Are there dating websites you can browse without joining or putting pictures up

[Homiehelp]

I’m a while out of a marriage now and have been vaguely toying with the idea of trying online dating. I met a friend today who I haven’t seen in a while, and she’s met someone online. She’s wildly happy and it’s lovely to see after the horrible divorce she went through.

So I’m thinking I might give it a go but I don’t want anyone to know! I don’t want to put any of my details up and I really really don’t want to put any pictures up! Partly because I don’t want anyone to recognise me but mainly because I’m spectacularly unphotogenic!

Obviously I realise if I want to engage I’ll have to do the profile/pic thing but can I at least look first and see if I want to go ahead?

You can join pretty much any dating site and have a profile saying "I'll fill this in later" with no pictures if you choose to. It's pointless, though: you'll not receive any messages (or will receive requests for sex which some men mass mail out to anyone with "female" in their stats, which will scare you off) so still won't really get any sense of whether you'll gel with it.

When I joined OLD I felt exactly the same I just had a browse no picture up very little details. All I got was messages mainly from married men looking to hook up. Eventually I filled in a proper profile and put up a picture and have met some great and some not so great guys. Many times I felt like giving up but perseverance paid off and I met an amazing guy and am very happy. What I would say is don't believe everything you hear and grow a thick skin but definitely give it a try.

You can browse on pof without signing up. Use the search option

Ah ok. Thanks for replies. Seems like doing it the anonymous way might be a waste of time then. Perhaps I’ll wait a bit longer ...

No. It's useful. Have a look on pof. It'll be an experience 😀

seriously the chances of anyone recognizing you are low. There are a ton of profiles out there.

You will have fewer messages if you have no picture but it is do-able. Some people have profiles that say "due to the sensitivity of my job, I'm not posting a picture but am happy to email one after we've chatted".

Another option is a sort of "disguised picture" - so headshot in sunglasses at an angle - so you aren't really recognizable unless someone is going to study it hard.

Also - what chatty said - people tend assume that a man without a photo was married so are super cautious. no reason to think that a man might be suspicious.

Internet dating is like going out for dinner on your own. To start with it's all really traumatic, you think it's only for losers and you are deeply traumatised by the whole thing. Once you've done it a few times, you get the hang of it and realise how all the things you feared are just not a problem.

Believe me it's more of a problem trying to find a person worthwhile of 10 mins of your time than it is worrying about whether someone may recognise you.

There seem to be decent guys on Guardian Soulmates (although none I’d like to meet in person). I’ve had some lovely messages and it doesn’t have the feel of a hook-up site. You can do a 3 day free trial and it gives you a good feel for who is out there. I’m 40 and divorced and there isn’t anyone has taken my fancy yet.

There are several services such as meetville.com/ where you can look up for the man that you like using such items as religion, ethnicity etc and start a dialogue without a fear of being stalked or something. Just don't be shy

I really wouldnt worry about putting stuff up. Its completely mainstream now, I even know people who arnt single or not looking who maintain a profile beause its almost the done thing.

does this sight cost money

If you're hesitant about joining a dating website or uploading pictures, you might want to explore options like DoULike, where browsing profiles doesn't necessarily require creating an account or sharing photos upfront. This approach allows you to get a feel for the platform and potential matches before fully committing, maintaining a level of privacy until you're comfortable taking the next step.

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