There are a lot of valid reasons for looking for a hookup and you certainly don’t need to justify your quest for a fling to us.

If you want to protect your privacy or at least keep a low profile while you swipe through sexy singles in your area, there are a few different approaches you can take, some general guidance that works across all apps and sites, and some more targeted advice depending on the service you’re using.

General tips for browsing hookup apps discreetly

The following tips work well across all hookup sites. Think of them as general guidelines for limiting your exposure:

• Sign up using an alternative email address. Not only does this spare you in the event of a data breach (and trust us: they’re more common than you would think), but it also means that no one who catches a glance at your inbox will ever find out which hookup sites you frequent.

• Anonymize your photos as far as possible. You don’t have to blur your face, but neither should you be taking photos of yourself that could show someone what neighborhood you live in or where you work. Additionally, ensure you leave out any identifying marks, such as unique tattoos, from any of your profile photos.  

• Don’t link your social media in your profile. Too many people share their Instagram pages or TikTok handles in their profiles, but doing so dramatically increases your exposure, since every image and story you post there could inadvertently contain identifying information about you, from who your friends are to where you hang out.  

• Take advantage of gift cards or prepaid credit cards. If you opt to purchase a premium membership to a hookup app or site, the paper trail linking your bank account or credit card to the service is a definite liability. To maximize your anonymity, use a prepaid card or purchase a gift card rather than using your main credit or debit card to register your membership. 

App-specific tips to retain your anonymity

Feeld

For the privacy-conscious dater, Feeld’s Incognito mode is a game-changer: you can scout the Discover feed without leaving a digital footprint, remaining invisible to anyone you haven’t explicitly “liked.” The app also supports private photo vaults that only unlock for confirmed connections.

Tinder

Tinder offers a few unique features that can help you lower your profile, even as you swipe away. First, consider turning off Discovery mode when you’re trying to keep a low profile. This will make it impossible for new people to find your profile in search without preventing you from speaking to the people you’ve already matched with.

If you really want to take things up a notch and you already have a Tinder Plus, Gold or Platinum membership, you can use Passport Mode to browse singles in a nearby city, or a place you’re travelling to for work or on a vacation. This is a great way to prevent your local friends and family from accidentally coming across your profile. 

You can also block phone numbers if you really don’t want certain individuals coming across your profile, like your boss or sibling.

Grindr

The first line of defence on Grindr is a relatively new feature called Profile Hide that works on one user at a time. Say, for example, you come across a co-worker on the app, and don’t want them to know you’re also using it. Simply click on their profile and find the Hide icon. If you tap this, your profile will become invisible to them and their profile will become invisible to you, like magic.

If you want to take things up a notch, you’ll need a Grindr Unlimited membership, which unlocks a really useful privacy feature called Incignito mode, which essentially allows you to use the service in total secrecy, without anyone knowing you’re there until you initiate an interaction. 

AdultFriendFinder

AdultFriendFinder is like the Wild West of hookup sites, a place where seemingly anything goes, but that carefree attitude can also be a privacy nightmare. We strongly recommend you limit the amount of identifiable information you put on your profile, including being very selective about which photos you choose to share.

One good way to strike a balance between total anonymity and a modicum of privacy is to take advantage of AFF’s many photo features, specifically their photo permissions options. You can make your main profile photo something reasonably discrete, such as a full-length picture of you wearing a hat or a photo shot from a distance or even a photo with your face blurred out, but then you can create a photo album of more identifiable, personal photos that you choose to share only with friends. 

That way, you become the final gatekeeper over your photos, allowing you to be selective about who you share them with.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated 1 hour ago

When Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted its third season, the main cast members had snazzy new uniforms. They looked great, but they came at a very high cost. Each of these new uniforms cost about $3,000 at the time, which is why only main cast members got the upgrade; background actors continued to wear the older style uniforms because Paramount didn’t want to shell out too much cash. In a wild twist, however, they almost had to pay an exorbitant sum of money to some thieves who stole $82,000 worth of uniforms and attempted to ransom them for KITT, the tricked-out car from Knight Rider!

This story comes to us from Dropping Names With Brent and Jonny, a podcast hosted by TNG alumni Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes. That podcast has become a goldmine of cool trivia because, as you might imagine, these Trek icons have quite a few crazy stories to tell. But none have been quite as crazy as Frakes’ recent tale of some very specialized thieves. According to the former Riker actor, these criminals infiltrated the Paramount lot and walked off with $82,000 worth of Star Trek uniforms.

The ’80s Coolest Car

Their heist was a success, but it left the thieves with something of a problem: who was going to buy the stuff? Sure, these uniforms were worth a lot of money, but only to Paramount, which would be using them for future Star Trek productions. The average fan wasn’t going to shell out thousands for these uniforms, and trying to sell them to just anyone would be a great way to get caught. Accordingly, the thieves decided to contact Paramount with their demands, but this is where things get weird. Instead of asking for cash, the thieves wanted KITT, the car from Knight Rider.

