Giving out phone numbers
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Lozze
Posts: 1,917 Member
I'm still fairly new to the whole online dating thing but what are people's thoughts on when to give out mobile numbers?
If you Google my mobile number you get my full name, link to my Facebook and where I'm going to be Wednesday night, address included. (I'm heavily involved in my softball club) I'm a little bit wary of giving it out for this reason. Thoughts?
If you Google my mobile number you get my full name, link to my Facebook and where I'm going to be Wednesday night, address included. (I'm heavily involved in my softball club) I'm a little bit wary of giving it out for this reason. Thoughts?
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Replies
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I wouldnt dream of googling a phone number....lol....must check mine out!!
If you're worried you should get another SIM or use skype or something? But as I said in another thread, I would be swapping full names before i met someone anyhow.
Oh and close your facebook to the public if you dont want anyone finding you? :flowerforyou:0 -
I don't mind giving out my phone number. I mean the point of online dating is to get to know people on your own time. How is it any diffrently then meeting some guy in the club and giving him your number??
HOWEVER
sometimes you will get the freaks that call at odd hours or won't leave you alone SO if you have a smart phone you can download apps that basically give you another number. The calls still come in on your phone but they have to dial the other #. So I use that other number for giving out to random guys and if they get weird and won't leave me alone I just get another number :bigsmile:0 -
Sign up for google voice and get a free phone number that gets re-routed to phone for incomming calls. That way you don't need to give out your real number. I don't use all of the google voice features so when I make an outgoing call, I just use caller id blocking0
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When I was single, I didn't give my cell phone number out, but it was not for security reasons. It was to weed out guys who thought they were going to conduct whatever relationship we might have via text messaging. I gave my home phone number, and if a guy called, I would usually then give him my cell.
But the searchability issue is fairly easy to fix. Don't make your Facebook account so public that any Tom, ****, or Harry could locate your profile and view where you are at any given time. I dated a criminal investigator who did some security consulting for Facebook, and he told me some pretty unbelievable ways that stalkers have used Facebook to get into people's lives, into their homes, etc. It is senseless to have your personal information so easily accessible by total strangers. There is a reason customizable privacy settings exist. Use them.0 -
Sign up for google voice and get a free phone number that gets re-routed to phone for incomming calls. That way you don't need to give out your real number. I don't use all of the google voice features so when I make an outgoing call, I just use caller id blocking
I highly recommend google voice, I use it all the time for organizations that I don't want having my real number or anytime I need to post my number in a public location. I can't tell you how many "friendly reminders" from the blood bank it has helped me avoid listening to.0 -
Just did it and removed some references to mine a minute ago. Yeah, my number was available publicly...I wouldnt dream of googling a phone number....lol....must check mine out!!
Never got stalked or called mind you, so I probably don't give a crap.0 -
This! Except I'll make the occasional call from my laptop so they don't get suspecious. lolSign up for google voice and get a free phone number that gets re-routed to phone for incomming calls. That way you don't need to give out your real number. I don't use all of the google voice features so when I make an outgoing call, I just use caller id blocking
I just googled my cell phone number and you get to see my job title and where I work too. Eff my life!0 -
oh i just went through this issue this weekend.. i was at the bar at the casino so i could watch the UFC fight for free, and have a blue moon with the couple bartenders I've come to know. Just me, no friends. Two women walk up and start asking me about the fight, then i spent the next 20 minutes explaining mixed martial arts to them. They asked me why I was there all by myself...crap, i wasn't ready for a snappy come back. I should have said "I'm in between Mrs Rights". But honestly I just hate sitting at home by myself on a Fri or Sat night so I like to be surrounded by people even if i don't know them, until Mrs Right comes along again.
so i liked them both, one more than the other..one of them seemed into me, but they were with a group of mixed friends, but no wedding rings or romantic posturing. I wrote a note on a napkin with my name and number and prepared to give it to her (which one). well we all ended up down listening to the band and friendly talk again. but i just couldn't seem to get that number to the one I liked.
so its late, we all happen to decide to leave and end up on the elevator to the parking garage, different floors. i never found the nerve to get the number to her. i guess i was worried about being embarased or embarassing the woman. I also worried i might be giving it to the wrong woman, yet again embarassing someone, so that napkin is now in my wallet as a reminder. i just don't have the nerve for this stuff..i'll be braver next time ;-)
I don't worry about giving out my number. My real name can easily be googled from my phone number (its also a self employment #), and you can learn a good bit about me from the web. i have a unique name and some unique interests. I think its better a woman finds out i'm not a weirdo or ex convict if she wants to before calling. I would think the chances are they would call me back are better versus finding nothing out about a man.
I really respect why a woman doesn't give out their number..that's why I'd rather give mine and let them feel secure to contact me. I'll survive if they never call me, really I will.0 -
Sign up for google voice and get a free phone number that gets re-routed to phone for incomming calls. That way you don't need to give out your real number. I don't use all of the google voice features so when I make an outgoing call, I just use caller id blocking
I highly recommend google voice, I use it all the time for organizations that I don't want having my real number or anytime I need to post my number in a public location. I can't tell you how many "friendly reminders" from the blood bank it has helped me avoid listening to.
