A first meeting after an online introduction: basic safety rules

Before the meeting

Do three things before you arrange a meeting.

• Talk inside the site before you share a phone number or Telegram account. Contact details are shared only with your approval, so the first conversation can take place in the app.
• Tell someone you trust who you are meeting, where and when.
• Agree in advance how you will get home.

Where to meet

Choose a busy, familiar place, such as a café or a restaurant. Get there and back on your own, and do not get into the car of someone you have just met.

Warning signs

If you notice any of these, stop the contact and do not go to the meeting alone.

• Requests for money, a bank transfer or card details.
• A story that changes from one conversation to the next, or details that do not add up.
• Pressure to move to another messenger or an outside platform straight away.
• Refusal of any simple way to confirm that the other person is who they say they are.

If something goes wrong

You can report a profile and block a member from the profile. In an immediate danger, call the police on 100 or the emergency number 112.

The limits of this guide

Discrety cannot check everything a person writes or says about themselves. No rule removes every risk, so these habits work alongside your own attention.

Related guides

• Privacy settings on a dating site: who sees what
• Sign-up checks on Discrety: what is checked and why