What can’t we do with our technology devices these days? Our devices act like a window to the rest of the world. Phones and laptops have changed the way how people socialize, date, and build relationships today.

Online dating is a great option to consider if you want to meet people quickly and easily. By using mobile apps or websites such as Match.com, eHarmony.com and Zoosk.com, you can get instant matches with people who meet your criteria anytime, wherever you are. A Kaspersky Daily – a global cybersecurity company – study shows that 48 percent of people turn to online dating for fun; others hope to find sustainable relationships; and approximately one-in-ten (13 percent) simply look for sex.

Convenient but sometimes risky. Meeting strangers – face to face or online – can at times be a challenge.  Meeting someone online involves certain information exchange which, if improperly handled, can be abused.

Every person has their own way of seeing online dating safety.

Even the companies which promote online dating sites and apps struggled to ensure appropriate safety to the targeted users. Although there is evidence that most of the damage associated with dating sites has reduced over time, approximately half of Americans still consider meeting someone online insecure.

According to a study carried out by Pew Research Center, around 53 percent of all Americans (including both those who have and have not had an online date) approve that dating sites and apps are a fairly or somewhat reliable way to date people, while a slightly smaller share (46 percent) think that these platforms are not too or not at all reliable for meeting people.

Those Americans who have never tried out online dating tend to worry about their safety. 52 percent of adults who have never dated online think that dating platforms are relatively unsafe; and so do 29 percent of those who have already experienced it before.

Women tend to be more likely inclined than men to think that dating sites and apps are not a safe way to meet someone (53 percent versus 39 percent).

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), dating apps do not perform criminal background searches on users, so it remains up to each dater to evaluate how comfortable they are and how cautious they should be. According to the RAINN, as a user, you should keep in mind that if ever you are sexually assaulted or abused while dating online or while browsing, you are not the one to blame. Just date cautiously!

Sources: Kaspersky daily; Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network; Pew Research Center