If you’re someone who uses dating apps, chances are that you are online looking for true love with someone special or trying to find good, compatible people to date in the hopes of a lasting connection. The last thing you need to worry about is whether or not the dating app you are using is safe and secure! No need to worry. We have put together our top recommendations for safe dating apps available that allow you to thoroughly enjoy online dating with peace of mind!
#1: eHarmony
- Year Founded : 2000
- User Base: All singles
- Highest % of Users: United States (92.1% of users)
- Gender Ratio: 51% men and 49% women
- Active Members: 16 million
- Monthly Traffic: 4 million
- Membership Price: Starting at $25.90 a month
- Matchmaking Process: Compatibility Matching System and Personality Quiz
- Best For: Serious relationships or serious dates
When it comes to safety and reputability, the crown goes to eHarmony. They have been perfecting the art of online dating for over 20 years. They want to make sure you can look for someone special and not worry if your personal or financial information is safe and secure. The site is popular and safe enough to the point where there are 16 million active members and 4 million people who feel it is worthwhile to visit each month!
eHarmony has some top-notch safety features that are worth noting. For instance, they have the option for customers to use 2-step verification for their online accounts to have that increased layer of protection.
They also have a team of experts who spend time vetting any new accounts applications. They do this to cut down on fake profiles or scammers that could set up shop at the site. In addition, customers can enjoy a messaging system where they can block or report any accounts they feel are posing a threat.
#2: Match
- Year Founded : 2000
- User Base: All singles
- Highest % of Users: United States (92.1% of users)
- Gender Ratio: 51% men and 49% women
- Active Members: 16 million
- Monthly Traffic: 4 million
- Membership Price: Starting at $18.99 a month
- Matchmaking Process: In-depth personality and compatibility testing for results
- Best For: Serious relationships or casual dates
We were pretty impressed with the safety and security features that we found in reviewing Match! This is another safe dating site that has had many years to perfect its craft. They have been in operation since 1995, after all!
Perhaps, one of the biggest moves they make in order to prevent fake accounts on their site is sending new account creators an activation code to their mobile device in order to verify that the person creating the account is real! It is not a completely foolproof system, but it does seem to be one that is more thorough than those found in other online dating apps.
In addition, Match users can request free background checks on their matches. Users are ultimately responsible for their own safety and security in dealing with other matches on the sites, so this feature really cuts down on your personal vetting time. We found a feature called Date Check-In. When you plan on meeting a match for a real-life date, you can send notifications to three of your contacts, so they know who you are meeting and where you will be.
#3: Elite Singles
- Year Founded : 2013
- User Base: Professional and highly educated singles
- Highest % of Users: United States (98.78% of users)
- Gender Ratio: 43% men and 57% women
- Active Members: 13 million
- Monthly Traffic: 2 million
- Membership Price: Starting at $19.95 a month
- Matchmaking Process: Personality and compatibility testing
- Best For: Serious relationships with other highly-educated, professional singles
Elite Singles is a safe dating site for highly educated and professional singles, and they only take on 300,000 new members each month! Compared to other safe dating apps like eHarmony or Match, this is not a whole lot of new traffic.
One of the major reasons for this is the fact that Elite Singles employs a thorough vetting process to make sure any new members completely fit into the highly-educated and professional user category. This also helps out tremendously with safety and security as well!
Dating sites like eHarmony or Match have free trials that allow non-paying members to post pictures, view profiles, or send messages in a limited capacity, but that is not the case at Elite Singles. These are things that only a paying member can do, so this really cuts down on potential spamming or scamming. When it comes to paying members, there is a team of moderators that check to make sure any picture or profile changes are approved before they are uploaded!
#4: Christian Mingle
- Year Founded : 2001
- User Base: All Singles
- Highest % of Users: United States (88.3% of users)
- Gender Ratio: 44% men and 56% women
- Active Members: 15 million
- Monthly Traffic: 3.5 million
- Membership Price: Starting at $24.99 a month
- Matchmaking Process: Personality and compatibility testing
- Best For: Serious, long-term and God-centered relationships with other Christians
Christian Mingle is another safe dating app where you can enjoy the perks and benefits of online dating without worrying if your personal or financial information is secure. Like Elite Singles, this safe dating app has a whole team dedicated to moderating profile updates and user photo changes. Another aspect of Christian Mingle that will allow users to have peace of mind is their security team’s dedication to detecting fraudulent accounts and abusive users.
Although it is primarily the responsibility of the user to keep themselves safe while meeting new people on the dating app, Christian Mingle is great at standing in the gap when needed!
Their customer service center is available seven days a week, and users can experience professional, friendly help. One thing is for certain; the customer service team will take swift action to shut down and dismantle any sort of illegitimate accounts that might creep onto the site.
