Ways to Stay Safe to Keep Hookups Fun and Exciting

Taking safety precautions does not make hookups less fun and exciting. On the contrary, hookup safety allows you to fully enjoy the experience. When you’ve done your “due diligence,” so to speak, and you can be confident that you’ll be perfectly safe with someone you just met, you’ll be able to focus all your energy and attention on the sexy and wild fun to be had. Practicing reasonable care and caution when hooking up is the smart way to go about it, especially if you want to keep having your casual fun.

Hookup Safety for Craigslist-Like Platforms

Hookup safety for Craigstlist-like platforms now generally refers to the precautions you can take when replying to hookup ads similar to Craigslist personals. After the personals section of Craigslist was shut down, countless other platforms that adopted the same format popped up everywhere online to meet the huge demand for a convenient means to find casual encounters. Here are online hookup safety tips to keep in mind when using these types of dating sites.

Safe Hookup Tip #1: Be Clear About Your Expectations and Boundaries

Whether you’re posting an ad on a hookup platform, replying to a listing, or engaging in a chat with a potential match, make sure that you’re 100% clear about what you’re looking for. On personals-style platforms that mirrored the old Craigslist personals, listings typically only show the gender of the listing owner, their gender preference, maybe a short description of the physical characteristics they like, and a description of the specific acts they want to engage in.

Before actually hooking up, you have to be certain that you and the other person are on the same page about what will happen. This includes agreeing on the use of condoms, what safe words to use (if necessary), where you’ll meet up first, what kinks or sex positions are allowed, what your boundaries are, and/or if you’re just interested in oral sex or if you both consent to penetrative sex, just to name a few. Getting down and dirty when talking about the actual hookup can be part of your foreplay and will make the “main course” of the entire experience even more pleasurable and satisfying for everyone involved.

Safe Hookup Tip #2: Verify, Verify, Verify

Personals-style hookup ads may or may not include photos. When you start chatting with a potential mate, ask for a few pictures — whether or not physical attraction is important to you. Verifying that the person is who they say they are is a hookup safety measure that’s an absolute must. If they don’t want to be found anywhere else online via a reverse image search using their photo/s, they should still be able to send you several pictures of them with other people. They should understand why this is a necessary step. Of course, you should be willing to do the same.

Safe Hookup Tip #3: Take Screenshots of Everything

This hookup safety tip is especially important when meeting someone in person for the first time. Take screenshots of their dating profile/listing and your chats. Most dating apps these days require at least one photo. Again, it’s extremely important that you know who you’re meeting and there’s no valid excuse for them not to be able to send you recent pictures of themselves. If they refuse, you should be suspicious and you should seriously reconsider meeting them in person.

Safe Hookup Tip #4: Keep a Family or Friend Informed

Make sure to let a family or friend know when and where your meet-up is and who you’re meeting up with. Send them the screenshots you took. Keep them informed about your whereabouts. You can even make a plan to be “rescued” in case your meeting doesn’t go as expected, e.g., you don’t feel comfortable or safe or you just want to end the date asap.

Safe Hookup Tip #5: Meet Up at a Busy, Public Place

A coffee shop is always a great option, or any place with plenty of people, a place you’re familiar with, and where you’ll feel safe and comfortable. You may even agree on a public place where there are security cameras. If you can meet up before dark, that would be even better. Additionally, make sure to have an exit strategy. Remember to have your phone’s battery fully charged and to have a ride-sharing app downloaded, in case the date doesn’t go well. It’s important that you won’t be dependent on the other person for a ride.

Tinder Hookup Safety When Hooking via Tinder or Other Dating Sites

These Tinder hookup safety tips may also apply to other dating sites, including dedicated hookup sites. From swiping to messaging and, eventually, to meeting up IRL for a casual date or a hookup, the seemingly successful progress of your Tinder match and the buildup of excitement surrounding it should not make you forget about your safety. Here’s a quick rundown of Tinder’s dating safety tips.

Online Dating Safety Tips

• Refuse requests for your financial information or for financial help. It does not matter how awful their situation or emergency sounds — at least, according to them — but never wire money to anybody you’ve only met online. Be wary when a person asks for your financial information, as they can use this to access your accounts. Discontinue contact with them immediately and report their suspicious behavior. 

• Never share your personal information. This includes your home address, work address, social security number, your mother’s maiden name, your children’s names, or other details about your personal life, especially during early communication with a stranger.

• Avoid moving your conversations outside the platform. Exchanges on Tinder (and some other similar apps) are subject to safety filters. If a person insists on communicating with you through another channel, particularly if they want to get your phone number, this is often a sign that they have ill intentions.

• Be wary of people who are only able to talk via chat. They may say they’re traveling, but sooner or later, they should be able to at least have a voice or video call with you. Consider it a red flag if a person pushes for a serious relationship while they’re “overseas” or unable to talk to you over the phone or meet you in person for any other reason.

• Don’t hesitate to report suspicious behaviors and/or accounts. These include requests for money or donations; underage users; any form of harassment; offensive messages; inappropriate/harmful behavior during/after meeting in person; fraudulent profiles; and spam messages.

• Protect your account. Use a strong password; be careful when logging into your account using a shared or public computer; report communications claiming to be from Tinder and asking for your username and password.

IRL Dating Safety Tips

• Don’t rush your first meeting. Hookup safety includes getting to know the person well enough while chatting with them on Tinder or any other platform. You don’t have to get really personal with each other, of course; just make sure they are who they say they are and that they’re on the same page as you. 

• Meet and stay in a busy and public place. This is worth repeating. Don’t invite anybody you’ve only met online to your home — even if you’ve done video calls. Likewise, don’t agree to going to their house or any other private location for a first-time meet-up.

• Know your limits when drinking. It’s always best to stay sober, but if you’re meeting up for drinks, stay within your limits. Don’t let your date pressure you into getting drunk or taking drugs. And always, always keep an eye on your drinks. If you have to leave the table, order a new drink when you get back and make sure all your drinks go directly from the bar to you.

• Don’t leave your personal items unattended. Keep your purse, phone, wallet, and anything with your personal information on it with you at all times.

• Leave if you feel uncomfortable. Don’t hesitate to end the date early. Always listen to your instincts. And don’t forget to call a family, friend, or anyone nearby for help, if the situation calls for it.

Ensure Hookup Safety by Choosing the Right Dating Site

The reality is that even a site with the strictest security measures is not 100% safe from people with malicious intentions. But choosing sites that prioritize their members’ safety on and off their platforms is the first and most important hookup safety step you can make.

Remember that you can have all the hookup fun you want and stay safe at the same time. DoubleList delivers exactly this kind of hookup experience, and more. DoubleList allows you to remain anonymous on the site. You’ll only be asked to provide a nickname during the sign-up process, as well as your phone number for verification purposes and your location so you can be matched with people near you.

The widely popular adult personals site is also highly inclusive. You can select more than one sexual preference, such as m4w, w4m, m4m, w4w, w4c, m4c, c4c, and many more. After completing your profile, you can immediately post your own ad, browse through the listings under your chosen category, reply to any listing that interests you, and exchange messages with a potential hookup — and all of these are free.

Whether you’re just interested in flirting online or dirty chats or you’re eager to set up your first hookup, keep in mind the hookup safety tips we have listed above.

DoubleList is available in most major cities in the U.S. so you have great odds of finding potential matches in your area. Sign up for a free account now!