Plan ahead
First Date Safety for Over 50s: Checks Before You Go
Checks before, habits on the night and steps afterwards.
AARP advises a video chat first, then meeting in a public place with your own transport. Age UK and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde say to tell someone where you are going. AARP also says never to leave your glass unattended and to abort if anything feels the least bit off.
Before You Go: Four Moves to Make
Video call first
AARP’s advice for over 50s is a video chat before you meet, so you know what your date looks like. It calls a refusal to video call a huge red flag.
Check the photos
The FTC’s August 2022 advice says to run a reverse image search on a profile picture, and our guide to dating scams lists the red flags. Better a profile falls apart now than at the bar.
Pick a public place
Age UK says to meet in a public place and always let someone know where you will be, and AARP says to provide your own transport.
Tell a friend the plan
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde says to give a friend or relative your destination and expected return time, and AARP adds sending a friend a screenshot of the profile.
On the night
Relax, Flirt and Stay in Control
From AARP’s advice for older daters, dated 11 December 2025 and 9 July 2024:
Do
- Meet in a familiar public place for the first few dates.
- Provide your own transport.
- Agree a code text with a friend as an exit.
Skip
- Leaving your glass unattended.
- Too much alcohol, which AARP says to limit.
Trust the ick. AARP’s advice is blunt: if someone is giving you the ick, walk away.
Afterwards
Give Feedback, Block or Book Another
Check in
Keep your phone on until you are home, and let a friend know you got back safely.
Give feedback
With one click you can upvote or downvote an interaction, and a member’s reputation score moves with behaviour and feedback.
Block or report
Blocking is immediate: the member can no longer see or contact you. You can also report a profile or message, and the safety page covers the tools in more detail.
Privacy
What to Share and What to Hold Back
Keep it general
AARP suggests your first name only and general details, such as a county rather than a town. Naughty Seniors shows other members only your nearest town or city.
Until you have met
AARP says to hold back your surname until after the first date and your phone number until you have met.
Address and workplace
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde says to avoid sharing your address until you are comfortable, and Get Safe Online’s 2019 leaflet warns that revealing a home address or workplace could lead to fraud, identity theft or even personal harm.
Money and bank details
Age UK says never to send money or financial information to someone you do not know well or have not met.
AARP also says no photos in front of your home, and the profile tips for over 50s cover what else to leave out.
Private pictures
Keep Your Private Pictures Yours
Whether to send a flirty picture is your call. The steps below are for if one is used against you.
WA Consumer Protection and WA Police, two Australian state bodies, advise avoiding letting someone you meet online have intimate photos or videos, and never sending money, because scammers come back for more. The FBI’s IC3 counted more than 75,000 sextortion submissions in 2025; people 60 and over had the highest adjusted losses of any age band, about 14.9 million US dollars.
- The UK helpline run by SWGfL says not to pay or meet demands, and to screenshot the threats, block the person and report them to the platform. Adults can call 0345 6000 459, 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday except bank holidays.
- StopNCII, run by the same helpline, is available at no charge to adults who are in the image and still hold it. Only a digital fingerprint (a hash) of the image is shared; the image stays on your device.
In the United States, AARP advises reporting fraud to your local police and IC3. In the UK and Australia, the dating scams guide lists the fraud reporting services.
Your health
Look After Your Health as Well
Casual dates bring health questions as well as safety ones. Safer sex over 50 covers testing and condoms, with its sources named, and a GP or a sexual health clinic can help with anything personal.
Quick Questions Before You Meet
Should I tell someone before a date from a dating site?
Yes. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, in guidance reviewed on 2 March 2026, says to give a friend or relative your destination and expected return time, and AARP suggests sharing your phone’s location with someone you trust.
Where should I meet someone from a dating site?
Age UK says to meet in a public place and always let someone know where you will be. AARP’s advice for older daters is a familiar public place for the first few dates, with your own transport.
What if my date feels wrong when we meet?
Leave. AARP’s advice is to abort if anything feels the least bit off, and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde says that if something does not feel right about someone online, it is best to stop contacting them. Afterwards you can block the member and report the profile.
Sources and Dates
- AARP: 11 December 2025, 9 July 2024 and 16 April 2026.
- Age UK: 13 April 2026 and 25 August 2026.
- NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde: online dating guidance, reviewed 2 March 2026.
- Get Safe Online with the Dating Fraud Partnership: DateSafe leaflet, 2019.
- FBI IC3: 2025 IC3 Annual Report.
- FTC: scam advice, August 2022.
- SWGfL helpline and StopNCII: current guidance, read 19 October 2026.
- WA Consumer Protection and WA Police (Australia): sextortion advice, updated 14 August 2024.
General information, not medical advice. For health questions, ask a GP or a sexual health clinic.
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