Do you know if there are any apps like this we canuse in Australia?0 -
I don't mind giving my number out (since it's plastered all over the internet from my Realtor days anyway) but I don't answer calls from numbers I'm not familiar with.
I've heard Google voice is great, though I haven't actually tried it because I do something similar through my RingCentral account to give me a fake local number wherever I am (I travel a lot).0 -
I always give out kik messanger id (works just like text) and they have an app for all smart phones. Then once your really comfortable with the person you can give out your number. Unfotunately if your looking to "talk" then kik doesn't work for that but you can always do like others suggested and use goole voice or the app voxer (that allows you to send voice kinda like a walkie talkie, but I haven't used it yet)0
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You can also buy a cheap prepaid phone and put minutes on it. But Google voice sounds better, never tried it before, going to go sign up!0
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I say especially online communicate via email for a few messages before you switch to the phone.
But I really like JQ's idea of the home phone!0 -
Googled my cell number, nothing showed up. Not that I expected it would. The only reason I have a land line is due to my monitored alarm. Only telemarketers call it. I have no problem giving out my cell. And hopefully never will "touch wood".0
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oh i just went through this issue this weekend.. i was at the bar at the casino so i could watch the UFC fight for free, and have a blue moon with the couple bartenders I've come to know. Just me, no friends. Two women walk up and start asking me about the fight, then i spent the next 20 minutes explaining mixed martial arts to them. They asked me why I was there all by myself...crap, i wasn't ready for a snappy come back. I should have said "I'm in between Mrs Rights". But honestly I just hate sitting at home by myself on a Fri or Sat night so I like to be surrounded by people even if i don't know them, until Mrs Right comes along again.
so i liked them both, one more than the other..one of them seemed into me, but they were with a group of mixed friends, but no wedding rings or romantic posturing. I wrote a note on a napkin with my name and number and prepared to give it to her (which one). well we all ended up down listening to the band and friendly talk again. but i just couldn't seem to get that number to the one I liked.
so its late, we all happen to decide to leave and end up on the elevator to the parking garage, different floors. i never found the nerve to get the number to her. i guess i was worried about being embarased or embarassing the woman. I also worried i might be giving it to the wrong woman, yet again embarassing someone, so that napkin is now in my wallet as a reminder. i just don't have the nerve for this stuff..i'll be braver next time ;-)
I don't worry about giving out my number. My real name can easily be googled from my phone number (its also a self employment #), and you can learn a good bit about me from the web. i have a unique name and some unique interests. I think its better a woman finds out i'm not a weirdo or ex convict if she wants to before calling. I would think the chances are they would call me back are better versus finding nothing out about a man.
I really respect why a woman doesn't give out their number..that's why I'd rather give mine and let them feel secure to contact me. I'll survive if they never call me, really I will.
this is cute. I have to say I kind of get turned off by a guy who gives me his number. I understand your intentions but with other guys I would just assume they are being lazy and expecting me to make the first move.0 -
I just googled my number and got a box score for a baseball game.0
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It is rare that I will give my phone number out. Mostly because it always evolves from an occasional chat to "YOU AREN'T WORKING OR SLEEPING WHY AREN'T WE ON THE PHONE?!". My attention jumps around a lot, so kik is awesome.0
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It is rare that I will give my phone number out. Mostly because it always evolves from an occasional chat to "YOU AREN'T WORKING OR SLEEPING WHY AREN'T WE ON THE PHONE?!". My attention jumps around a lot, so kik is awesome.
I think you are giving your number to the wrong girls. lol.I had a bf who was like this and it just became too much! I started to hate my phone. when I didn't answer he would call my friends or my family. talk about needy.0 -
I had some issues with stalkers. A couple of guys wouldn't accept that I didn't want to see them again after the initial coffee date and kept texting and calling so I got a Google Voice number. It's been great! You can text and call so it does everything. When a guy calls me, it rings my phone and announces them so I can choose to accept or reject the call. The texts come straight to my phone too. I also call from the account by opening the app and dialing from there so that number shows up on the caller ID. The best part is that if anyone gets annoying, I can cancel that number and simply sign up for a new one. Since I only use it for online dating, I don't have to worry about telling anyone when I change the number. It's perfect.0
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It is rare that I will give my phone number out. Mostly because it always evolves from an occasional chat to "YOU AREN'T WORKING OR SLEEPING WHY AREN'T WE ON THE PHONE?!". My attention jumps around a lot, so kik is awesome.
I think you are giving your number to the wrong girls. lol.I had a bf who was like this and it just became too much! I started to hate my phone. when I didn't answer he would call my friends or my family. talk about needy.
Maybe? Lol. It hasnt been many, and I dated two of them.0
