This checklist applies to any dating site or app. The final section explains what MaisnX does, kept separate so you can tell general advice from our own features.
1. Profile visibility
- Check whether people who are not members can see your profile.
- Leave out your workplace, your exact area and anything distinctive, such as a rare job or a well-known hobby group.
- Write a bio that says what you want without describing your daily routine.
Our guide to writing a discreet profile has examples.
2. Biographies and photographs
Photos reveal more than faces: a recognisable room, a car number plate, a school logo, a view from a window. Photo files can also carry hidden data, such as the date and sometimes the location they were taken. Before uploading, crop out backgrounds and consider removing the file's location data with your phone's sharing settings. Share clearer photos only with people you have got to know. See why names and photos should be shared slowly.
3. Location and device permissions
- Give a dating app location access only while you are using it, or not at all.
- Turn off message previews on your lock screen.
- Do not stay signed in on a shared tablet or computer.
The guide on notifications, screen time and shared devices goes through each setting.
4. Account security and authentication
- Use a unique, long password, ideally from a password manager.
- Sign up with a separate email address used only for dating.
- Turn on two-step verification for that email account. Whoever controls your email can usually reset your dating password.
5. Personal data collection and retention
Read the privacy policy for what is collected, why, who it is shared with and how long it is kept. In the UK you have the right to ask an organisation for a copy of the personal data it holds about you, and in many cases to ask for it to be deleted. The Information Commissioner's Office explains how.
6. Billing and subscription information
- Find out what will appear on your card statement before you pay.
- Check whether the plan renews automatically and how to cancel.
- Payment providers keep their own records, separate from the dating site.
See payments, receipts and location tracking for more.
7. Screenshots and information shared by other users
Anything you send can be saved by the person who receives it. No platform setting can prevent a screenshot or a photo of a screen. Share personal details only when you trust someone, and never share anything you could not bear to have passed on. If someone threatens to share your images, read how to avoid blackmail and sextortion and report it.
8. Account deletion and privacy requests
- Check whether you can delete your account yourself, without emailing anyone.
- Ask what is kept after deletion, such as billing records required by law.
- If a site will not delete your data, you can make a request under data protection law, and complain to the Information Commissioner's Office if it is not handled properly.
What MaisnX does
The points above are general advice. These are the MaisnX features that relate to them:
- Photos you upload start as private. You choose which photos to make public, and you can move them back.
- Other members only see your private photos after you share them with that person in a conversation.
- Optional analytics cookies are only stored on your device if you accept them in the cookie banner.
- You can permanently delete your account from Settings. This removes your profile, photos, messages and login. Some records, such as anonymised safety reports and billing records, are kept as the privacy policy describes.
Our privacy policy sets out what we collect and how long we keep it. For a summary of our approach, see privacy-focused dating.