Safety Centre

To stay safe on a first date, choose somewhere busy, tell a friend where you'll be, sort your own way there and back, and leave whenever you want to. If you're in immediate danger in India, call 112.

Going on a date with someone new should feel comfortable for both people. No app can promise how a date will go, so this page covers what Duout does, the habits that help on any app, the red flags worth knowing, and what to do if something doesn't feel right.

How Duout approaches safety

• Verified profiles. Profile verification is mandatory. Every profile on Duout is verified with a selfie check.
• Both people accept the plan. After you match, you plan a Duout: a café or restaurant and a time. It's only set when you both accept it, so you both know where you're going before you set off.
• Public places only. Every Duout is at a café or a restaurant.
• Adults only. Duout is for people aged 18 and over. Read our child safety standards.

Verification doesn't tell you everything about a person, so the habits below still matter.

Is it safe to meet someone from a dating app?

No app can promise how a date will go. These habits help on any app:

1. Meet in daylight, somewhere busy.
2. Tell a friend where you're going.
3. Get there and back on your own.
4. Leave whenever you want.

First-date habits worth keeping

These are habits, not guarantees.

Before the date

• Choose somewhere busy for the first few dates, like a café, a museum or a well-used park.
• Tell a friend where you're going, who with, and roughly when you'll be done.

On the date

• Sort your own way there and back.
• Keep your drink with you.
• Keep your home address and workplace to yourself for now.

At any point

• Leave whenever you want to. You don't owe anyone a full evening.

How do I avoid a bill scam on a first date?

Agree on the place and the bill before you go, see the prices before you order, and never lend money to someone you've just met. Some first dates go wrong over the bill. On Duout, every Duout is at a public café or restaurant, and both of you accept the place and time before you go. These habits help, on any app:

• Choose the place together. Pick somewhere you know, or somewhere you can check online first. Be careful if a match insists on one particular venue.
• Talk about the bill before you go. Split it, take turns, or one of you pays. Any of these is fine if you both agree in advance.
• See the prices before you order. Ask for a menu with prices, and order your own drinks.
• Don't lend money to someone you've just met. Not for a cab, a lost wallet or an emergency, however real the story sounds.
• If it happens anyway, keep the bill, your messages and screenshots, then call 1930 or report it at cybercrime.gov.in.

Dating scam red flags

Scammers use every dating app. Warning signs worth knowing anywhere:

• Pressure to meet the same day.
• Asking for your WhatsApp number straight away.
• Insisting you come to their area.
• Suggesting a venue you've never heard of.
• Leaving before the bill comes, with a promise to pay you back later.
• Asking to borrow money, on the date or soon after.

Choose a midway public spot, such as a busy café. Other signs to take seriously: any request for money or gift cards, a story that keeps changing, or a push to keep things secret. CERT-In advisory CIAD-2024-0050 (issued 24 October 2024) describes a common dating-scam pattern: fake profiles on dating apps and social media, long conversations that build trust, then a made-up crisis (such as a medical emergency) used to ask for money, often via crypto. Watch for that sequence. If you're asked to pay, stop and talk to someone you trust.

If something feels wrong

• On a date: leave. You don't need a reason or an excuse. Head somewhere busy and call a friend.
• If you feel unsafe: call 112.
• If you've been scammed or threatened online: call 1930 or report it at cybercrime.gov.in. Keep screenshots and messages.
• For help with your Duout account: go to Support.