I find the term of mate guarding too vague as it implies the presence of a accepted mate in ones life to many, in particular to women. Women and men mate guard differently. As a woman you might think of a (overly) jealous boyfriend, a dominant-controlling scrote at worst or a loving, nurturing yet protective man at best. Still, you probably think of a somewhat established relationship.

Healthy mate guarding is important as you have to be sure that he is invested and values you. I'm not arguing against this in any way. If he doesn't mate guard you he is there for convenience sake and you are therefore just one of the "plates" he spins. RedPillers advice their abusive followers against their natural-instinctive mate guarding behavior since it enables their so called "girls chase" (a pedo term for gendered bread crumbing)

However, do not miss the subtle signs where a man mate guards you without having openly declared himself as your mate TM aka asking for exclusivity. More than that men mate guard long before asking you out on a date.

Always keep in mind that it's convenient for men when a woman has little to none other men to choose from.

Further assume that (most) men-loving-women men can't be just friends with women. Women can do so the other way around, men don't. Stop projecting. It's not you, it's them.

Here are a few instances of hidden mate guarding when it comes to men:

- Your male LV "friend". This orbiter sticks around as a companion, in truth he's just waiting for his turn. In the meantime attending in your everyday life create a sense of intimacy in you. It wears you down. You feel like you can "trust him" because you let him stick around and nothing bad happened so far. It's similar to casual sex that ultimately leads to you to develop feelings for him: When you allow a LVM to cross a boundary (emotional/physical/sexual) you trick yourself into thinking he reasonably has earned your trust before so it's not boundary crossing.
Circular reasoning:
"I let him stick around because I trust him. I trust him because I let him stick around (and he didn't try to harm me yet)."

- Basically every orbiter mate guards you against other men with his presence. I call this a "scrote shield": Men shield weaker or even less committed men off of you. The second will think you are not worth the trouble of provoking the first and move on. At least as long your scrote shield consists of physically stronger scrotes. Scrotes don't respect women's "No" but they are afraid of other men. On the other hand the men participating in your scrote shield have to constantly show face in order to fend off rivals of "their pussy." Men try to convince other men that they are closer to your pussy to you than they actually are.
Your takeaway here is that the scrote shield is a self-regulatory phenomenon as it limits the size of your scrotation. Also the size of your scote shield does not determine your value in any way. Clever men can participate in your scote shield without you even knowing, creating the illusion that "nobody wants you, expect for them".

- If they know you are single the interested men will keep this information to themselves in order to minimize competition. They won't go around sharing this information with men of higher value than them.

- Yes, your LVX won't share the information of your singleness with men he deems as competition as long as he wants you back/bang you. They never do when they try to string you along. When asked directly if you are still together he'll either straight out lie, tell them you two are "just taking a break from the relationship", tell them that he was the one who quit (when in truth you kicked him to the curb) or say that you "remain good friends". Translation: "She is still mine, f_cker!"

- Some NVM will share your single status with other NVM when they plan to rape you because it means you are unprotected and vulnerable. The manosphere in a nutshell. Beware, those misogynists group together, then try to talk you into partying with them. Don't.

- Not a man but a woman, a LVW to be precise. Differentiate between the two archetypes of Pickmeisha, they will behave differently: The picked Pickmeisha and the unpicked Pickmeisha. You'll encounter both forms. They will indirectly influence to your scrotation and therefore the type of mate guarding you'll be subjected to.

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  1. The picked Pickmeisha:
    In her eyes you now posses a higher thread than you did when she was in her unpicked state. You might think this is controversial but a Pickme is chronically insecure, she has invested resources into her situationship she doesn't want to risk loosing and - and this is the most important part - she knows her scrote will happily leave her over the chance for getting to fuck you (which is more likely to him when you are single). Only LVM, ZVM and NVM pick a Pickmeisha - at best - so she is constantly on edge when she is with one. She knows they are ready to discard her anytime. She is afraid that her beloved scrote participates in your scrotation. Deep down Pickmeisha knows her man ain't shit so beware of hostility and attempts of sabotage. Picked Pickmeisha will badmouth and ridicule you in front of her men, hoping he will become less interested in you. Spoiler: He won't. Ironically he becomes even more interested in you because she pushes your relevance in his life. Additionally he becomes less interested in her because she doesn't know her worth. Free advertising, even though it's uncalled for.
    The picked Pickmeisha will also increase the size of your scrotation by advertising you to LVM. "She is so pretty AND smart" you'll probably hear her say. Wingwoman Pickmeisha hopes you'll settle for on of them in order to "ban the threat". But the higher your standards are the more desperate she gets in her attempts. This can get dangerous for you when she tries to hook you up with NVM. You definitely don't want any NVM in your scrotation.
    Her behavior flips completely as she transitions to her other state:

  2. The unpicked Pickmeisha:
    She thinks of you as competition since hasn't realized that dick is low value and abundant. She will badmouth and ridicule you in front of other men in order to push her perceived market value. Projecting her insecurity once again she'll brag to you about her "harem", hoping to make you feel less than her and "give up trying", especially when you are a HVW and not trying to "steal" her scrotissimos at all. If you are queer the unpicked Pickmeisha might begin to sexually harass you in order to draw attention from men to her, her sex-appeal and her OpEn-MiNdEdNeSS. She'll either portray you as a trophy-wife - only one as great as her can have (the hot bi babe trope). Or she'll picture you as a whore (slutty bi chick/used goods). Chances are she'll do both at different times. This can become not only creepy and annoying but outright dangerous when she encourages men to participate. This is the kind of woman who solicit men to sexually assault you and then puts the blame on you, even accepts money for sexual trafficking. This NVW will get you drunk and literally sells you out. Assuming you have to make out with her only based on your sexual orientation is all kinds of wrong. And it's also wrong when you are hetero ofc. Pushing to kiss you, making remarks of your soft lips/boobs, your sexy legs or big ass is sexual harassment. Don't let her get away with it just because she is a woman. This is not OK, you are not "untrue", a lesser bisexual or a lesser lesbian. She is just a rapist. Never party with her and the scrotes around her. Especially not if your sexual orientation is not hetero and she knows of it.
    Best to keep away from her entirely. Unpicked Pickmeisha jealousy driven mate guarding will have a positive impact on your scrotation where the scote shield fails. Pickmeisha and your scrotation share complex dynamic, maybe I'll write a seperate post about it. Just know this, she'll take in those scotes one cannot even call LVM. This leaves room for higher value men.

For mate guarding it doesn't matter if the other party knows they are being mate guarded.

What are your experiences of subtle mate guarding outside of a relationship, even before actually dating?