By Benjamin Wasserman

Over the past decade, technology, and more specifically mobile applications, has significantly changed the average person’s day to day life. There seems to be an app for just about everything, ranging from shopping to getting around town to dating and socializing. The stigma of online dating has long since disappeared as it has become progressively more common in society. With the stigma removed, the popularity of dating applications has been on the rise. Unfortunately, as with all good things, there is always a flip side. Many strangers you meet online do not have the purest intentions. Frequently stories of assault, stalking, and robbery through dating apps has made news headlines and created a safety concern among users.

It is a sad state of society in which people do not feel safe, even when separated by miles and monitors.  Liz Desmond, a successful model, tried to give online dating a shot, but was shaken to her very core from all the, “highly sexually explicit and vile” messages she received. It is such a common occurrence that dating apps are used as breeding grounds for harassment and violence that it has almost ceased to make headlines. An app called Safedate has recently launched with the primary goal of protecting men and women from the dangers of online dating. The app allows the user to create a profile for his/her date and share it with a dependable friend so the friend can follow the date or receive alerts at previously agreed upon check in times. Should something go wrong the friend has all the information needed in order to alert the correct authorities and take care of the situation.

Identity protection and anonymity are both crucial in creating a safe and secure platform for meeting new people. Most people will not feel comfortable sharing private information such as their phone number or address with an unknown person. There must be a way to ensure both parties have a certain level of trust and that there be a way to cut off communication with no trail leading back to them and no repercussions if that trust is violated. This can be achieved in a variety of ways all of which are possible through the services offered by Cloudonix.

The first step to establishing your date is not dangerous is through direct communication, but it can be difficult to establish trust solely through messaging. The ability to text, call, or video chat in-app, without needing to give out any private information, will make it easier for each user to gauge the others’ personality and see if they want the relationship to continue. Should the users decide to meet up in person, they can still feel secure through a direct line to authorities or emergency contacts that is available in-app. With the push of a button, an SMS can be sent alerting your desired contact of your situation with your exact location included. Either user can block or report the other at any point during this process severing all ties since all communication has been done securely in the app.

Dating should be a carefree and fun experience, but meeting someone nowadays often occurs very differently and with a lot more worries than with previous generations. According to Pew Research Center, more than half of Americans believe online dating is a good way to meet people. That number is only growing which is why it is so important to make online dating as safe as possible. Cloudonix’s services can let people get back to the joys of dating and worry less about being put in harm’s way.