When Brittany Lauren moved to a new area, she decided to give dating apps a go in a bid to meet a man.
But it didn't take long for her to encounter one that persuaded her to stay away from online dating for good - and many other women have come forward with similar stories after she shared her experience online.
Having matched with a man called Rob on Hinge, her potential suitor opened the chat with a backhanded compliment, which Brittany says she has experienced 'pretty often'.
The savvy singleton told Bored Panda she knew 'right away what he was attempting to do' and decided to give him a large dose of his own medicine.
Rob added a note to one of Brittany's profile photos to say: "Damn you are stunning but I'm afraid you'd spend more time drinking/parting/on Insta than in a relationship lol."
It's a tactic Brittany identified as 'negging' - a backhanded compliment used to undermine a person's confidence and make them feel as though they need to earn approval.
Rather than rise to Rob's efforts, she simply agreed, leading him to adding: "Lol who says you can't judge someone based off a couple pics haha."
He was then made to quickly regret his 'cheeky chappy' line as it was then Brittany's turn at piecing together a snap judgement.
"I'm pegging you as someone who is extremely insecure," she replied.
"In relationships you probably have extreme jealousy issues and are controlling. The girls you date probably aren't allowed to go out and have fun because 'girls night' are just excuses for them to cheat on you.
"You've been burned by someone in the past and now use that as a reason to attempt to gaslight every potential partner that you might have - because women are all evil and terrible and you're just a 'nice guy'.
"Also, your profile says 5'9" but I'm willing to bet money that you're 5'7" in heels.
"How'd I do, Rob?"
We'd call that game, set and match.
Brittany has since deleted all of her dating apps and reverted to her 'old school tactic of waiting for a man to approach me in the produce section of Whole Foods'.
After posting the exchange on Facebook, she said she's had a lot of messages from other women sharing their stories of a 'Rob' they have in their own lives.
Others loved her reply, with one writing: "C'mon Rob! How'd she do? Rob? ROB?? Oh dear god... Oh he definitely dead."
Another said: "So you can''t drink, party or be on Insta AND be in a relationship with Rob at the same time?"
