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Niche dating and hookup apps leave user data exposed on the web

  • Two researchers found a number of niche apps that exposed private photos, conversations and financial transactions on the web

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From apps that match people based on what they hate to ones that connect users to sugar daddies, the dating and hookup app market has been expanding rapidly in recent years. (Picture: Shutterstock)

While millions of people use dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, app stores are riddled with more niche options catering to seemingly every possible interest. There are dating apps for dog lovers, truckers and even farmers.

But while these apps might promise to meet your romantic requirements, some of them could be falling short in another important area: Security and privacy.

Cybersecurity researchers Noam Rotem and Ran Locar said they found that a number of niche dating and hookup apps left their databases unprotected on the web.

The independent researchers say that app data was left accessible to anyone with a web browser, exposing private chats, audio recordings, financial transactions and photos – sometimes graphic ones.

The researchers estimated that the security issue endangered the data of hundreds of thousands of people, according to the report originally published on Tuesday on security software blog vpnMentor.

Locar told Abacus that he could not say whether dating apps are more prone to security issues than other types of apps. But the content contained within those apps means that when there’s a breach, it can be very damaging.

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