How to avoid sharing too much information and take care of your safety on dating apps

In today’s digital age, personal data has become a valuable resource for both technology companies and cybercriminals seeking to commit fraud. The latter offer us their services in exchange for our information. For example, in the Applications dating, you are encouraged to provide personal details in profiles with the promise of increasing your chances of finding a partner. However, did you know that many of these apps have deficiencies in protecting your data?

Recently, a Mozilla Foundation report found that 80% of dating apps can share or sell users’ personal information for advertising purposes, even when it comes to the paid version. Likewise, 52% of them have a history of data breaches, such as Grindr, which had a leak that allowed a Catholic group in the United States to track members of the clergy.

Another incident occurred when Match Group, a company that owns several online dating platforms, sent drug information and political opinions of Tinder and OkCupid users to third parties.

Other studies have also found that some dating apps share users’ sensitive information with third parties, such as HIV status and sexual orientation.

Of the 25 dating apps that were examined, only three of them (Lex, eHarmony and Happn) were considered good at data protection and privacy. Although they are not perfect, they seem to take a little more care of personal information than the others. On the other hand, applications such as Badoo, Tinder, OkCupid and others were rated as deficient in privacy and security, according to the Mozilla study.

Now, how can I prevent my information registered on these platforms from being used for other purposes? In reality, we cannot guarantee that this will happen, but we can limit the information we give to these dating companies for greater security.

How to protect my personal data on dating apps

El Comercio spoke with José Fernández, director of Latin America and the Caribbean for Palo Alto Networks Pre-Sales Engineers, to find out some details. The information he gave us also serves as a cybersecurity measure.

First of all, the specialist emphasizes that “you must have very careful when choosing” the application to use, as well as being aware of the type of personal information that is shared when registering in the application and when interacting with other users.

“Once the application has been downloaded, some steps to follow could be review privacy settings”says Fernández.

By reviewing your privacy settings, you can control who can see certain information, who can contact you, and other important aspects. Furthermore, it is crucial to read the Privacy Policy of the application we are using to understand what data is shared with the application and third parties.

“It is important that the user knows the level of consent for the use of personal data that they have given to the app, reviewing its terms and conditions, which are shared when downloading it and which can also be seen in the official store.”, adds the expert. “If the terms and conditions are not clear, it is better not to download the application and if it has already been done, it is best to delete it.”, he declares.

Main recommendations

Among the tips to protect privacy when using dating apps, it is important to avoid sharing certain types of information, according to the Palo Alto Networks spokesperson. For example:

• Avoid sharing passwords, as this can compromise financial and workplace security, especially if the same key is used for multiple accounts.
• Do not disclose the name of your workplace.
• Do not share personal and tax data such as your DNI, RUC or account numbers.
• · Keep the names of family members or co-workers private to protect their privacy.
• Don’t reveal details about your daily routine, including places you frequent and times.
• Do not share information about your salary, as it can be used for fraudulent purposes.
• Keep details about illnesses, allergies or medical history private to protect your health and privacy.

“Another suggestion is to separate work devices from personal devices in order to protect passwords. For example, try to have a personal cell phone and another for work, as well as laptops or tablets.”, maintains the expert.

Following these recommendations can reduce the risk of your personal information being used without consent, in the face of questionable data collection practices by some dating apps.

MIRA: Optimus, Tesla’s robot, will be sold at the end of 2025: what can it do and how much will it cost?

For its part, the Mozilla Foundation recommends using only the three applications that have met data protection standards: Lex, eHarmony and Happn. Likewise, they advise treating these applications as if they were your LinkedIn profile, where everything that is registered will be publicly visible. Additionally, it is advisable not to link your social networks to these dating accounts to prevent third parties from obtaining more information about you in other areas.

Another recommendation is to limit the permissions granted to applications, such as access to the camera or geolocation. It is important to regularly review your device settings to ensure these permissions are disabled if they are not required.