What Is Tinder?

Tinder is the hottest dating app you can find on the phone of young singles. But “dating” might be too strong of a word for something that allows you to dismiss or connect with possible romantic partners with the flick of a finger. For those who don’t know, here’s how it works.

Tinder connects to your Facebook account to get some of your photos and basic information. Then it pinpoints your geographic location via GPS. From there, you can see photos of other singles of your gender of choice in your area, one at a time. To fine-tune your results, you have the power to adjust settings like distance to you and age.

If you’re impressed with what you see, you “swipe” their picture to the right. If they did they same to your picture you’ll be connected to chat, where the rest is up to you two. If they’re not quite up to your standards, you just swipe left, and you’ll never see or hear from them again.

That’s basically it. Tinder’s become a runaway success because it boils getting dates down into its most elemental components. Step 1: You’re hot. Step 2: Let’s talk.

Tinder Creeps

There’s nothing wrong with seeing if there are any cute people in your area, but the app’s implicit “hookup first, ask questions later” philosophy doesn’t always attract the most upstanding online daters. In fact, we can prove it with data. We looked at the most common insults thrown around by Bye Felipe, which collects terrible online dating interactions. This infographic lays out what we found.

Of course, Tinder can hardly be blamed for the occasional creep on its site. After all, there are weirdos who make inappropriate comments on Facebook, but people generally don’t have safety concerns about browsing their friend’s most recent selfies.

Still, considering that Tinder typically involves chatting and meeting up with people you only know from a single carefully chosen photo, it pays to take some precautions before you start swiping.

Tinder Safety

Asking “Is tinder safe?” is a bit like asking if a hammer is safe. In the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing, sure. It might even build something you can have a lot of fun with. But if that same tool falls into the hands of someone inexperienced and careless, then a lot of crying and possibly even a trip to the emergency room is a strong possibility.

Here are some simple hacks to user Tinder more wisely.

1) Set Up A Dedicated Facebook Account Just For Tinder

There’s really no reason complete strangers should have access to the information on your primary Facebook account. Plus, most people want to project a different image to their immediate friends and family than people they want to date. It’s still “you,” obviously, but it’s the sexier, more adventurous “you.”

To protect your info and put your hottest foot forward, create a special Facebook account that just has your basic info and only pictures you want other people on Tinder to see. Bump up your anonymity by creating the Facebook profile with a throwaway email address.

2) Choose Your Pictures Wisely

While no one is supposed to have your contact information until you choose to give it to them via chat, a poorly chosen picture can give away more info than you want. Only upload pictures that don’t allow savvy strangers to deduce where you live.

3) Keep An Eye Out For Fake Profiles

Hey fellows, did you know that scientific studies have shown that pictures of pretty women actually inspire men to make bad choices? Dating sites are saturated with scammers, including Tinder, who are very aware of IQ-dropping effect a pretty face can have on a man. A scammer will create a profile with knockout photo, then lure you into clicking on shady links, which will definitely ask you for some personal info—including your credit card number if you get lured by a particularly skillful swindler.

Don’t fall for it.

4) Background Check Before You Meet Up

It’s hard to tell if someone is really trustworthy based upon a flattering picture and a Facebook profile. But you can get a more complete story simply by running an online background check. You can see if they are telling the truth about their age, whether or not they have committed any crimes, and if they are a registered sex offender. Just don’t let it slip that you know how many speeding tickets they’ve received if you choose to meet up with them.

5) Meet In Public First

No matter how eager you are to meet up, there’s really no reason to go over to someone’s house or invite them over after just a text conversation. Meet up in a cafe, restaurant, or popular public park first. If you still get a good vibe from them, then you can go meet somewhere private (if you so choose).

Safe Swiping

You already have a leg up on most Tinder users simply by asking “Is Tinder Safe?” Commonsense precautions and a small amount of healthy skepticism will allow you meet lots of fun people while keeping the creeps, scammers, and weirdos safely swiped left — where they belong.

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