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Safety Centre
Friends Nearby is designed to help people build genuine friendships. This page explains
how to stay safe, protect your privacy, report concerns and make sensible choices when
talking to or meeting new people.
Emergency advice:
Friends Nearby is not an emergency service. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call
999 in the UK. If you are worried about a child or vulnerable person being at risk,
contact the appropriate emergency service or local safeguarding service.
Core safety principles
Use these simple principles whenever you talk to someone new online.
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Take your time
Do not rush into sharing personal details, meeting up, or moving conversations away from the site.
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Protect your location
A town or general area is enough. Avoid sharing your full address, workplace details or regular routine too early.
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Keep conversations respectful
Friendship should feel comfortable. You do not need to continue speaking to anyone who makes you feel uneasy.
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Trust warning signs
If something feels wrong, pressured, manipulative or too good to be true, slow down and report it.
Meeting someone safely
Meeting a new friend can be positive, but early meetups should be simple, public and low-pressure.
- Meet in a public place such as a café, park, shopping area or community space.
- Tell someone you trust where you are going, who you are meeting and when you expect to be back.
- Arrange your own travel so you can leave whenever you need to.
- Keep the first meetup short and relaxed.
- Do not go to someone’s home or invite them to yours for an early meetup.
- Avoid sharing financial information, passwords, private documents or sensitive personal details.
- Leave immediately if you feel unsafe, pressured or uncomfortable.
Privacy and account protection
Your privacy matters. Keep control of what you share and who you share it with.
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Use a strong password
Use a password you do not use elsewhere. Change it if you think someone else may know it.
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Keep email private
Do not post your email address, phone number or other personal contact details publicly.
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Think before uploading
Only upload profile pictures and posts you are comfortable other members seeing.
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Use your settings
Review your privacy settings regularly and adjust who can message you or see your profile.
Scams and warning signs
Most people are genuine, but it is still important to recognise behaviours that may be unsafe.
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Money requests
Be cautious if someone asks for money, gift cards, loans, travel costs, emergency help or bank details.
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Suspicious links
Do not click links that look unusual or pressure you to log in somewhere else.
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Identity concerns
Be careful if someone refuses basic questions, uses inconsistent details or seems to be pretending to be someone else.
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Pressure tactics
Report anyone who pressures, threatens, guilt-trips or manipulates you into doing something you do not want to do.
How reports are handled
Reports help keep the community safer and give the site owner a record of concerns.
1. Submit
Send a report with as much useful detail as possible.
2. Review
The report can be reviewed alongside account, message or post details.
3. Action
Appropriate action may include warnings, content removal or account restrictions.
Report a safety concern
Use this form to report a profile, message, post, group or behaviour that feels unsafe.
You need to be logged in to submit a safety report. This helps link the report to a real account and makes it easier to review.
Extra guidance for younger users
Friends Nearby allows users aged 13 and above, so safety for younger members is especially important.
- Do not share your school, exact address, daily routine or private contact details.
- Speak to a trusted adult if someone online makes you feel uncomfortable.
- Never meet someone from the internet without trusted adult involvement and proper safety planning.
- Report any adult who asks for secrecy, private photos, money, personal details or contact away from the site.