Yes, you have to be very careful these days; there is so much going on so one has to error on the side of caution and be safe; probably would be a good idea to keep friends and or family updated as oppose to just going off to meet a stranger!
I would probably have a friend join me, maybe sit at another table and absolutely in a public place. Not to sound like a cynic but when you get his information do a internet check. it will cost you some money but isn't your life worth it?
Paying for the online searches is not smart and a waste of money. If you read the disclaimer it tells you that they do not guarantee the info is correct. And unless you have a copy of his DL you do not know you have the right info. And what are you going to do - write down his birthday and address and other info? I wouldn't remember much past his name by the time I got home. You can do the sex offender search for free. But all of them are not listed even if they are registered. I know a guy that is registered but he doesn't show up in a search.
And if somebody started asking me for that much info on a first meeting I would most likely either tell them it was none of their business or lie to them. I would wonder what their angle was. Why do you need to know my life history. If you don't trust them you should not go out with them.
You can even talk for months and go out and then end up dead. There was a girl a few months ago who met what she thought was a guy on Tinder and I think she had even went out a couple times. This date she was met by he and his girlfriend and they killed her. Don't remember any other details. It was somewhere in the northern states.
Some like the online dating and it works well for them. I know a girl who went on vacation and met a guy at an attraction she visited. Got his phone number and hounded him until he agreed to marry her. This was 2 weeks after they started talking and had only met the one time in person.
Idk. Guess I just would not want to be dating anybody in today's world. You have no idea who you are actually dating. Or what they are hiding from their past. :-(