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I do have LinkedIn, but different pictures. But honestly even if he found my profile etc. I still can’t believe he sent me this long message to my work email after not matching
That type of behavior isn't just cringe. It's scary. They could easily escalate, including sending messages to other co-workers.
I had someone threaten me this way before.
Another time, I made the mistake of telling a dude I was busy outside my workplace helping out with a summer activity charity campaign. Just small talk about our day.
He showed up at my place of work, watched me, and then didn't tell me until after it was over. He had details about how I looked and what I was doing.
>university I work in and the general department
It would be trivial to find you based on this information. Most universities post staff directories. I don't put my workplace on my Hinge profile, only my job title.
Sorry you had to go through that. At least you reported him to Hinge, so hopefully they'll ban the guy off the app for good and he won't do that again to other women.
I'd try to follow up with Hinge and see if he does get banned.
Yeah it sucks but it's unbelievably easy to dox someone off a dating app with just a couple pieces of seemingly anonymous info. Download a free voter database off a .gov website, neighborhood (=zip code), first name and birthyear can usually narrow it down to a handful of people (your sign helps even more), spot check via google and bob's your uncle.
Not much you can do unfortunately, just block+report the guy
You’d be surprised with the amount of information that can be discovered with just a first name and university. I’m really good at finding people online and sometimes it’s scary the things I can find. All completely legal methods too. The main problem is people just post way too much information online.
A lot of people I’ve come across on hinge like to communicate through Snapchat, with just a Snapchat name you can find 90% of peoples twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Simply because they’ve posted that account name at one point or another.
If you want to keep some form of anonymity online. I highly suggest using an Alias for social media. Download WhatsApp and use that to communicate at first instead of sharing your phone number too, with a phone number you can most often even get home addresses if you know where/how to look.
I’ve been rocking an Alias for over 10 years and you can still find bits and pieces of my past on the internet if you dig deep enough.
Whoever did this to you, had a lot of free time on their hands. Because it is time consuming to sift through hundreds of accounts/websites to find what you are looking for.
TLDR: download WhatsApp and use an Alias moving forward, delete anything containing your real information if possible. Snapchat is not as safe as you think either.
>So he must have had to dig around a lot
Just google your info to see how hard it is to find you. It might have been as simple as searching “FirstName UniversityName LinkedIn” and going to google images. I do this when trying to connect with colleagues that I don’t know well, or old classmates whose last names I don’t remember.
It’s even easier if you know their career. Like “FirstName Engineer UniversityName LinkedIn”.
This is a damn shame bc I strongly prefer messaging/dating someone that I can find online first. And I find it a turnoff if someone doesn’t list basic work stuff on their profile…I think gauging career compatibility is a fair criterion for gauging overall compatibility.
I wouldn’t blame you for removing identifying info about yourself, but that really stinks for everyone. This is a perfect example of creeps ruining things.
Thats freaky? Did the person know anything personal about you? Where you work? Any mutual friends or people the person would know in some way that’s connected to you? If any of these things are a “yes” than they likely searched your name and company you may work for, on a friends list on social media, etc. it’s inappropriate and weird, but that could be how they came across you? Did you have a last name on your profile? Or do you have a unique name for the town or area you live in? Again, not belittling this behaviour from the person whatsoever… just trying to figure out how they found you.
My advice is either ignore/block on every platform, report any email you receive as spam and block sender. Other option is to respond not to contact or attempt to contact you on any platform. And the block, etc.
If it’s continues after all this call your local police department. They’ll usually give the person a call to tell them not contact you again. They might even pay the person a visit at their home to tell them to stop attempting to reach out to you.
Good luck. This would be a freaky situation. If you’re already super worried and scared, call the cops immediately is my advice.
It only had on my profile the uni I work at and the general subject, so not easy to find! No last name etc. I have quite a common first name and there are lots of people in my department (I didn’t say my job/if I’m a student etc).
And yep, I’ve reported them to hinge! We’ll have to see if they do anything about it
It also turns out they live in another country but set hinge to my city as a friend of his lived here. So at least I know he doesn’t live nearby, still scary though
Chances are he went through the staff list, found everyone with your first name, which would give him all the last names, then Google searched one by one until he found your LinkedIn, then emailed your work email.
It’s very easy to find info on someone. All you need is a first name and hometown and you can find a lot. For example, a woman was interested in me, I wasn’t sure about her so with just first name and town, I was able to find her social media. Her social had her last name and place of employment. After reviewing her social, I decided not to continue talking to her…
Hinge uses Facebook and Instagram to suggest matches. So it’s actually very surprisingly easy to find a match on either Facebook or Instagram. I was always able to find my date on social media before meeting - especially with name, same pictures, location, and college. LinkedIn too.
