Dating Scams & Safety

The message arrived late at night, when I was already half-asleep. “If you don’t send the money, I’m sending your photo to everyone you know.” I read it twice. The person sending it was someone I had met on a dating app only a few days earlier. Until that moment, the conversation had felt completely…

The first message was simple: “Send me money, or I’ll send your photos to everyone you know.” For a moment, I just stared at my phone. The person threatening me was someone I had met online. We had talked for several days, and the conversation had gradually become more personal. I had made a decision…

The few minutes after sending a private photo to someone online can be surprisingly stressful. At first, everything may seem normal. Then you put your phone down and start thinking: Did they save it? Can they share it? Do they actually know who I am? What if this person isn’t who they said they were?…

Dating-App Sextortion: What to Do If Someone Threatens to Leak Your Photo The message arrived about ten minutes after I thought the conversation was over. At first, I assumed it was another normal message from someone I had met on a dating app. Then I read it again. The person said they had saved a…

A first date can look very different from what you see in movies. In India, there can be extra considerations: choosing a place where both people feel comfortable, deciding who pays, dealing with curious friends or relatives, figuring out how much personal information to share, and understanding whether the other person is actually interested. I…

Starting a conversation with a girl you like is usually harder in your head than it is in reality. When you are talking to a friend, you don’t think about every word. But when you are attracted to someone, suddenly a simple “Hi” feels like a major decision. You start wondering whether she will find…

Approaching someone you like sounds simple until you actually have to do it. You notice her sitting across the café, see someone interesting at a college event, or keep crossing paths with a person at the gym. You want to say hello, but suddenly you start thinking about everything that could go wrong. What if…

When I first started thinking seriously about getting a girlfriend, I made the mistake of treating it like a problem that needed a formula. I searched for the right places to meet women, wondered what I should say, compared myself with men who seemed more confident, and assumed that if I could just become attractive…

Starting dating for the first time can feel surprisingly complicated. You may know that you want a relationship, but that doesn’t answer the practical questions: Where do you meet people? How do you start a conversation? When should you ask someone out? What do you talk about on the first date? For many people in…

When I first decided to meet someone online for dating in India, I thought the difficult part would be finding people. It wasn’t. There were plenty of profiles, conversations, and opportunities to connect. The difficult part was figuring out who was genuinely interested, who was compatible with me, and who I could safely meet in…