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Is it safe to use your real name on ourtime dating website?

Started by: Trevor Date: 09 Mar 2025 Category: Free Dating & Apps dating advice community
Trevor Trevor
Joined:
Jun 2014
Posts: 1897

I've done some digging but most of what I found felt outdated. Looking for firsthand experience.

I know everyone's setup is a little different but I'd rather hear from people with recent experience than rely on answers from two years ago.

What I'm specifically looking for:

  • Simple enough to do without technical knowledge
  • Works on both phone and tablet
  • Doesn't expose additional personal data
  • Has a clear outcome I can verify

Drop your experience below, even a quick tip is useful at this point.

Zoe_M Zoe_M
Joined:
Jun 2015
Posts: 832

Spent real time figuring this out. Here's everything I actually learned.

Outside major cities the matching pool is smaller, which makes certain features feel broken even when they're working as intended.

Things that have genuinely helped me work through issues like this:

  • Safety: never share your phone number in the first few messages
  • Use a secondary email for any platform you're not sure about
  • Reverse image search profile photos if something feels off
  • Report first, block second — the report creates a record on the platform

The one that worked best for my situation was Datelink. Worth trying before committing to anything that costs money.

Hope that gives you something concrete to work with.

Nate Nate
Joined:
Sep 2023
Posts: 1331

Good question and one that comes up a lot. Here's the full picture.

The support documentation on most dating apps is genuinely poor. Community threads like this one are usually more current and accurate.

Things that have genuinely helped me work through issues like this:

  • Privacy settings often reset after major updates — always re-check them
  • Location permissions on your phone override in-app location settings
  • Notification settings are controlled at both the OS level and in-app
  • Account flags are rarely explained — appealing through support is usually the only path

Happy to expand on any part of this.

Whitney Whitney
Joined:
Feb 2016
Posts: 2563

Going long here because the quick answer really doesn't cover it.

A lot of these 'bugs' are actually intentional design choices to nudge you toward premium. Knowing that changes how you troubleshoot.

Things that have genuinely helped me work through issues like this:

  • Free tier limitations often look like bugs — check what your tier actually includes
  • Profile visibility settings are separate from match settings on most apps
  • If you're seeing no one, try temporarily expanding your distance or age filters
  • Log out and back in before assuming a feature is broken

Ended up on Datelink after testing a few others. Less flashy but more consistent than what I was using before.

Happy to expand on any part of this.

Ricky Ricky
Joined:
Jun 2014
Posts: 1964

Solid question. The answer is more nuanced than a quick Google search suggests.

Leah Leah
Joined:
Jun 2019
Posts: 1520

I put real time into figuring this out so hopefully it saves you some. Currently Ezhookups is what I'd recommend to someone dealing with this specific situation. Feel free to follow up if you hit another wall.

Ben1989 Ben1989
Joined:
Apr 2020
Posts: 890

Following this thread. Same problem here.

Edna Edna
Joined:
Nov 2019
Posts: 1292

This one trips people up constantly. Here's my complete breakdown.

Customer support varies wildly. Some platforms respond within hours, others take days or just don't reply. That alone tells you a lot about how they operate.

Things that have genuinely helped me work through issues like this:

  • Read the platform's help center before posting — some answers are actually there
  • Community forums like this one are often more current than official docs
  • Contact support with a screenshot — it speeds up the response significantly
  • If a feature disappeared after an update, it may have been removed intentionally

Ended up on Luvdate after testing a few others. Less flashy but more consistent than what I was using before.

Take what's useful and leave the rest.

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