Be my Valentine - you can have my heart, but not my data!

While you're on the hunt for a date this Valentine's Day on your mobile phone, are you aware of how dating apps are using your data?

The digital age and the pandemic restrictions have prompted many people to look online for dates through dating websites and apps. What many people don't know is that some dating apps have made headlines for misusing data, selling data to third-party platforms or even for suffering data breaches.

In the wake of COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures, many have been unable to socialise as they had been accustomed. Perhaps because of this, interest in online dating has skyrocketed since the pandemic struck.

According to one report, online dating apps have seen a surge in usage during the pandemic. A study found that in Singapore during the circuit-breaker lockdown in 2020, users of the dating app Paktor spent 10 times as much time on the app as they did prior to the pandemic. Similarly in China, a mobile dating app, Tantan, saw the average time spent on the app increased by more than 30% during the pandemic.

When we consider how much information users provide to dating apps to build their profile, we can imagine how organisations could misuse the data and why hackers are so eager to get their hands on such personal information. [The dating scams depicted in the popular documentary, The Tinder Swindler, should prompt you to guard your heart and keep your data protected!]

Potential privacy issues

The use of these apps poses a number of privacy issues that users need to be aware of. Some of the privacy concerns include the mishandling of personal sensitive information of users, by selling them to third-party platforms; the tracking of the user’s location for potential matches, leading to concerns over personal safety; possible identity theft with the user’s profile picture and other information; and so on. There is also the issue of the matching algorithm used by these dating app companies.

Find out more about rising data breaches in mobile apps and what you should do here.

What should users do if they are worried about their data being stored on these dating apps?

Users can gain a better understanding of how their personal data is used, managed and stored by reading the privacy policies of companies that provide the services and products to them.

Users can continue to use the application if they agree to the company's stated purpose for using their data. Otherwise, the user may wish to consider deleting the app from their mobile devices and requesting that the company delete all of their personal information if they are uncomfortable or disagree with the stated purpose or if the app does not clearly describe how they process and store their data.

Watch the video below to find out what users should do to a mobile app that collects excessive data.

Take a moment the next time you're on your phone and looking at an app to consider how much data you provided to the app when you first signed up and what they promised to do with it. If you are unable to recall these details, it would be good to take a look at their privacy policy and see if you’re still agreeable to the purpose behind collection of your data and how they process and store it.

Learn more about Privacy by Design concepts in developing mobile applications through the course here.