This goes for any social media site and applies to both men and women. Please use your discretion to screen people before you meet them in-person.

Remember, don't ever send, exchange, or loan money to someone you have never met in-person before. It’s never a good idea.

Getting Help

Even with all the above tips, you may run into a situation that suddenly changes without any warning. Please report any incidents to Meetpeople, and consider reaching out to local law enforcement in your state, city and country or any of the resources listed below.