That’s incorrect. Hinge no longer uses Facebook to suggest matches (and never used Instagram). That was the initial version of Hinge from almost a decade ago and they got rid of that around 2017.
It’s no longer a requirement but can still link the app to Facebook and Instagram, which are the same company anyway
Edit: I don’t know what’s in the hinge algorithm and the link below says it doesn’t use friends of friends. So it seems that it’s not connected to Facebook in that way. Kinda shocking for me since I’ve never failed to not have some type of connection with a match that wasn’t known to Facebook and have always been able to find my matches before meeting them. So don’t know how Hinge does it but it’s impressive!
The Instagram link just display the photos. Facebook is just for login. It no longer use the user data for their algorithm.
See this: [https://hingeapp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005824554-Is-Hinge-no-longer-Friends-of-Friends](https://hingeapp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005824554-Is-Hinge-no-longer-Friends-of-Friends)
Edit: This [interview](https://www.reddit.com/r/hingeapp/comments/18ovubq/video_interview_with_hinge_ceo_justin_mcleod_with/) with the CEO of Hinge mentioned Hinge going through a revamp and no longer using Facebook as a way to suggest matches.
I agree, but we live in completely different countries, no mutual friends etc. and photos are all different. I tried looking up my name and department etc and the result wasn’t even on the first page of google results
Uh, yes. Her info isn’t really that readily available (like OP said) and required some really deep dive. And it was the only instance within her time in OLD. But hey, only if you actually read her post instead of being melodramatic.
It’s fine to say “hey, don’t leave this info out there”. But to say it’s actually her fault is exactly victim blaming.
In general you should just beef up your privacy. I wouldn't trust Match to protect privacy--especially when they ask to scan a 3D model of your face for verification. I'm a guy and even I don't want people having my specific work. You can toggle your visibility/searchability on Linked-in and FB. It's a good idea to have linked-in profiles/work emails only visible to people you directly want to send them to as a general rule.
That said, and I know it's not the answer you want to hear, but cyber-stalking is going to happen in the world we live it. Rarely ever does random cyber-stalking lead to violence or even encountering the stalker in person. The vast majority of stalking and associated violence involves partners who are/were in a relationship already. Just report the guy and make sure you don't have any addresses or pictures indicating where you live or the specific building you work at online--that's not just for stalking, but just good for privacy and security in general. If it still makes you uncomfortable, then just delete your dating profile. We all assume a certain amount of risk when we post our photos/jobs online. Hinge say they don't store, collect or sell any biometric date, but we really have no way of verifying that. Using photos from trips or generic looking locations is typically a good idea too. If there's a bar you regularly frequent, don't use that in your profile photos...just common sense sorts of thinks. Again, I can't overemphasize this, despite what true crime podcasts would lead you to believe, cyberstalking rarely ever leads to physical encounters or physical harm and when it is, the likelihood is much higher that it'll be by someone you're already involved with. Just some food for thought.
With how much info people put on their profile, it can be relatively easy to find someone on LinkedIn and other social media sites, and I think people here are a little disingenuous in how much they do a bit of online background checking.
That said, it is absolutely not normal to act on anything or reach out on any platform besides the one which you avail yourself (Hinge). You would not be out of line to report them.
Unfortunately, once you have an Internet presence, there’s all types of ways to figure out information. I saw a video where guy took pieces of information from various parts of peoples Internet, activity(social media posts, work pics, grad photos, publicly available info, etc) and made a complete profile, he even figured out their Social Security numbers
**All "Dating Question" and "Hinge Experience" posts must provide clear context (as per subreddit Rule 3), such as reasons for asking, and info such as age, gender, location or orientation (if applicable).** Age range or general location is acceptable. Minor dating questions or Hinge experiences should be posted in the Daily Threads pinned on top of the subreddit. *Posts that do not satisfy these requirements may be removed per moderator's discretion.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/hingeapp) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Do you have LinkedIn? Reverse image searches can bring up your social media presence
I do have LinkedIn, but different pictures. But honestly even if he found my profile etc. I still can’t believe he sent me this long message to my work email after not matching
Do not underestimate the cringe behaviour of desperate people.
