Dating apps are shady
Let’s see. I know a 67-year-old guy, a 42-year-old woman, a 58-year-old guy, a 76-year-old woman and a 34-year-old woman … I know a lot of people who use dating apps. But my Gen Z son tells me his friends don’t use them. They just DM each other on social.
Using Tinder, Match and all the rest has a cost — aside from those pricey premium features. Privacy researchers at Mozilla found that 80% of dating apps are selling your very personal data.
Getting intimate
Dating apps give you a lengthy questionnaire when you first sign up. The goal is to make your profile as “you” as possible to get the most matches.
Depending on their requirements, dating apps collect your …
- Race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, political views, fingerprint, face print, weight, STI status and sexual life experiences. (Eek!)
Upload a vid? Yeah, apps collect voice and video content. Not even your sexy DMs are off limits. Creepy, right?
Privacy optional
Most of the apps list everything they collect in their privacy policy. Here are a few highlights:
- The apps rate you on your intelligence level and keep tabs on what you’re doing in your chats and DMs.
- One-quarter of dating apps collect metadata from your photos and videos, like when a photo was taken, where and what day. That’s sold, too.
- The apps will run your profile through third-party services to “help identify your interests,” such as whether you play sports, have pets or take trips. Guess what? Those third-party services will also get your data.
They’ll tell you all this is in the name of finding love, but we know better. The apps are selling your data to advertisers, marketing companies and who knows who.
Every swipe you take, every match you make
Mozilla found that 64% of dating apps take info about you to assume what you’ll like and then push you more targeted ads for products and services.
Perhaps worst of all, over half do the bare minimum to keep your personal information safe. That means there are a whole lot of details there in case of a breach, leak or hack. Real-world example: Not too long ago, location data from the app Grindr got caught up in a breach and data brokers got a hold of it.
Getting lucky
Mozilla says that of the 25 dating apps they tested for privacy, only three are safe to use: Lex, Happn and eHarmony.
Find your sweetie safely
If you’re going to use dating apps, be smart. The companies behind them aren’t looking out for your privacy, after all.
- Avoid profile pictures with identifiable info in the background. Don’t use the same photo you do on sites like LinkedIn, or someone can do a reverse image search and find you online.
- Don’t add your university, job or other identifiers to your profile. Don’t link your social profiles if you don’t have to.
- Turn off geo-targeting features that spill your exact location. Note: You may need to use an app’s paid plan for this.
- Use a VPN to avoid dating app trackers. My pick is ExpressVPN.
- Treat your phone number as private info. If you can’t voice chat through a dating app, create a temporary number through Phoner or Burner.
❤️🔥 If you’re happily coupled, share this with someone in your life looking for companionship.
Not too long ago, we thought it was our ability to love that made us human. Turns out it was actually our ability to select every image of a traffic light in a CAPTCHA.
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