Flowting Safety Tips

Four rules to start with

• 1.
  Anyone who is able to commit identity theft can also falsify a dating profile. Flowting’s selfie check means the face matches the photos. It does not mean the person is safe or honest.
• 2.
  There is no substitute for acting with caution when you talk to any stranger who wants to meet you.
• 3.
  Never include your last name, email address, home address, phone number, place of work, or any other identifying information in your profile or first messages. Stop talking to anyone who pressures you for personal or financial information, or tries in any way to trick you into revealing it.
• 4.
  If you choose to meet in person, always tell a family member or a friend where you are going and when you will be back. Never agree to be picked up at your home. Always use your own transport to and from the date, and meet in a public place with many people around.

Before you meet

• Keep chatting on Flowting until you have met. Our scam checks and reports only work here.
• Look them up. A quick search of their name and photos can show if a profile is fake.
• Have a video call first if you are unsure.
• Take your time. Someone who rushes you to meet, to move to another app, or to share private details is a warning sign.
• Hold back details about your trips. Flowting never shows your exact dates to someone until you agree to a date plan. Keep it that way in chat too. Do not share your hotel or the address where you are staying.

On the date

• Meet in a public place, by day if you can. Our date ideas suggest daytime and activity places first: a café, a walk, a market, a class.
• Use "Share my date". Send the plan (who, where, when) to a friend in one tap.
• Use the check-in. The app can ask "All good?" during your date. One tap reaches the local emergency number.
• Get there and back on your own.
• Keep your phone charged and your bag, phone and cards with you.
• Watch your drink. Get it from the bar yourself and never leave it alone. If you feel strange, ask staff for help at once.
• Stay in control. Know your limits with alcohol. Do not take drugs from someone you just met.
• You can leave at any time. You do not owe anyone an explanation.
• Do not go to their home or hotel on a first date, and do not invite them to yours.

Watch for scams

• asks for money, gift cards, crypto, or your bank details, for any reason
• talks about an investment, trading app or "sure" opportunity
• has an emergency: a hospital bill, a stuck payment, a lost wallet abroad, a ticket to visit you
• asks you to "verify" yourself on another website or app
• wants to move to WhatsApp, Telegram or another app very early
• always has a reason not to video call or meet
• asks you to receive or send money or parcels for them

Photos and sextortion

• Flowting chat is text only. If someone asks for intimate photos, that is a warning sign.
• Never send intimate photos to someone you have not met and trust.
• If someone threatens to share your photos unless you pay: do not pay, stop replying, keep the messages, and tap Report. Paying rarely ends it.
• If an intimate image of you (real or fake) was shared without your consent, email [email protected] with "Intimate image" in the subject line, even without an account. We remove it within 48 hours and block copies. StopNCII.org can also help remove images from other big platforms.

Travelling

• Know the local rules and risks. Check your government's travel advice for the place you visit.
• Visitor scams. In some cities, including Miami's nightlife areas, some scams target tourists: inflated bar bills, drink spiking, or "dates" who bring you to a set bar or club. Choose the place yourself. Check prices before you order.
• Drugging. In some countries, criminals use drugs such as scopolamine to rob people on dates. Watch your drink and do not accept food, drinks or cigarettes from someone you just met.
• Save local emergency numbers in your phone before you arrive, and keep a copy of your passport somewhere safe.

LGBTQ+ safety

• In some countries, same-gender relationships are against the law, and police have used dating apps to entrap people.
• In those countries, Flowting turns on LGBTQ+ hidden mode: same-gender matching is off and LGBTQ+ profiles are hidden. Notifications hide names and message text by default. This applies wherever you are located, including on a trip.
• Before you travel, read about the laws and risks where you are going. Be careful with any dating app there, and with strangers who contact you.
• Be careful with photos and messages that could out you if your phone is checked at a border.

If something goes wrong

• Report it in the app. Tap Report on the profile or in the chat. You can report after you unmatch. After a date, "Something felt wrong" reaches our urgent queue.
• Get help. In the US:

  • Emergency: 911
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788
  • RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988
  • Cyber Civil Rights Initiative helpline (image abuse): 844-878-2274
• Outside the US, call your local emergency number.
• Keep evidence. Save screenshots of the profile and messages. If you go to the police, they can ask us for data. See our Law Enforcement Guide.