Advice: Safety

ChristianCafe.com is a safe place to meet other Christians. There are thousands of members who have met their soulmate here. The site has been designed to be secure and safe, so no one will know who you are unless you provide them with your information. Please note, however, that ChristianCafe.com does not conduct background checks or ensure the accuracy of profiles. There are many features that help you meet others safely. Likewise, there are things you can do to protect yourself.

There are many ways ChristianCafe.com provides you with a safe online experience.

• Private Mailbox: You can communicate anonymously via your private Cafe email box.
• Hide Location: You can hide your city on your profile if you wish. To do so, see the Site Preferences table in your Account Settings page, which is accessible via your Profile.
• Filtering Technology: We have technology in place that weeds out fraudulent profiles. We place great importance on protecting our members from scammers by removing those who try to use our site fraudulently. We are constantly updating our technology to provide you the best possible environment.
• Mailblock: You can apply a mailblock on any member so that they can no longer communicate with you or view your profile. To mailblock a member, view their profile and click the 'Apply Mailblock' button.
• Username Change: If your username reveals personal information, such as your last name, you can change your username in your Account Settings page, which is accessible via your Profile. Alternately you can write to us and ask us to change your username to one you suggest.

While using ChristianCafe.com, there are things you can do to keep your account secure.

• Keep your Password Secure: Don't divulge your password to anyone. Secondly, if you access ChristianCafe.com from a shared computer (shared with roommates, or a public computer such as at a library) do not save your login.
• Sign Out: Use the Sign Out option located via the menu at the top of your account when you are finished using your account or when you leave a shared computer unattended.

The following tips will help you retain your privacy and safety when meeting others via our site.

• Take Your Time: There is no need to rush into a relationship with the first profile you view on the Cafe. Having a secure, stable relationship should be important to you and the person with whom you are corresponding. Never give out your email address, phone number, IM information, full name, work information or any other contact information to a complete stranger. If the other person is really serious about starting a healthy relationship with you, s/he will respect your desire for safety and your commitment to developing a healthy relationship.
• Correspond on the Cafe to Start: Keep your correspondence on site (use your mailbox) and get to know someone over a period of at least a week (see our notice above). This should give you a bit more time to determine if they are honest, if their behaviour is consistent and whether this person is someone you would like to get to know even better.
• Ask a lot of Questions: Some members present only their most positive aspects; some of their negative aspects might not be apparent the first few days they correspond with you. Other members provide very little information in their profile or their letters. Be wary of such contacts and ask a lot of questions to help you get a better perception of the person with whom you are corresponding.
• Use a Non Descript Email Account: If you decide to communicate outside our site, use an email account other than your main personal or work account. There are many free email services available such as Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail that you can use for this purpose.
• Use Call Block: If you decide to communicate by phone, apply call block before calling. Ask your phone company if you are unsure how to do this.
• Meet in a Public Place: If you decide to meet in person, choose a public place and stay in a public place. If s/he is serious about the relationship, s/he will be glad to ensure you feel safe. Do not accept offers to have him/her pick you up or drop you off. Choose public transportation, your own vehicle, a taxi, or better yet, have a friend arrange the transportation for you. If things do not feel right, LEAVE. Better safe than sorry.

Take your time to ensure the people you are meeting on our site are serious about your safety and a healthy relationship. Some of the potential warning signals include the following:

• The member claims to work overseas;
• The member offers his/her email address or asks for your email address, phone number, IM information, or other contact information when you barely know each other;
• The member is elusive in providing answers (within reasonable time) to a lot of your questions;
• The behaviour of the member seems to fluctuate or change drastically from one day to the next or from the first contact to later contacts;
• The member acts harshly, then the next email apologizes profusely; later this member acts harshly towards you again;
• The member wants to meet you at some private location (his house, his "friend's" place, your place);
• The member needs money for a plane ticket, medicine/food, help with paying a bill, etc., and wants you to send it.

Check out our scams page for information on the types of scams fraudulent people have used.

While being cautious is key to your safety, we also want you to have fun on the site and meet people in person so you can find your match, like so many others before you. There are thousands of Godly men and women who are serious about starting a healthy relationship and are waiting to hear from you! ChristianCafe.com is about relationships after all :) See our best use of the site tips.

There are thousands upon thousands of couples who have met their soulmate on ChristianCafe.com. We post the submissions which they submit to us on our Testimonials section. Do not hesitate to contact others whom you find interesting; just be sure that if you find someone you think is of "special" interest that you take your time getting to know them within the safety of the site, as per our advice above.