Protect your personal information
Keep your home address, workplace, daily routine, financial details, and identity documents private when getting to know someone. Before sharing a photograph, check it for visible addresses, badges, or other identifying details.
Share your health information thoughtfully and privately. A shared HSV diagnosis does not establish trust or give anyone permission to disclose your personal information.
Recognize pressure and deception
Do not send money, gift cards, financial account details, or intimate images in response to pressure from someone you have met online. Urgent financial requests, threats, and demands for secrecy are reasons to end a conversation.
If someone ignores your boundaries, stop the exchange. Preserve relevant messages if you need to report harassment or threats.
Plan a public first meeting
- Choose a public place with other people nearby.
- Arrange your own transportation and return journey.
- Tell a trusted person where you will be and when you expect to return.
- Keep your phone charged and your belongings within reach.
- Leave whenever you feel uncomfortable.
Travel, gifts, or the cost of a meal never create an obligation to stay or become intimate.
Discuss boundaries before intimacy
Talk openly about comfort, consent, and health before physical intimacy. Neither a dating profile nor a shared diagnosis replaces that conversation. Each person must be free to decline or change their mind.
Speak with a qualified healthcare professional about personal questions concerning HSV and sexual health.
Respond to immediate concerns
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Report threats or suspected criminal conduct to the appropriate authorities. For unwanted contact within a dating account, use its blocking and reporting options.
These precautions can help you make informed choices, but cannot guarantee another person’s behavior.