This is a sponsored post in partnership with BraVoMark and SafetyPin Technologies.
We rely on the internet for a lot these days. My father is in his 70’s and has never owned a computer or a smartphone. Our area has this one lake with houses all around it, which does a yearly yard sale weekend. Many homes around the lake have a yard sale on the same day, and people from the community who want to go to yard sales can just park and walk around to lots of sales in a single day. My dad and I have gone together to this yard sale event for several years. This year I told him the date and time, and he asked how I knew that because he couldnt’ find the information in our local papers. I told him I found the info online and he said “Is there anything you CAN’T find out online?” I laughed and said “no”.
Many of us use the internet to find babysitters, housekeeping services, dog walking, renters for that spare room, even dates! When you’re looking at a site like Rover.com and you see an adorable photo of a woman with a dog, your first thought probably isn’t to worry about how safe vs dangerous that person may be. We have to remember that looks can be deceiving. If you’d like a way to make sure the people you connect with online are safe to meet offline, SafetyPIN has a solution for you!
In a nutshell, SafetyPin is a “trust badge” for the internet age. It uses a 4-pronged process to to screen criminal, financial and personal history, and combines them with a behavioral profile. The behavioral questionaire is developed with criminal profilers and a clinical psychologist, with the goal of weeding out people who may pose a danger, even if they do not have a criminal history. If you meet the criteria, you will be awarded a unique SafetyPIN that you can share with others on sites like Care.com, Rover.com Airbnb, dating sites and more.
SafetyPIN has access to over 10,000 data sources and their expert advisors have over 60 years’ experience in criminal profiling. The process to sign up takes about 5 minutes, and in most cases, you’ll know if you were approved within 24 hours. Then you can share your SafetyPIN on the websites of your choosing. Your personal data will be encrypted for your security. Your private information is never shared with other parties, they can simply see that you have an active SafetyPIN.
When you are looking to hire someone or meet someone online and you want to know if they are safe, you can ask them to create a SafetyPIN account so you can exchange your SafetyPINs, so both people have peace of mind upon meeting. Or you can even pay for a SafetyPin application on behalf of someone you are considering hiring, using a voucher!
Applying for SafetyPIN costs $1, and you get the first six months for just $6. After that, the fee is just $5 a month.
SafetyPIN holders are regularly rescreened and their PINS revoked if they no longer meet the criteria.
Right now, SafetyPIN is only available in the US.
Do you hire or otherwise meet people from online? How do you keep yourself and your family safe?
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
This post currently has 3 responses.
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Lauryn R
This definitely sounds like a great service to use! I am definitely guilty of pretty much buying everything online, so this is something I need to look into. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Peggy Nunn
This is a great idea. I hope it catches on with others. I would feel better using someone with a Safetypin.
I can see where this would be very helpful for sites that offer services. Interesting concept.