#5: Zoosk
- Year Founded : 2001
- User Base: All Singles
- Highest % of Users: United States (83.9% of users)
- Gender Ratio: 48% men and 52% women
- Active Members: 40 million
- Monthly Traffic: 12 million
- Membership Price: Starting at $10.00 a month
- Matchmaking Process: Advanced search filters that create matches based on age, location, and more
- Best For: Casual or serious dates or Relationships and friendships
Zoosk is a safe dating site that might be the best we have to recommend when it comes to a large and diverse user base! They currently boast over 40 million active members, and their monthly traffic is right around 12 million. Much of their popularity can be attributed to their competitive pricing and their matchmaking process that focuses on behavior and interests, as well as their top-rated vetting and safety features!
Zoosk is well-known for its Zoosk Great Dates, which is a form of virtual live dating. This awesome feature gives singles an opportunity to video chat with their matches, seeing them in person and knowing exactly who they are.
There is also the Zoosk Live feature which allows users to view other singles sharing a live feed of themselves from the computer or phone. And do not forget Zoosk’s four forms of identification where users can identify who they are using their phone, Twitter, Facebook, and approving their pictures manually.
What Makes These the Safest Dating Apps?
You might be asking yourself, “Are dating apps safe?” Have no worries. This is a common concern and one that we are willing to discuss head-on. We know that our recommended dating sites are the safest in the market, and here are the reasons why we chose these as the best-of-the-best!
- Each dating app has a page that is dedicated to educating its readers on safety tips and best practices when getting to know other singles on the site.
- These safe dating apps use SSL encrypted connections to guard all personal and financial information that is shared by users.
- Each site employs an expert team that vets new accounts and routinely monitors the app to crack down on any illegitimate accounts that may have slipped through the cracks.
- There is a two-step verification for users logging into their accounts. This is an added layer of protection.
- The messaging systems at these sites are encrypted as well and allow for the app to detect spam accounts, fraud, or abusive actions toward other users.
Tips for Staying Safe Using Dating Apps
The next time you meet someone special online, you will want to keep these safety tips and best practices in mind. This includes the best ways to communicate and carry yourself in online conversations and interactions, as well as real-life meetups or dates. At the end of the day, you are the only one who can guarantee your own safety as you meet new singles, so we encourage you to be vigilant, use common sense, and employ our top 5 best safety practices today!
Do Not Communicate Off the Dating App
This first safety tip comes with an amendment: do not communicate away from the dating app early on. This is a safety strategy that you will need to exercise when you are getting to know your match.
Once you feel that you can trust the person on the other end, feel free to communicate by texting, calling, or other communication methods like WhatsApp or Snapchat. Because the safest dating apps we recommend employ messaging systems that are encrypted, site moderators can detect any sort of funny business, be it abusive interactions, scamming, fraud, or fake profiles.
Keeping your communications to the dating app can give you an added layer of protection that could help you avoid disaster, at least early on in the process!
Take Your Time
Good, quality relationships take to time to foster and grow. If someone who met online is pressuring you to do things you are not comfortable with or attempting to cross boundaries with you that are in violation of your trust, this is someone that you might want to consider blocking or reporting to the dating app.
In any relationship, you should only move at a pace where you feel comfortable. You can take your time meeting up with your match in real life. And you should never engage in any physical activity with your match, especially if you feel pressured by them. Take your time getting to know your matches and toss those aside that cannot respect your boundaries or wishes.
Meet Up in a Public Place
We advise meeting your match in a public place for the first time. It is never a good idea to meet in your home, or somewhere that is away from people. You never really know who it is you are meeting. They could have said all the right things online and put on an act to get your trust. Play it safe and meet up in public for the first time.
Having others around can give you an extra layer of security. Being alone can leave you vulnerable. Another great tip is to drive yourself to and from the location. You should also notify friends or family members you trust as to what is going on so they can help out if something does happen.
Don’t Share Private Information
When using safe dating apps to meet other singles, you really should do your best to keep your personal information private until you can absolutely trust the person you are currently getting to know. Avoid sharing your email address or personal phone number in the early stages of the relationship. As mentioned above, we encourage you to only communicate via the dating app.
Another smart move is to not share your last name too early. This will make it a lot easier for your match to track you down on social media and find out information like who your friends are or where you live. Speaking of which, you should definitely not share where you live. That is asking for a stalker, blackmail, or any number of terrible things.
Don’t Share Financial Information
This tip seems like common sense considering the sheer volume of stories where someone trusted someone they barely knew and shared banking information which led to their ruin. This is a great tip to keep in mind for all those out there who are a little too quick to trust others.
Do not share your banking information with anyone or send money to someone who claims to be in a personal crisis. If you are ever asked for money online by someone you hardly know, the best thing to do is report this to the dating app. You should also block the account.