Forbes ranks tops dating sites for matching you with your love. Here's a few tips and tricks

In todays digital age, finding love often begins with a swipe or a click. Gone are the days when people relied on chance encounters or mutual friends to meet potential partners.

Today, technology has revolutionized the way people connect, making online dating a norm rather than an exception. Adults of all ages are turning to their smartphones in search of their future partner.

Apps like Tinder , Bumble , and Hinge have transformed the dating scene, offering a huge selection of potential matches. These apps use matchmaking algorithms to pair people based on shared interests, values, and preferences.

Forbes recently weighed in on the best sites for singles looking to mingle, while also providing some pros and cons to the new trend for dating.

Forbes top dating site picks

Forbes released its top online dating sites earlier this year. Here are the five:

• Best Additional Features: Plenty of Fish
• Most Well-Established: Match
• Most Comprehensive Matching Algorithm: OkCupid
• Best Free Features: eharmony
• Best for Behavior Matching: Zoosk

Pros and cons of online dating

Users can connect with people beyond immediate social circles and establish relationships based on mutual interests.

However, the digital dating world isn't without challenges. Safety is a huge concern with these apps.

Dishonest profiles can be as simple as lying about height or as fake and dangerous as lying about who someone is.

How to date online safely?

There's really no telling how far a fake profile can go. The person behind a screen could be anyone, here are some tips for safe online dating from rainn.org .

• Avoid using photos from social media for your dating profile.
• Avoid sharing live or motion photos
• Avoid connecting with suspicious profiles.
• Check out your potential date on social media.
• Block and report suspicious users.

Here are some things that should be "red flags" about accounts:

• Asks for financial assistance
• Claims to be from the United States but is currently living, working, or traveling abroad
• Claims to be recently widowed with children
• Disappears suddenly from the site then reappears under a different name
• Gives vague answers to specific questions
• Overly complimentary and romantic too early in your communication
• Pressures you to provide your phone number or talk outside the dating app or site
• Requests your home or work address under the guise of sending flowers or gifts
• Tells inconsistent or grandiose stories
• Uses disjointed language and grammar, but has a high level of education

Adapting to the new norm

As online dating continues to grow, it's essential for users to adapt and approach it with a balanced perspective. Being clear about one's intentions is vital to starting a potential relationship.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Forbes ranks tops dating sites for matching you with your love. Here's a few tips and tricks