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action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/agdmvorg/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Sure dating apps are fun. (Who doesn’t like swiping left?) But didn’t we learn any lessons from the saga of FaceApp and its Russian scheme to mine our personal data and gain access to our phones, all just for a good laugh posting an old-age selfie of ourselves?<\/p>\n
Guess again, Romeo. According to research done by the site Datingroo, we are all willing participants in giving away as much user data and security information as we possibly can while pursuing amorous relations and late-night hookups via dating apps.<\/p>\n
Pop quiz: When was the last time you sat down and read the terms and conditions on Tinder? I would say, pretty darn close to never. Right? So what do we need to fear when using dating apps on our smartphones?<\/p>\n
\u201cMost users are not aware that with installing a dating app, they are permitting access to their data like photos, camera, microphone, location, identity, phone contacts, network connection and more,\u201d Suzana Jaramaz, PR and content marketing manager for Datingroo, told Observer.<\/p>\n
And it gets even better: \u201cAn average user won’t know where their data is stored, who has access to it, or how it possibly could be misused,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
According to the Google Play Store, FaceApp has even less access to a user’s data than the most popular dating apps. And that’s quite a security flaw, considering that FaceApp set off the alarm for Sen. Chuck Schumer to call for a federal investigation into the Russia-based company.<\/p>\n
Think of when you set up your dating app user profile. It’s pretty much like a market research questionnaire, and we are far too willing to share as much as possible, along with trumpeting our love of yoga, dining and travel.<\/p>\n
Just take a look at what a French journalist found out in 2017, when she requested her data from Tinder (a right granted under the European Union’s GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation, a law covering data protection and privacy for all individual citizens of the EU.)<\/p>\n
Tinder responded with 800 pages of information-from her deepest, darkest secrets to every single online conversation with her Tinder matches, her education, the age-rank of men she was interested in, as well as personal connections on Facebook, \u201clikes\u201d and more.<\/p>\n
Another intrinsic fear would be that Russian hackers could set up fake accounts on dating sites, not only to go phishing for data and user info… but also to break our hearts.<\/p>\n
We’ve actually already seen what happens when hackers break into a dating site. Remember the uproar in 2015, when a group called \u201cthe Impact Team\u201d hacked into Ashley Madison, the infamous dating site for those who want to cheat on their partners? The hackers released more than 25 gigabytes of company data, including user details such as real names, home addresses, search history and credit card transaction records.<\/p>\n
Many users feared being publicly shamed since the dating site is all about cheating. Some Ashley Madison users received extortion emails requesting Bitcoin payments to prevent the information from being shared with their unknowing partner. (The hackers did, after all, have their emails and personal information.)<\/p>\n
The ramifications of how this could affect a political candidate’s career almost go without saying, especially if information comes out that they’ve been cheating or are secretly on Grindr.<\/p>\n