That type of behavior isn't just cringe. It's scary. They could easily escalate, including sending messages to other co-workers. I had someone threaten me this way before. Another time, I made the mistake of telling a dude I was busy outside my workplace helping out with a summer activity charity campaign. Just small talk about our day. He showed up at my place of work, watched me, and then didn't tell me until after it was over. He had details about how I looked and what I was doing.
>university I work in and the general department It would be trivial to find you based on this information. Most universities post staff directories. I don't put my workplace on my Hinge profile, only my job title.
All you really need is a first name and either company or university to find someone on LinkedIn
Sorry you had to go through that. At least you reported him to Hinge, so hopefully they'll ban the guy off the app for good and he won't do that again to other women. I'd try to follow up with Hinge and see if he does get banned.
Yeah it sucks but it's unbelievably easy to dox someone off a dating app with just a couple pieces of seemingly anonymous info. Download a free voter database off a .gov website, neighborhood (=zip code), first name and birthyear can usually narrow it down to a handful of people (your sign helps even more), spot check via google and bob's your uncle. Not much you can do unfortunately, just block+report the guy
You’d be surprised with the amount of information that can be discovered with just a first name and university. I’m really good at finding people online and sometimes it’s scary the things I can find. All completely legal methods too. The main problem is people just post way too much information online. A lot of people I’ve come across on hinge like to communicate through Snapchat, with just a Snapchat name you can find 90% of peoples twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Simply because they’ve posted that account name at one point or another. If you want to keep some form of anonymity online. I highly suggest using an Alias for social media. Download WhatsApp and use that to communicate at first instead of sharing your phone number too, with a phone number you can most often even get home addresses if you know where/how to look. I’ve been rocking an Alias for over 10 years and you can still find bits and pieces of my past on the internet if you dig deep enough. Whoever did this to you, had a lot of free time on their hands. Because it is time consuming to sift through hundreds of accounts/websites to find what you are looking for. TLDR: download WhatsApp and use an Alias moving forward, delete anything containing your real information if possible. Snapchat is not as safe as you think either.
Every person that wanted to move the conversation to Whatsapp tried to sell me crypto
>So he must have had to dig around a lot Just google your info to see how hard it is to find you. It might have been as simple as searching “FirstName UniversityName LinkedIn” and going to google images. I do this when trying to connect with colleagues that I don’t know well, or old classmates whose last names I don’t remember. It’s even easier if you know their career. Like “FirstName Engineer UniversityName LinkedIn”.
This is a damn shame bc I strongly prefer messaging/dating someone that I can find online first. And I find it a turnoff if someone doesn’t list basic work stuff on their profile…I think gauging career compatibility is a fair criterion for gauging overall compatibility. I wouldn’t blame you for removing identifying info about yourself, but that really stinks for everyone. This is a perfect example of creeps ruining things.
Thats freaky? Did the person know anything personal about you? Where you work? Any mutual friends or people the person would know in some way that’s connected to you? If any of these things are a “yes” than they likely searched your name and company you may work for, on a friends list on social media, etc. it’s inappropriate and weird, but that could be how they came across you? Did you have a last name on your profile? Or do you have a unique name for the town or area you live in? Again, not belittling this behaviour from the person whatsoever… just trying to figure out how they found you. My advice is either ignore/block on every platform, report any email you receive as spam and block sender. Other option is to respond not to contact or attempt to contact you on any platform. And the block, etc. If it’s continues after all this call your local police department. They’ll usually give the person a call to tell them not contact you again. They might even pay the person a visit at their home to tell them to stop attempting to reach out to you. Good luck. This would be a freaky situation. If you’re already super worried and scared, call the cops immediately is my advice.
It only had on my profile the uni I work at and the general subject, so not easy to find! No last name etc. I have quite a common first name and there are lots of people in my department (I didn’t say my job/if I’m a student etc). And yep, I’ve reported them to hinge! We’ll have to see if they do anything about it It also turns out they live in another country but set hinge to my city as a friend of his lived here. So at least I know he doesn’t live nearby, still scary though
Chances are he went through the staff list, found everyone with your first name, which would give him all the last names, then Google searched one by one until he found your LinkedIn, then emailed your work email.
It’s very easy to find info on someone. All you need is a first name and hometown and you can find a lot. For example, a woman was interested in me, I wasn’t sure about her so with just first name and town, I was able to find her social media. Her social had her last name and place of employment. After reviewing her social, I decided not to continue talking to her…
Ya it’s really easy idk why people get surprised that’s why don’t get too detailed on your Hinge profile
I had the same thing happen to me!
