A photo of your face, from this year, belongs on the profile. A stranger does not get a second set because they asked. "Send me a picture" in the first messages, or a request for something more explicit, is a request you can refuse. You do not owe it to be polite, and you do not owe it to prove you are real.
The useful picture is the one already on your profile. If they cannot see a face there, the next step is a video call, not a photograph you cannot take back. How long to talk before you meet is that order. Meeting someone safely is the public place after it.
Ignore the message that says everyone else sends them, or that you are unfriendly if you will not. A person who has read the profile can talk about something you wrote. What gets a reply is that standard from the other side. If they keep asking, block them. How to block and report someone is where those buttons are.
Only Dating is free to join and free to message. We will never ask you for a fee, and we will never ask you for a photo to unlock a conversation. Someone who does, or who cannot meet and then needs money, is the pattern in the romance-scam guide.
Create a free account to message someone on Only Dating.