BY ELISABETTA MORO

Looking someone up online has become second nature, especially if it’s a first date. But how much sleuthing is too much? My answer in this Cosmo interview: #1DateEtiquette #OnlineSleuthing #firstdates #DatingAdvice

“You shouldn’t be ashamed if you’ve Googled the name of the person you’re dating, because it’s a fairly common practice. And it becomes even more frequent when you start to like someone after the first date. You want to verify their identity.”

A matter of safety

But where is the limit? Looking up someone you meet online has become an important tool for both safety and verification. According to Norton’s Cyber Safety Insight Report, one in four users has been the victim of a romance scam. In 2025, searches for “Tinder scams” increased by 27%, while 53% of Tinder users said they could not distinguish a real photo from one generated by AI. With scams rising and AI making fake profiles increasingly difficult to detect, dating apps create an information imbalance: the person behind the profile controls what you see, while you have limited ways to verify it. Online research helps restore some of that control, reducing the risk of scams, misrepresentation, and wasted time.

A matter of control

Looking people up online is also about control. Just as we check restaurant menus, reviews, and vacation destinations before making a choice, we increasingly research people before meeting them. While this helps us feel prepared, it can also eliminate the unpredictability, surprise, and sense of wonder that once came with meeting someone new.

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