A recent study by Mozilla has highlighted that dating apps are increasingly disregarding strong privacy standards and are gathering an extensive amount of data to attract Gen Z users. Researchers examined various dating apps and observed a trend towards heightened data collection and intrusion.
Mozilla evaluated 25 apps, categorising 22 of them as "Privacy Not Included," denoting the lowest rating in Mozilla's assessment framework. The only app to receive a positive review was Lex, which is Queer-owned and operated, while Harmony and Happn received acceptable ratings.
“If dating apps think people are going to keep handing over their most intimate data – basically, everything but their mother’s maiden name – without finding love, they’re underestimating their users. Their predatory privacy practices are a dealbreaker,” Zoë MacDonald, researcher and one of the authors of the report, said in a statement.
'Majority of dating apps more data-hungry and invasive than ever'
As per the report, around 80% of dating apps engage in sharing or selling their users' personal information and may not assure all users the ability to delete their data. For example, Match Group — who owns over 40 different dating apps — says they may “share information about you with our affiliates and they may share information about you with us” for reasons including marketing and advertising.
Most of the apps surveyed automatically gathered users' geolocation unless they actively choose to opt out. Additionally, certain apps such as Hinge, Tinder, OKCupid, Match, Plenty of Fish, BLK, and BlackPeopleMeet strongly demand access to users' exact location data, retaining the capability to collect this information even when the app is not in use.
For example, Hinge’s privacy policies states: “The collection of your geolocation may occur in the background even when you aren't using the services if the permission you gave us expressly permits such collection. If you decline permission for us to collect your precise geolocation, we will not collect it, and our services that rely on precise geolocation may not be available to you."
The report further notes that dating apps are "getting hungrier" for personal information, encouraging the creation of comprehensive profiles to offer potential matches insight into their interests, hobbies, perspectives on the world, sexual orientation, as well as their religious and political affiliations.
Even the direct messages are used by certain apps to "evaluate, train, or improve functionality of their automated tools". Many of them collect aggregated information from user's device, from third parties, and social media like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
For instance, apps like Facebook Dating and CoffeeMeetsBagel can collect metadata information from the content users share, including information like when and where pictures and videos were taken.
The Mozilla report also highlights how many of the dating apps are either planning to integrate AI into their features or have already done so. While Grindr, for instance, plans to use direct messages data to train and develop an AI sex chatbot to engage with users, apps like Tinder, OkCupid, Facebook Dating, Happn, CoffeeMeetsBagel, and Tantan are already using AI to boost the chances of better matches.
Several dating platforms like Bumble, Lovoo, and Tinder are also leveraging AI to advance the safety features of their users, helping them block spammy and scam content.
The dark side of dating apps
In today's digital age, dating apps have become integral to modern romance, offering convenience and connectivity, user privacy has been an issue for quite some time.
For instance, in 2018, BuzzFeed News uncovered how Grindr had been disclosing sensitive user data, including HIV status, to third-party analytics companies. This information was combined with data that could potentially identify a user, such as location details, phone ID, and email address.
Following considerable backlash, Grindr declared it would cease sharing HIV status information with third-party analytics firms.
In 2019, the Russian communications regulatory agency Roskomnadzor required Tinder to join a register of websites and services whose user data the Russian government can examine, to which the dating platform had agreed.
A 2022 Intercept report also revealed that X-Mode, a controversial data broker that claims to cover “25%+ of the Adult U.S. population monthly”, had inked contracts with Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Homeland Security, among other US federal agencies. The data broker has been at the receiving end of intense criticism from privacy advocates for harvesting data from several dating apps.
Similarly, in 2023, popular dating apps of Australia, including Tinder and Bumble, were ordered to hand over data to the federal government following a national roundtable into the rise of sexual and domestic violence on the platforms.