A Provider's Guide to Skip The Games: Advertise Well, Screen Hard, Stay Safe

Most guides on sites like ours are written for clients. This one isn't. It's for the independent adults on the other side of the listing, built from what experienced providers have told us works, and what they wish someone had told them on day one.

Your Listing Is Your First Screening Tool

The best providers I know treat their ad as a filter, not a billboard. A vague ad gets vague replies. A clear ad, with a clear tone, clear boundaries and clear instructions for how to contact you, does half your screening before anybody sends a message. The guys who can't follow "text first, include your name and preferred time" are telling you exactly how they'll behave in person.

What a strong listing usually includes

Recent, honest photos. Clients who arrive expecting the person in the pictures are calmer, kinder, and more likely to rebook.
Your contact rules. Text only, call only, hours you respond, what to include in the first message.
Your screening requirement, stated plainly. It signals professionalism and scares off the people you don't want anyway.
A voice that sounds like you. One or two personal lines attract clients who like you specifically, which tends to mean better clients.
Clear limits. Things you don't do, stated without apology. You don't owe anyone a reason.

Screening: Hard Enough to Protect You, Smooth Enough to Book

Every experienced provider screens. The method differs, but the purpose is always the same: confirm the person is who they say they are before you're alone with them. Common approaches include asking for a first and last name with a workplace or LinkedIn profile you can check, references from other providers they've seen, or a short phone call so you can hear how they speak.

The trick is making screening feel routine rather than suspicious. Put it in your ad so nobody is surprised. Have a short, friendly template you send to everyone, so it never feels personal. Something like: "Thanks for reaching out. I screen everyone for safety. Please send your name, a work profile or two provider references, and the time you'd like. I'll confirm within a few hours." Good clients understand. The ones who argue about screening are the ones you most needed to screen out.

Keep Your Working Life and Real Life Apart

I'll be blunt: the biggest long-term risk for most independent providers isn't one bad booking, it's someone connecting your working name to your real one. The protections are boring and they work.

A separate phone number for work, never your personal one.
Location data turned off in your camera before every photo shoot.
No photos taken in your home with recognisable windows, art or views.
A working name that doesn't appear on any of your real social accounts.
Reverse image search your own photos regularly to see where they're showing up.

Our privacy guide goes deeper on phones, messaging apps and devices, and almost all of it applies double to you.

Safety on the Day

Every provider I respect has some version of a safety call. A friend, a fellow provider or a paid driver knows where you are, who you're seeing and when you'll check in. If the check-in doesn't come, they call. If you don't answer, they have the details. It takes thirty seconds and it is the most important habit in this guide.

Beyond that, trust the small signals. The client who changes the address at the last minute. The one who pushes back on your screening, or tries to renegotiate before you've arrived. The one who wants to talk about things your ad explicitly says you don't do. You don't need proof to cancel. "I'm no longer available, take care" is a complete message.

Use the Community

Providers who last in this work almost always have other providers they talk to. Shared blacklists of dangerous or abusive clients, recommendations for drivers and photographers, warnings about new scams. You don't have to go it alone, and you shouldn't. If you're new and don't know anyone yet, local and online provider-led support organisations are a good place to start, and many offer free safety resources.

Support for Skip The Games Providers: Organisations Worth Knowing

I'd always point a new provider to groups run by sex workers before anything else. They know the work, they don't judge, and they're often the first to hear about a dangerous client or a new scam going around. A few established Canadian examples:

Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network), Toronto. Founded in 2014 and led by sex workers, Butterfly supports Asian and migrant sex workers and massage parlour workers in several cities. It does outreach and offers health, social service and legal information.
PACE Society, Vancouver. A sex worker-led organisation that keeps a public resource list covering health, housing, legal and safety topics that affect sex workers.
Stella, l'amie de Maimie, Montréal. Founded and run by and for sex workers, Stella focuses on helping people live and work in safety and with dignity.
The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform. A national coalition whose member groups range from Halifax to Sudbury to Vancouver. Its member list is a good way to find a group near you.

Outside Canada, look for sex worker-led groups in your own city or state. They're the people most likely to know the local bad-client warnings and which legal clinics will actually return your call.

Why We Verify Providers

We ask every provider to verify before going live on Skip The Games. Some people see that as a hurdle. The providers who've been around longest tend to see it the other way: it keeps stolen-photo scam listings from flooding the city you work in and dragging down trust for everyone. A cleaner marketplace means clients arrive less suspicious and more respectful. You can read how the process works on our about page.

Know Where You Stand Legally

Laws differ enormously from place to place, and they change. What's legal in one country or state can be a serious offence in the next. Our law overview covers the US basics and we've written a separate piece on Canada. Neither is legal advice. If you're unsure about your situation, a local sex-worker-friendly legal clinic is worth a call.

One recent development matters for anyone working in Canada. On July 24, 2025, in R. v. Kloubakov, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the material benefit and procuring offences. In doing so, the Court explained that the material benefit offence still allows sex workers to hire drivers, security staff and others to help keep them safe, and that the procuring offence doesn't cover people who rent space to sex workers or give them advice on staying safe. Those are exactly the safety habits this guide recommends, so it's worth knowing the Court addressed them directly.

If You're Not Here by Choice

If anyone is controlling your work, holding your ID, taking your money or threatening you or your family, that isn't work, it's exploitation, and help exists. In the US, the National Human Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-373-7888 (text 233733). In Canada, call 1-833-900-1010. Both are confidential and available around the clock. Our red flags guide explains more.

If you're not sure your situation counts, you're not alone. Polaris, the anti-trafficking nonprofit, points out that people come to see themselves as victims gradually, "along a continuum," and that fear, isolation, guilt, shame and misplaced loyalty can keep someone from asking for help. You don't need a label to call. The Canadian hotline says on its own site that it is not the government or law enforcement, and that what you share is confidential.

Mistakes New Providers Make Most Often

When I ask experienced providers what they'd tell their younger selves, the same answers come up again and again.

Relaxing screening for a "nice" client. The polite, charming message is not a substitute for verification. Screen everyone the same way, every time.
Pricing too low to get started. Underpricing attracts the clients most likely to haggle, push limits and cancel. Price with your market, not under it.
Answering at all hours. Set response hours and stick to them. Burnout is a safety risk too; tired people miss red flags.
Reusing personal photos. A picture that's also on your private Instagram is a direct line from your work to your real identity.
Going it alone. Without a safety contact or a peer network, every booking is a gamble. That's the one habit nobody should skip.

Provider FAQ

Do I have to screen every client?

Nobody can make you, but nearly every experienced provider does, every time. Screening the same way for everyone is what makes it feel routine instead of personal, and it's your best protection.

Is it safe to use my real photos?

Use photos that are really you, so clients aren't misled, but take them just for work. Strip location data, avoid anything recognisable in the background, and never reuse pictures from your personal accounts.

Can I work with a driver or someone who checks in on me?

Safety contacts are a core habit. Whether paying a driver or security is legal depends on where you are. In Canada, the Supreme Court said in 2025 that hiring people to help keep you safe is not what the material benefit offence targets. Laws elsewhere differ, so check locally.

Why does Skip The Games ask providers to verify?

To keep stolen-photo and scam listings off the site. That protects your reputation in your city and means clients arrive expecting a real person, which usually means they behave better.

The core of it

Write a clear ad, screen everyone the same way, keep your identities separate, always have a safety contact, and lean on other providers. The people who do those five things consistently are the ones still doing this safely years later.