Tinder, OKCupid Apps Allegedly Leaking Private Data For Ads -BB
A number of popular dating apps including Grindr, OKCupid, and Tinder, have been accused of leaking personal information to ad companies without the user’s knowledge. The security of personal information within apps has become a big talking point of late and especially in Europe and California with the new privacy laws now in place.
The European Union recently activated its General Data Protection Regulation as a means to protect user data and privacy. Due to the online nature of most services, websites, and apps, the effects of GDPR stretch well beyond EU borders. Among other things, GDPR rules require users to have a greater level of informed consent. In other words, websites, services, and apps are required to let users know exactly what they do with the data they collect, and irrespective if they are based in Europe, or elsewhere.
In a new report, the Norwegian Consumer Council along with the help of cybersecurity company Mnemonic performed “a technical analysis of the data traffic” from ten smartphone apps including Grindr, OKCupid, and Tinder. The results suggest most of the apps were found to be breaching GDPR rules by not adequately informing users of the way their data is being used and filtered out to ad and behavior profiling companies. Although not all the apps were dating apps, the dating apps do raise additional concerns considering they are likely to include even more personal information than others. As well as location and generic personal information, some of the dating apps are also understood to have been leaking information such as sexual preferences. On the basis of the report, the Norwegian Consumer Council has also now filed formal complaints with the Norwegian Data Protection Authority regarding the alleged GDPR breaches.
While it’s easy to focus on the European side of this report, the effects of GDPR stretch outside the EU. For example, there’s no indication that any behaviors or actions noted in the report are not breaching similar laws and regulations elsewhere, including in the U.S. In fact, following the publishing of the report, a group of U.S. consumer and privacy groups released a joint statement urging Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, as well as various State Attorney Generals to similarly investigate the breaches.
The joint statement also made the case that while these apps were the ones alleged to be sharing personal information without adequate user consent, they are unlikely to be the only ones. Instead, they are likely to be a small reflection of the real number of apps that are doing the same or similar things. A point that echoed a sentiment from the original report with the Norwegian Consumer Council was that the group believes the findings of the study “to be representative of widespread practices in the ad tech industry.” It’s a reminder that users need to take more care regarding any and all apps they download, not just the ones listed in this report. They just might be sharing more personal information than you are aware of or want.
Source: Norwegian Consumer Council
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