What is Tinder and How to use it safely in [year]!

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Written By Of Like Minds

15+ years of experience in online dating and coaching clients to get better partners!

Suppose you are new to online dating or maybe just to Tinder. You’ve landed on a perfect article, and we will explain to you what Tinder is, and then we will discuss how you can safely use such an app. Maybe you ask why “safely,” but you would not believe how many scams and fraud are ongoing every day on Tinder. But to be honest, this issue is on all dating sites, even Bumble and others!

What is Tinder

Tinder is a freeware app that is available across the world, both for iOS and Android users. And yes, you can match with android users if you use iPhone and vise versa. Once you sign up and complete your profile, you will see something like this.

What is tinder? This screenshot explains it all. If you like that person swipe right, if not, swipe left! This is tinder app.

If you have liked someone swipe right or tap on a green heart. If you dislike the profile, swipe left or tap on the red X.

If two different people using Tinder both swiped right on each other’s tinder profile, they would be matched. This means that from now on, both of these users can message each other. If you have swiped right on a profile by mistake, you can still unmatch them, but only when you are already matched with them.

Alternatively, you can delete the chat or report the user for being offensive/fake/scammer.

Each Tinder user has to be over the age of 18 years old. Plus, he or she has to have a Facebook account, to join Tinder. In some countries, you can still sign up via phone number, but the registration via Facebook is mandatory in some countries.

How to stay safe on Tinder

Hopefully, by now, you know what Tinder is. And now, we should get into a discussion about how to use Tinder safely. Here is the best advice to do online dating safely.

Take some time before the first meet up.

We always recommend to chat up with your matches first, before the first actual date. Just exchanging a few simple messages can get the job done. Especially if your and hers or his interests are aligned or not, please ask a few personal questions before actually going out!

Ask for their social media.

Since Tinder introduced an option of sharing Instagram posts and Spotify playlists on the tinder profile, it has been gamechanger for the better. But still, on day to day basis, every Tinder user will match with someone who does not have this info filled in, for various reasons.

Even if the person has their Ig profile on their Tinder, always ask for a handle. Check out the photos where they are tagged in and also check the history of the account and comments… If you are not sure if the person is legit or not. Try to find via the IG rest of their social media profiles like Facebook, LinkedIn. Or you might get lucky if you google them, you never know.

This 5-minute “research” can get you out of trouble, please instead do it then don’t.

Don’t share any of your private information.

We hope that this goes without saying but don’t share any private information over Tinder. There are so many fake profiles there that you never know who you are talking to. Even sharing an email address is too much if you ask us. Because little more info about you, they could quickly recover your password, and with log in to your email address, they can do so many bad things…

And this is not the worst part. There have been some cases of stolen identities, and more. So please don’t share any personal information over there, not even your address or phone number. Why? Well, go on Reddit and read up a bit. Some girls are still receiving phone calls at night from a date that has happened more than six years ago!

Choose your meeting place wisely.

As a rule of thumb, we always recommend meeting up in public places. You don’t have to, and it is just a piece of friendly advice. The best possible setting for a meet up is a place that you know very well. It is a public space, and the meet up is during the daytime, if possible.

Please take this advice seriously and don’t ever meet up at your place if it is a first meet up/date. This is usually not ending very well.

Tell someone about the date.

This is not only our advice, but even Tinder as a company also advises to its users to tell a friend or someone from the family, that you are going on a date. For most of you, this might seem stupid, but it is not. In fact, you should even contact your friend during the appointment with regular updates, and if you are feeling safe.

Just within the time of our Tinder testing, we had to “rescue” a colleague from a date several times. And we were testing Tinder just for a couple of months…

Stay sober

This might be a no brainer for some, but as far as it goes for others… Staying sober during the first date from Tinder is very crucial in our eyes. Unfortunately, not many users follow this rule. We all know that alcohol impairs our judgment. For some strange reason, we like to forget that.

It is hard enough to determine if the person we are on a date with is not lying to us and is honest. But with alcohol being involved, we have almost zero chance to find out.

One drink rule

We all know how that works, I will have only one drink, and that is it… We highly recommend not drinking even one drink or shot or beer. In 80% of cases, this rule is broken, and there are many drinks after the first one. This is the worst thing you can do actually.

If you decide to drink…

If you decide to drink alcohol, please drink enough water with it and drink only the drinks you have paid for or watched the bartender make it! There are countless stories online about girls getting drugged on their first meet from online dating sites.

FAQ

Is Tinder for dating or hooking up?

Yes and no. The proper answer would be it depends after testing Tinder for months with colleagues in our office. We did not come to the conclusion that Tinder is for hooking up or for dating. The truth is that we have found both. After spending hundreds of hours literally on Tinder, it was quite easy to figure out if the other person is looking just for sex or for a serious relationship.

It was sporadic that someone from our office did not know what is going on. Usually, within the first 15 exchanged texts, we knew what the other person wanted! Now when we are talking about it, there were actually many more people looking for relationships rather than hookups. Yes, hookups from Tinder are a bit common, but there is a bit more to Tinder than just hookups. If you are looking for hookups, we highly recommend this dating site or this one.

How much does it cost to be on Tinder?

Well, that depends on how you want to use Tinder. If you are excellent with the FREE account, that it will cost $0 a month to be on Tinder. But if you want more features, you can upgrade to Tinder Plus or maybe even Gold. The higher the membership plan, the more $ you will pay monthly.

Also, lately, Tinder started charging more for the same membership plan, just based on age and location. So if you are under 30, congrats, your prices will be a lot lower than if you were older! Also, there are other paid features that you have to pay for separately. So it is only up to you how much you are going to spend on Tinder each month. But keep in mind that you can use it free of any costs!

Is it safe to use Tinder?

As with anything online, there is a risk, even with online dating like Tinder, there are some risks involved. But there is a way to do all of this safely. If you are worried about getting scammed or even worse, we highly suggest you scroll back up and read our tips for being safe on Tinder.
To be honest, you can apply these tips for any online dating site! As a rule of thumb, if someone on Tinder sounds too good to be true, there is a good chance that it is a fake profile. Stay safe & follow our tips!

Is Tinder a free app?

Yes, Tinder is an online dating app, which is free of any cost to install on your iOS and Android device. Unfortunately, there is no Tinder app for Windows phone, but here is a guide on how you can use Tinder on Windows phone.

What is the main purpose of Tinder?

Tinder is basically a social network based on geo locations trying to get in touch like-minded people who like each other and share common interests. With that being said, the primary purpose of Tinder is to get like-minded people who want each other to meet up in real life!what is the main purpose of tinder? Meeting, greating and dating people around the world.

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