If your goal is an IRL meet-up, Hope recommends having three message exchanges before you ask them out, and be prepared for rejection. "I have to warn people that there's a probability this person [is dating] somebody, so you have to be upfront," she says. And even if you do meet up, they might not be exactly how you pictured them based on their social accounts, although that's a risk you take in any online dating scenario. And don't give away any more information than you would on your social profiles until you meet in person or feel comfortable enough with them, she adds.