Online dating platforms have drastically changed the dating scenario across the world. From family matchmaking, or via common friends, previously people sought different ways when searching for love or companionship.
Now, when smartphones have taken control of our lives, it has also revolutionised how we seek our romantic relationships too. With plenty of dating apps available on the internet, meeting new people nowadays is quite simple, right from the comforts of your home. All you need to do is swipe right.
However, researchers of the Firefox Internet Browser Mozilla conducted research on 25 dating apps based on their user privacy practices and labeled 22 of them – including some popular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, or OkCupid – as ‘Privacy Not Included’, which is the lowest rating in its terms.
The report revealed that most dating apps- nearly 80 percent of them- might share or sell user’s personal details for their advertisement. Misha Rykov, one of the researchers who worked on the project said, “Dating apps claim that the more personal data you share, the more likely you are to find love. We have no way of knowing if that’s true. What we do know is that most dating apps fail at protecting that data.”
As per the report, about 25 percent of these apps collect metadata from what you upload, which comprises information related to when and where the picture (or video) was clicked. Furthermore, the report also stated that several apps including Hinge, OkCupid, Tinder, and BLK, among others, have access to user’s exact geo-location data.
Some apps also collect the information of the user’s location even when the app is not being used. On the other hand, the researchers gave a positive rating to the queer-owned and run dating app Lux. Happn and Harmony.
The researchers also suggested a few privacy tips for all the dating apps out there; avoid using these apps with a third-party account, treat your Tinder or Bumble profile as your LinkedIn profile, and most importantly limit your app permissions.
Do you also use a dating app?
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