BanyanPracticing in person
Safety at Banyan
At Banyan, your safety comes first. Most conversations stay in the app, and that’s a fine way to learn. Some people choose to practice face to face — a café, a park, a library table. That can be the best hour of your week, and it deserves a little care. Here’s how we think about it.
Before you meet
Talk for a while first. A few real exchanges — text and voice notes — tell you a lot about who someone is.
Look for the verified badge. It means their photos match a live selfie taken in the app.
Keep the conversation in Banyan until you’ve met. Someone rushing you to another app or a phone number is a reason to slow down.
Tell them you’d like to keep it public and short. Anyone practicing in good faith will say yes without hesitation.
When you meet
Pick a busy public place — a café, library, campus or park — and stay there. Not a home, not a car, not somewhere you can’t easily leave.
Daytime is better. Keep the first meeting to about an hour.
Tell a friend where you’re going, who you’re meeting and when you expect to be done. Check in with them after.
Get there and back on your own. Don’t accept a ride and don’t share your live location.
Stay clear-headed. Coffee, tea, a walk — the point is the conversation.
If anything feels off, leave. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.
Keep private things private
Don’t share your home or work address, your schedule, or your financial details, even with someone you like.
Photos of your street, your front door or your kids don’t belong in a profile or a chat.
Your phone number is never shown in Banyan, and we’ll never ask for passwords, codes or payment.
Red flags
Asking for money, gift cards, crypto or codes — for any reason. This is a scam every time. Report it.
Pushing to meet somewhere private, or at night, right away.
A story that doesn’t add up: their level, their city, their photos, their name.
Suddenly sounding like a sales pitch, a job offer or an investment tip.
Not respecting a “no” — about meeting, about topics, about anything.
Report and block
Reporting is easy and private. From any chat or profile, choose Report, pick a reason, and add details if you like. The other person is never told.
Blocking removes someone from your Discover, Likes and Chats for good.
We may read a reported conversation to decide what to do. Fake photos, misstated language level, harassment and scams can all get an account removed.
If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number first — in the US, 911.