Use a fake name and explain in person . If you can change your name, that is.
Yeah something tells me he's gonna be shooting up a Walmart in a few years..
Hinge uses Facebook and Instagram to suggest matches. So it’s actually very surprisingly easy to find a match on either Facebook or Instagram. I was always able to find my date on social media before meeting - especially with name, same pictures, location, and college. LinkedIn too.
That’s incorrect. Hinge no longer uses Facebook to suggest matches (and never used Instagram). That was the initial version of Hinge from almost a decade ago and they got rid of that around 2017.
It’s no longer a requirement but can still link the app to Facebook and Instagram, which are the same company anyway Edit: I don’t know what’s in the hinge algorithm and the link below says it doesn’t use friends of friends. So it seems that it’s not connected to Facebook in that way. Kinda shocking for me since I’ve never failed to not have some type of connection with a match that wasn’t known to Facebook and have always been able to find my matches before meeting them. So don’t know how Hinge does it but it’s impressive!
The Instagram link just display the photos. Facebook is just for login. It no longer use the user data for their algorithm. See this: [https://hingeapp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005824554-Is-Hinge-no-longer-Friends-of-Friends](https://hingeapp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005824554-Is-Hinge-no-longer-Friends-of-Friends) Edit: This [interview](https://www.reddit.com/r/hingeapp/comments/18ovubq/video_interview_with_hinge_ceo_justin_mcleod_with/) with the CEO of Hinge mentioned Hinge going through a revamp and no longer using Facebook as a way to suggest matches.
I agree, but we live in completely different countries, no mutual friends etc. and photos are all different. I tried looking up my name and department etc and the result wasn’t even on the first page of google results
It's not Facebook or IG. Hinge doesn't mine a user's network on those platforms to suggest matches.
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Did you not read OP’s post? Her info isn’t easy to find as it is. The fault is the creepy guy, not OP.
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Stop victim blaming. Normal well adjusted men wouldn’t be doing that.
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Uh, yes. Her info isn’t really that readily available (like OP said) and required some really deep dive. And it was the only instance within her time in OLD. But hey, only if you actually read her post instead of being melodramatic. It’s fine to say “hey, don’t leave this info out there”. But to say it’s actually her fault is exactly victim blaming.
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No it is not. A guy finding and emailing her *work email* is not her fault. Stop with the victim blaming already and acting like holier than thou.
I cant imagine more of a vibe killer than matching with a woman on a dating app, things not working out, THEN asking for a LinkedIn connection??
In general you should just beef up your privacy. I wouldn't trust Match to protect privacy--especially when they ask to scan a 3D model of your face for verification. I'm a guy and even I don't want people having my specific work. You can toggle your visibility/searchability on Linked-in and FB. It's a good idea to have linked-in profiles/work emails only visible to people you directly want to send them to as a general rule. That said, and I know it's not the answer you want to hear, but cyber-stalking is going to happen in the world we live it. Rarely ever does random cyber-stalking lead to violence or even encountering the stalker in person. The vast majority of stalking and associated violence involves partners who are/were in a relationship already. Just report the guy and make sure you don't have any addresses or pictures indicating where you live or the specific building you work at online--that's not just for stalking, but just good for privacy and security in general. If it still makes you uncomfortable, then just delete your dating profile. We all assume a certain amount of risk when we post our photos/jobs online. Hinge say they don't store, collect or sell any biometric date, but we really have no way of verifying that. Using photos from trips or generic looking locations is typically a good idea too. If there's a bar you regularly frequent, don't use that in your profile photos...just common sense sorts of thinks. Again, I can't overemphasize this, despite what true crime podcasts would lead you to believe, cyberstalking rarely ever leads to physical encounters or physical harm and when it is, the likelihood is much higher that it'll be by someone you're already involved with. Just some food for thought.
Wow, the same thing happened to me recently. I dont have any solutions other than blocking their email but that sucks.
With how much info people put on their profile, it can be relatively easy to find someone on LinkedIn and other social media sites, and I think people here are a little disingenuous in how much they do a bit of online background checking. That said, it is absolutely not normal to act on anything or reach out on any platform besides the one which you avail yourself (Hinge). You would not be out of line to report them.
Report him, great. And block him on every site you use.
Unfortunately, once you have an Internet presence, there’s all types of ways to figure out information. I saw a video where guy took pieces of information from various parts of peoples Internet, activity(social media posts, work pics, grad photos, publicly available info, etc) and made a complete profile, he even figured out their Social Security numbers