Meeting my (F28) LD dating app friend/interest (M29) without any prior (video) calls / proper photo exchanges ?

I'm well aware that this is a bit of an unusual situation, but I'd appreciate some insight or advice even if you cannot quite relate.

A few months ago, I was contacted by a man on a dating website. Nothing out of the ordinary, but after a few messages I realised that I'm really enjoying our conversations and he told me that he feels the same. I never knew that learning about each other's interests, daily life, views and thoughts could be such a bonding experience. We're both rather unconventional people, maybe that's what made this connection so special to me. I would not say that we're very similar other than the facts that we're both introverted and asexual (and likely autistic, I'm diagnosed while he's not), but we share similar values. Furthermore, he comes across as genuinely interested without being pushy (and trust me, even asexual people can be pushy). Sounds great, doesn't it? Well - let's get to the point: We have only communicated through written text (first the app, then emails). He has seen one photo of me back when we still were on the app, I've seen one low quality (somewhat blurry, taken from a distance, sunglasses) photo of him - and that photo was taken a few years ago. I basically have no idea what he looks like or what his voice sounds like. Is it strange to say that I actually do not mind? I would like to keep it that way until we meet in person - and I have good reason to believe he feels the same as he dislikes (video) calls and having his photo taken. As for safety concerns - honestly speaking, I'm not too worried. We'd meet in a public place and in the unlikely case of things taking a turn for the worse, I'm independent enough to take care of myself.

The reason why we haven't met yet is that we don't live in the same country (both within the EU), it takes a bit of planning to organise something given that we both have difficult work schedules.

My friends who heard about the plans think that it's a bad idea. But is it, really? One part of me thinks it's more exciting to wait until we meet in person - and truth to be told, we both dislike video calls and phone calls. Another part of me thinks that someone's voice and their appearance shouldn't be a big deciding factor anyway, so it's alright to not treat it as a priority and that people come across differently on phone calls and on photos anyway.

Another friend of mine brought up something else - she argued that he might be insecure about his looks and that in those cases, it's important to deal with the possibly difficult topic prior to meeting up. He does seem a bit insecure at times, but I wouldn't think he'd worry about things as superficial as his appearance, but then again, I have no idea. He is a sensitive person, but opening up about emotional topics is difficult for him - he's never done it before, he's from a culture where it's not that common to speak about such things.

Has anyone of you ever been in a comparable situation? I'd be grateful for some general advice or some other kinds of comments.