Fitness Buddy Safety Tips
Looking for someone to share your favourite sports and fitness activity? With Fitness Buddy, you can now chat and meet up with other sports and fitness enthusiasts in your part of London.
For your own safety and security, read the following safety tips before you register. These tips are not intended to cover every conceivable situation, but they do serve as a useful set of general guidelines to make your Fitness Buddy membership a safe and enjoyable experience. Use your common sense and trust your instincts.
Registering your Details and Creating your Profile
When you register for Fitness Buddy, we don't ask for your date of birth or your address. Make sure you don't reveal these sensitive pieces of your personal information to other Fitness Buddy members either. And make sure you don't use your surname in any part of your Fitness Buddy username.
When you create your profile, be careful what you write. All other Fitness Buddy members will be able to see what you've written. Don't put your mobile number, home phone number, or your email address. Fitness Buddy enables you to contact other members via the Fitness4London.com website, so there is no need to reveal your email address to any other member. If another member asks for your email address, tell them that you prefer to message them via the Fitness4London.com website.
Contacting other Fitness Buddy Members
Don't tell other members any of your personal details outlined above. Once you've chatted online to another member and agreed to meet up, if you feel comfortable telling them your mobile number, that's fine. It could be useful if you or your new buddy are running late, or either of you have to cancel at the last minute. But don't reveal your home landline number until you've got to know and trust them well first.
Take your mobile phone with you and make sure the battery is fully charged, and topped up with credits if you have pay-as-you-go.
Always trust your instincts and common sense when you're chatting to other members both online and face-to-face. If you suspect they have ulterior motives for meeting you, or you suspect they are being dishonest about anything or behaving inappropriately, stop communication with them and don't meet up with them/make your excuses and leave. Have an excuse for cutting a meeting short, prepared in advance.
Meeting other Fitness Buddy Members
We have deliberately excluded activities like walking or running and cycling from the range of Fitness Buddy options, as these activities can easily take you into an unfamiliar and changing environment (as opposed to a fixed location like a gym or tennis court). The risk of a stranger exploiting a situation like running or cycling is too great for it to be safely included in the Fitness Buddy options. Never forget, someone you meet for the first time through Fitness Buddy is a stranger.
Always meet in a public place that has plenty of people around, ideally at the location of your chosen activity. Make sure you tell a trusted friend that you're meeting a Fitness Buddy through the Fitness4London.com site, the4 exact address of where you're going, what time you'll finish, and arrange to ring them at an agreed time to confirm all went well. It's best to meet at a place you know, and if you've not been to the agreed meeting place before, arrive early to make sure it's a properly supervised and legitimate fitness/sports venue with plenty of people around.
Never arrange to be picked up from your home or place of work, or to be given a lift back to your home or place of work. Better still, don't offer or accept any lift at all. Plan your own travel arrangements in advance.
Good luck and enjoy your Fitness Buddy activities! If you have any concerns or suggestions on how to make Fitness Buddy an even safer experience, please message me though the Fitness4London.com ‘contact me' page.