Don’t let dating apps give your information to hackers and advertisers. Experts share tips on online privacy
- A number of dating apps were recently accused of selling personal information and breaching privacy laws
- Privacy experts point out the dangers and offer tips on keeping your private information private
Setting up a profile on most dating apps is simple. You input your name, upload some photos, set your location and sexual preferences and you’re launched into a sea of mostly singles to chat with, meet and take things from there.
During the process, you’re also giving up valuable, personal information to platforms that often sell that data to third parties you’ve never heard of.
Grindr, OkCupid and Tinder, for example, were at the centre of controversy this month when researchers accused the companies of disclosing highly personal information and breaking privacy laws. Each app denied many of the accusations. But why should you care?
When you sign up for a dating or hook up app, “you’re putting information out there that people can use against you. Whether it’s hackers or predators, a cybercriminal can use that information to send you a phishing email,” says Jo O’Reilly, a data privacy expert at ProPrivacy. “For women, you’re putting information out there like addresses and phone numbers that can make you vulnerable to stalkers.”
Most dating apps make their money by persuading users to sign up for premium memberships, according to Nazmul Islam, a junior forecasting analyst at eMarketer. However, dating app subscription growth is slowing, so the platforms are looking for other ways to diversify revenue streams.