Unfortunately, the world of online dating can come with risks. Some people may experience romance scams and fraud, matches with sex offenders, or even fall victim to dating violence.
TIME Magazine reported that in November 2023, a Nebraska man's appeal was rejected after he was sentenced to death for dismembering a woman he met through Tinder. In April, a Connecticut man was charged with murder, sexual misconduct, and more after strangling his Tinder date to death. In England in 2015, a 30-year-old man killed a woman on their first date after meeting on the popular dating app Plenty of Fish.
"We all have friends who have had wonderful success stories and met their lifetime partner through these apps. But that also comes with the understanding that there are also bad actors who are going to use these apps in various ways to perpetrate crimes," Erinn Robinson, Director of Media Relations at RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), told TIME.
TIME researched three popular dating apps to assess their security measures. Bumble, Hinge, and Tinder are the most widely used among people under 30. Both Hinge and Tinder have terms of use that ask users to affirm that they have not been convicted of, or pleaded no contest to, a felony or any crime involving violence, including sex crimes.
The terms and conditions for Hinge and Tinder also ask users to affirm that they are not required to register as a sex offender, though that is not specified on Bumble. But all three apps note in the fine print that users are responsible for their interactions with others and mention that they do not conduct criminal background checks on members or otherwise "inquire into the background" of users.
PrivacyJournal, a review website for security products and things concerning online privacy, compiled a ranking of all 50 states and how safe or dangerous it is to use online dating apps. They used factors like how many romance scams, instances of identity theft or fraud were reported, how many sex offenders there are, the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, and the crime rate.
Florida is one of the most dangerous states for online dating.
Florida came in at No. 47, meaning it's the fourth most dangerous state in the U.S. for online dating, according to the report. Florida is the second-worst state in the country for both identity theft and fraud and the seventh-worst for becoming a victim of romance scams. However, Florida is a decent enough place to get away from the threat of violence from online dating matches. It's in the bottom ten nationwide for sex offenders and the bottom 15 for violent crime, as pointed out by the study.
Nevada is the most dangerous state for online dating. The state ranks second in romance scam reports per 100,000 residents, fourth in identity theft reports, and third in reports of fraud. The study also points out that people in Nevada are also the third-most likely Americans to become victims of fraud (442 out of every 100,000) and the fourth most likely to have their identities stolen (312 out of every 100,000).
Alaska is the second most dangerous state for online dating and Georgia is third. Alaska has the third-highest rate of romance scams, while Georgia leads the nation in reports of both identity theft and fraud.
The safest state for online dating is…
Overall, the safest state for online dating is Vermont. The study points out that it has the second-lowest rate of reported identity theft and the lowest rate of STDs, and it ranks in the bottom 10 for violent crime and fraud. Maine is the second-safest state to find love online, and New Hampshire comes in third. According to the study, these states have the lowest and second-lowest violent crime rates in the nation.
They did note that the top three states don't appear to have any correlation between online dating safety and a region’s median income. Top-ranking Vermont comes in 20th with a median income of $73,991, Maine ranks 32nd with a median of $69,543, and New Hampshire is in the top 10 at $89,992.
Other insights
According to their findings, you’re least likely to match with a sex offender in New Jersey. The state has only 50 offenders on the registry for every 100,000 people. You’ll find the highest concentration of registered sex offenders in Oregon, with 772 per 100,000 residents.
Mississippi has the lowest rate of romance scam reports. Only 3.1 out of every 100,000 Mississippians report having been "swindled" by a romantic partner. Louisiana is the next safest at 3.4, and Indiana comes in third place at 3.8. However, Mississippi ranks highest for sexually transmitted diseases. The state tops the list for STDs, mainly chlamydia and gonorrhea with 1,243 reports per 100,000 residents.
Take a look at the full report here.
