Safety tips

Before you meet

• Get to know them in the app first. Keep the conversation on CoffeeChat until you are comfortable. If someone pushes to move to another app right away, that is a reason to slow down.
• Look for the verified check. It means they did a live face scan in the app and it matched their profile photo. It is a good sign, not a guarantee.
• Keep private things private. Never send money, and don’t share passwords, bank details, your Social Security number or your home address.

When you meet

• Meet in a busy public place. A coffee chat in person is always set at a coffee shop in the app. Don’t meet at someone’s home or dorm room the first time.
• Tell a friend. Share who you are meeting, where and when, and check in afterwards.
• Arrange your own ride. Get yourself there and back so you can leave whenever you want.
• Trust your gut. If anything feels off, leave. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.

On a video coffee

• Keep personal details to yourself. Your address, money, passwords: nothing you wouldn’t put on your profile.
• Stay on the call you planned. Join from the link in the app, and don’t move to another app or a call you’re not comfortable with.
• Leave any time. Then block or report them from your conversation if something was off.

We show a short version of these lists every time a coffee chat is confirmed. We don’t run background checks and can’t guarantee who anyone is, so these steps matter.

Verified profiles

Anyone can get verified from their profile. You do a quick face scan with your camera: look straight ahead, then turn your head left and right, which shows there is a live person there and not a picture. The app compares your face with your profile photo, and if they match, a check mark appears next to your name on your card, in chats and in likes. It takes a few seconds.

The scan is used for that one comparison and then discarded: we don’t keep it or the face measurements. If the comparison is too close to call, a person on our team compares one picture from the scan with your photo, and it is deleted once they decide. Change your profile photo to a different person and the check comes off. The Privacy Policy has the full detail.

A check tells you the photo is the person who did the scan. It does not tell you their name, their school or their intentions are what they say, and no scan like this is impossible to fool, so keep using the tips on this page.

Block or report someone

In a conversation, tap the three dots at the top, then Block or Report.

Blocking is instant: you disappear from each other’s decks, chats and coffee chats. A person on our team reviews every report, and we remove content, suspend or ban accounts that break our community guidelines. You can also email us at coffeechat.dev.team@gmail.com.

In an emergency

If you are in danger or someone needs urgent help, call 911 first. Tell us afterwards so we can act on the account.