Social computing systems that support matching markets, like online dating and gig work platforms, provide numerous benefits to users. However, these systems also present safety-related risks. Prior research has considered individual aspects of safety in these systems (e.g. scams, physical violence) across specific user groups. However, there is a gap in understanding how platform affordances (or lack thereof), impact how users experience harm and the protective safety behaviors they engage in to try to mitigate harm.

In this dissertation I investigate how platforms influence safety in gig work and online dating, focusing on three characteristics shared by one or both of these platforms: a financial motive for the interaction, uneven power dynamics between interacting parties, and a non-trivial offline component of the interaction. I begin by studying how these characteristics impact safety in four types of gig work. Then, I broaden my work to systematize the harms and protective behaviors across online daters and gig workers, bringing together two seemingly disparate groups that actually share many safety-related vulnerabilities and protective strategies. My work suggests that in addition to causing and facilitating harm, matching market platforms also limit the protective safety behaviors users can engage in.