DateableHow to hide identifying details in your dating photos
Scan your photos for street signs, house numbers, landmarks and reflections that might reveal where you live or work before anyone else sees them.
Every photo you post shows more than just your face. Street signs, house numbers, number plates, landmarks and the view from your window all tell someone where you live or work. Check every photo before anyone else sees it, because once it is posted, a stranger can use those details to find you before you decide to trust them.
What to look for in the background
A photo taken outside often has clues in the background. A street sign, a house number, a shop name or a local landmark all narrow down where you are. A uniform or lanyard shows where you work. Mail on a table has your name and address. These details seem small, but someone with time and intent can use them.
Safety services advise keeping your address, workplace and the places you go regularly private until you trust someone 1. A photo that looks like it was taken near your home, your regular cafe or your workplace gives away more than you might think.
- Street signs, house numbers, postcodes on bins
- Landmarks: a distinctive building, a monument, a bridge, a park gate
- Vehicle number plates, even partially visible
- Shop signs or business names
- Uniforms, name badges or lanyards
- Mail or packages with your address or name
- The view from your window or balcony
Mirrors and windows show more than you think
A mirror or window in your photo is a second camera. You might be aware of what is behind you, but your brain filters it out. A mirror shows the room you are in, what is on your walls, your street outside the window. Someone viewing your photo will see it clearly.
A shiny object like a kettle, a watch, glasses or a phone screen can also reflect your surroundings. Before you post a photo, zoom in on any reflective surface and look at what is showing.
Crop or retake, do not blur
If a photo has identifying details in the background, crop it out rather than blur it. Blurring is a guess: the blur might be reversible, or you might have missed a detail. Cropping removes the detail entirely. If cropping cuts off part of you that matters, retake the photo from a different angle.
A photo taken indoors with a plain background is safer than a photo with anything outside it. A photo of just you is safer than a photo with a landmark. Choose your framing before you take the shot, and you will not have to crop or retake later.
Take photos in safe locations
The easiest way to avoid identifying details is to take photos in places where there is nothing to identify. A plain wall at home, a neutral indoor background, or a photo taken against the sky with nothing but blue behind you all keep your location private. You do not need to be travelling or at a landmark.
If you take a photo outside, step back from your own street. Walk to a different area, or use a park or public space that is not near your home. A photo taken in daylight at a park is safer than a photo taken outside your front door, because no one can use it to know which house is yours.
Holiday photos are safer than photos from your street
A photo taken while travelling is less likely to point to where you live. If you have a photo taken at a tourist spot, at the beach in another city, or at a hotel, that is fine. A photo taken near your home or your regular places is a direct line to you before you have met.
If most of your good photos are from your own street or area, retake a few in a location that is not where you live. Go to a cafe in another suburb, a park you do not visit often, or somewhere that is not routine for you.
Use Dateable's private albums
Dateable lets you post up to 12 public photos and 12 private photos. A private photo is visible only to members you grant access, and you can revoke access at any time. Put photos that show your face and style, with nothing identifying behind you, in the public album. Keep anything you are less sure about in the private album. Dateable also strips location data (EXIF) from photos when you upload them, but that does not hide what is visible in the picture itself. The guide to choosing your photos covers which ones to use.
If you are unsure, ask before you post
Ask a trusted friend to look at a photo before you post it. Tell them to ignore your face and look only at the background. Ask them: could you guess where this was taken, or where I live, or where I work? If they say yes, crop or retake.
I'm not sure about this photo. Does anything in the background tell you where I might live or work?
Check the photos you already use elsewhere too. The same picture on a social media account can lead someone from your dating profile to your full name. Use photos on Dateable you have not posted anywhere else. The privacy guide and the privacy posts cover the rest.
Sources
- Sexual Assault Resource Centre, North Metropolitan Health Service (Government of Western Australia) (2021). Safe online dating.