If you’re too young to remember, Knight Rider was an iconic ‘80s show featuring David Hasselhoff. While the future Baywatch star made for a compelling lead, audiences cared more about his ride. Hasselhoff’s character drove KITT, a Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am. It looked great, but this car was more than a design classic: it was also a sentient car that could talk and deploy any number of weapons and gadgets worthy of 007. It had some stiff competition from Michael Keaton’s Batmobile and Marty McFly’s DeLorean, but many fans consider this the coolest car of the ‘80s.

Game On, Thieves!

The thieves apparently agreed with this assessment, which is why they tried to use the uniforms as ransom. They wanted to give them back to Paramount in exchange for KITT, and they set up a time and place to make the exchange. However, TNG producer Merri D. Howard had already contacted the FBI about the matter. When the thieves met with him in the desert to make a swap, they didn’t get KITT. Instead, they got swarmed by federal agents who promptly arrested the criminals and returned the stolen uniforms to Paramount.

While this was seemingly the craziest incident of theft, Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner made it clear that security on the Paramount lot was really bad. Apparently, it was a regular occurrence for people to steal the captain’s chair that had been ergonomically designed for Patrick Stewart. Fortunately, Paramount managed to get back the $82,000 of stolen uniforms and arrest the culprits, and Frakes and Spiner were left with the story of a lifetime.

KITT, sadly, was unavailable for comment.

By Robert Scucci
| Published 24 seconds ago

Some of the best thrillers thrive on their ability to withhold key elements of a story to keep the mystery burning well into the third act. 2022’s I Came By takes a different approach, laying all of its cards on the table early in the first act so the viewer pretty much knows what’s going on right away, while the characters still need to catch up. The thrill comes from knowing what the protagonists don’t, and wanting to yell at your TV because nobody’s communicating clearly, making everything worse for themselves.

I Came By tells a simple abduction story, but complicates itself through these interactions. We almost immediately know who the bad guy is, and we know that our heroes suspect him of foul play. The problem is that the villain is so deeply connected that he can get away with his crimes, and he does. We just need to wait it out so he can finally get caught and locked up for good. That’s the real mystery here: will he get away with it?

From Graffiti Tagging To Body Bagging 

I Came By is unique in the sense that it keeps changing its protagonist. First, we follow Toby Nealey (George MacKay), a 23-year-old activist who operates anonymously through silent protests. He breaks into wealthy households and tags “I CAME BY” in huge block letters as a way to let the upper class know they’re being watched, and whatever bad behavior they engage in behind closed doors has been clocked. Toby works alone now that his best friend Jay (Percelle Ascott) finds out he’s going to be a father with his girlfriend, Naz (Varada Sethu).

When Toby decides to raid the house of former Judge Sir Hector Blake (Hugh Bonneville), he informs Jay, but Jay wants nothing to do with it. He has priors and needs to stay on the straight and narrow so he can be a present father. At home, Toby’s relationship with his mother Lizzie (Kelly Macdonald) is volatile. She knows he’s getting himself into trouble and doesn’t approve of his late-night activities, which eventually leads to her kicking him out.

Toby is dead set on violating Hector’s privacy because he’s convinced that somebody so outwardly progressive must have skeletons in his closet. He learns the hard way that he’s right when he finds a hidden room in Hector’s basement where an emaciated young man is locked up. Given how worse for wear the prisoner is, it’s safe to say he’s been there for a very long time while Hector goes about his life as if nothing’s wrong.

Toby contacts the authorities, who investigate the house, but Hector is one step ahead. When Toby shows up again to free the prisoner, he’s apprehended by Hector, and it goes about as well as you’d expect. Lizzie, distraught over her son going missing and knowing he was targeting Hector, contacts Jay to see if he knows anything. Jay, not wanting to get involved, remains tight lipped but leaves clues for her to follow, which proves without a doubt that Hector was likely the last person to see Toby.

Not A Mystery, But A Solid, Straight-Up Thriller

My favorite aspect of I Came By is that there is no real mystery. As a viewer, you get a clear sense of what’s happening behind closed doors at Hector’s place. While he’s out playing cricket with his high-society peers, he feels comfortable making appearances because he knows the prison hidden in his basement is concealed well enough. His status as a former judge means he’s deeply connected and believes he’s above the law, so he operates without fear of suspicion. Toby knows this, Lizzie figures it out and goes missing, and Jay wants nothing to do with it until he realizes he has no choice but to step back in and try to find his friend and Lizzie, hoping they’re still alive.

It’s not Hector’s evil behavior or Toby’s predicament that drives the tension in I Came By, but how poorly everybody communicates. The police know something’s going on thanks to Toby reaching out before he disappeared, but they have no proof. Lizzie knows Jay is holding back, but Jay is trying to lay low with Naz so he can start a new life. Nobody speaks plainly, and it complicates everything, all while unthinkable horrors are happening in a hidden basement room behind a shelving unit.

When you fire up I Came By on Netflix, don’t expect a whodunit. You’ll be made aware of what Hector is up to before things really get going. But you’ll still find yourself on the edge of your seat as everyone who knows the truth tries to expose him, and that’s where the film thrives.