Safety and privacy
No Strings Dating Safety: Stay in Control From Hello
Privacy tools, blocking and plain steps for meeting someone new, plus the scam signs worth knowing before you say yes.
On the site
Tools that keep your details yours
You choose how much of yourself anyone sees, and you can end a conversation the moment you want to.
- A username, not you
- Other members see a username. Your real name and email address stay out of view, and your location shows as the nearest town or city, never an address or a live position.
- Block and report
- Blocking is instant and reporting is quick. There is a user rating system too, and one-click feedback when you want to say how a conversation went.
- A warning on the way out
- If someone tries to move the chat to another app such as WhatsApp, you get an alert. The National Crime Agency counts that as a scam warning sign, so pause and think.
- Blurred pictures
- Sensitive images arrive blurred with a warning, so nothing surprises you. Unauthorised content is taken down swiftly.
- Optional checks
- You can verify your ID at no charge and earn a badge. A live video check with a moderator needs no documents, though it does not earn a badge.
- People on call
- Human support answers by chat and messaging around the clock, and the Contact us form on the members site includes categories for reporting a member and for someone using your images without consent.
Behind the scenes, AI monitors behaviour and screens content as it is uploaded, with human review on top, and administrators validate profiles. Age is estimated automatically, with further checks where the law asks for them. The site is hosted with SSL encryption and is involved with the Online Dating and Discovery Association.
Common sense
Why your own judgement still counts
The member terms are straight about it. The service is described as entertainment, it does not run criminal background checks or try to verify what members say about themselves, and profiles and messages may not be genuine. The full list is in our guide on whether No Strings Dating is legit.
A badge shows that a member went through the ID check. It cannot tell you how they will behave, so give every new contact the care you would give any stranger.
The rule that covers the rest: you decide what you share, where you meet and when you leave, whatever a profile says.
Before a first meet
Six habits that keep a first meet in your hands
- Stay on the site. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, updated 7 September 2026, advises keeping the chat on the dating site and giving out no address, phone number or workplace. The UK government's Stop Think Fraud campaign and the Illinois Attorney General give the same advice about staying put until you know who someone is.
- Check the photos. The FTC, Stop Think Fraud and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center all recommend a reverse image search on profile pictures. The Illinois Attorney General warns that AI-generated images may not turn up, so treat a thin profile history as a warning as well.
- Make it a video call first. The National Crime Agency and the Illinois Attorney General both count dodging video calls as a red flag. One caution: on 20 July 2026 the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center said impersonation scammers use AI-generated video, including live chats. A call is a useful check, never proof.
- Meet in public and keep an exit plan. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust says never leave your drink or your phone unattended and do not share a taxi with a stranger. The North Carolina Department of Justice says to choose a safe, public place.
- Tell someone your plan. Give a friend the place and the name of the person you are meeting, and check in before, during and afterwards, as the Suzy Lamplugh Trust suggests. The Trust also suggests carrying a personal alarm.
- Strip the location from photos. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust advises switching off location tags before you send a picture, since a tagged photo can show where it was taken.
Health matters too, and they have their own guide: safer sex and testing for casual partners.
Dating scams
The scam signs worth knowing before you reply
A dating scam is a stranger building trust to get your money or your pictures. The warning signs official bodies list are consistent.
- Secrecy
- You are told to keep the conversation from family and friends. Stop Think Fraud lists this.
- One-way questions
- They ask a lot about you and tell you little back, another Stop Think Fraud sign.
- A rush
- Pressure to send money or details fast, which Stop Think Fraud lists, or strong feelings that arrive in a rush, which the National Crime Agency lists.
- A money story
- A request for money, vouchers or crypto, or an investment pitch, as the National Crime Agency lists. The FTC names wire transfers, gift card numbers, payment apps and crypto as the ways scammers ask to be paid.
- A reason they cannot meet
- They are in the military, on an oil rig or working overseas, or they keep cancelling, and then ask for money, as the FTC describes.
- Leaving the site
- They want to take the chat somewhere else, which the National Crime Agency counts as a warning.
Never send money, vouchers or crypto to someone you have not met. Do not cash money orders or forward money or parcels for a match either, as the North Carolina Department of Justice warns. The member terms ban asking other members for money, so report anyone who does.
The scale is large. The National Crime Agency, in a release of 29 July 2026 quoting Report Fraud, counted 12,348 reports of these scams in the UK between April 2025 and March 2026, with 116 million pounds lost. In the USA, the FTC's April 2026 data spotlight says nearly 60% of people who reported losing money to one in 2025 said it began on social media, and 298 million dollars was reported lost to those that began there.
Intimate images
If someone threatens to share your pictures
Stop replying, block them, report them and do not pay. That is the Revenge Porn Helpline's advice on sextortion, and the FTC notes that scammers who get intimate photos then threaten to share them unless you pay.
In the UK, the Revenge Porn Helpline supports adults affected by intimate image abuse, with advice and help getting shared content removed. Call 0345 6000 459, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, not on bank holidays. StopNCII.org is a tool that costs nothing: your device makes a digital fingerprint of the images, the images never leave it, and participating platforms use the fingerprint to find and remove matches. You must be over 18 in the image and hold it, and it covers participating platforms only.
Where to report if something goes wrong
On the site
Block the member, then report them. The Contact us form has categories for reporting a member and for someone using your images without consent. Under the safety standards updated 12 December 2025, content that sexualises or exploits minors means immediate, permanent removal and a report to the authorities.
In the UK
If you paid, tell your bank or payment provider at once. Then report to Report Fraud, the national centre that replaced Action Fraud, as announced in December 2025: reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101. More on the UK page.
In the USA
File a report with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and name the site or app where you met the person. The Illinois Attorney General's advice is to keep the messages and block the account, then tell the platform, the police where you live, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the FTC. More on the USA page.
Safety questions, answered plainly
Is No Strings Dating safe?
No dating site can promise a safe meeting, and this one does not. It gives you private usernames, nearest-town locations, instant blocking, easy reporting and human support by chat and messaging. Its terms say it runs no criminal background checks, so take the same precautions you would with any stranger.
How do I report someone?
Block them first, then use the report tools. You can also send a message through the Contact us form on the members site and pick the category that fits, such as reporting a member. Keep any messages you saved, because they help. Support answers by chat and messaging at any hour.
What if someone asks me for money?
Say no, stop replying and block them. Stop Think Fraud says never to send money, vouchers or crypto to someone you have not met. The terms ban asking members for money, so report the account. If you have already paid, tell your bank or payment provider at once.
Can other members see where I live?
No. Members see a username, never your real name or email address, and the site shows only your nearest town or city, never an address or a live location. Keep it that way in chat until you trust someone, and switch off location tags on photos before you send them.
What if someone shares my photos without asking?
Use the Contact us form on the members site and choose the category for someone using your images without consent. In the UK, the Revenge Porn Helpline on 0345 6000 459 gives advice, and StopNCII.org can help stop images spreading on participating platforms.
Keep your details yours and your plans clear
Join, set your own boundaries and use block and report whenever you need them.
Join freeAdults 18 and over only.