By now, most of us know what to do before a date. Get your hair and nails done, slip into your fave Louboutins, and last but definitely not least – make sure you’re dressed to impress! But do most of us know what to do before a first date when it comes to safety?
But there are some other tips you should know, too. Before a first date, people often tell you to stay safe. However, they usually don’t tell you exactly how you can actually practice first-date safety. Luckily, that’s what we’re here for!
Read on for our top 12 tips for how to safely prep for a date.
1. Video Chat Before Your Date
In addition to being solid first-date safety practice, video chatting is a fun way to connect with your date before meeting up. Plus, with Seeking’s video chat feature, there’s no need to share personal information like your number or IG before you’re ready to. Simply call your match through the site and start chatting!
2. …But Be Careful With Sending Photos
If you’ve been online dating for longer than roughly 3 minutes, you already know that it’s pretty common for matches to ask for more pics of you as soon as you exchange numbers and start talking off the site.
Most of the time, someone asks this just because they want to make sure you’re as beautiful as you are in your photos (and you are, duh).
However, although it’s fine to send pics, it’s a good idea not to share personal info with someone you haven’t met in person. There’s a lot of personal info that can be found in photos. Because of this, a good alternative to sending pics is to suggest a video chat (see step 1).
If you do decide to send photos, make sure there is nothing unnecessarily revealing in the pic (like a license plate number or home address – yikes!)
Also, if you’re sending pics over text, keep in mind that photos automatically come with a geo-tag. This means that the location in which the photo was snapped is automatically shared with the person you’re texting, if they choose to save the photo. The best way to get around this is to screenshot the photo and then send the screenshot instead. Or, you can send the pic through an IG DM after you’ve exchanged that info.
As we said, it’s likely that your match has zero ill intentions, and simply wants to admire your gorgeous self. But we are all about first-date safety here at Seeking, so it’s better to just take these tips as a precaution.
3. Do Some Harmless Sleuthing
Google is your friend! There’s nothing wrong with Googling your date a few days before you meet up. On the off-chance that you do find some questionable info, trust your gut and cancel the date ASAP. You don’t have to tell them that it’s because of whatever sketchy thing you found out – you can say you forgot it’s your aunt’s birthday dinner that day or something. Do we encourage lying? No. But we also don’t encourage going on a date with someone you’ve uncovered some icky info about.
4. Keep Your Phone On – And CHARGED
You’ll need your phone for most of the other steps we’re about to tell you. Not only that, but if you don’t have a car, you might need to call yourself a rideshare service or a taxi at the end of the night. If you have a wireless phone charger, this would be a great thing to bring along with you to your date so you can keep your cell charged at all times!
5. Share Your Plans And Location
Before your date, make sure your phone’s location services are turned on. Then, tell a local loved one that you’re going on a date, and where you’re headed. Ask if you can share your location with them. This can be a trusted friend, family member, roommate, co-worker, and so on. We say “local” because if you do need to get a hold of someone but the person you’ve chosen is in say, Wales, and you’re based in NYC, that doesn’t really help with your safety on a first date.
Before the date, make sure your location services are working! Remember to text your local loved one when you get home for the night to let them know you’ve made it back safely.
6. Arrange Your Own Transportation – Both To And From The Date
For your first few dates with a new match, have them meet you at the restaurant, lounge, or other date spot. Drive your own car, take public transportation or rideshare service, or have a friend drop you off.
The first couple of dates is too soon to let a new partner know where you live, so don’t let them take you to your house after, either.
7. Always Meet In A Public Place
For first-date safety, avoid going to anyone’s house, hotel suite, or other secluded location. Make sure to always meet in a public place around other people! If your date suggests another locale, simply state that you don’t meet first dates in private.
And if they push back? It’s probably not a good match. Buh-bye! Their loss. You’re fabulous.
8. Keep An Eye On Your Drink
If you and your date are having something to drink on your outing, make sure not to let your drink out of your sight. Whether you opt for a glass of chardonnay or a French martini, don’t leave your drink unattended until you finish it.
9. Have Enough Money To Get Yourself Home
Never rely on your date to get you home after the evening is done. Make sure that you have some cash on you, or enough money on your card to get yourself home when you’re done! Refer back to point number 7 – the first couple of dates is too early to let someone new know where you live.
10. Trust Your Gut
If your instincts are telling you something is wrong – believe them! If you’re at the beginning of the date but start to get a weird vibe or something your match said rubbed you the wrong way, it’s OK to bow out a little early. It’s better to do that than to wait around to see just how correct your bad feelings are!
11. Know Your Boundaries – And Respect Them
Before your Seeking date, set some boundaries for yourself. You don’t have to share these with your match. These are boundaries for just yourself, to make sure you have the best evening possible.
For example, how long do you want to stay out? Do you want to drink? If so, one glass of wine or two? Once you decide, don’t waver! Set your boundaries, and then stick to them. If you decide to leave at 10 pm because you have work the next day, but then are having such a great time you wish you could stay longer, you can always ask your match when they’re free for a second date.
Now that you know these first-date safety tips, you’re ready to embark on the fabulous dates you deserve. It’s time to log in to your Seeking account or create your Seeking profile. For more dating stories and advice, visit the rest of the Seeking blog.
