The New Third Wheel: Internet Advertisers

In today’s world of ever-growing connectivity, social media has become an integral part of our lives.  Massive amounts of posts are written and liked by internet users every day, but the majority of people rarely ever think about how this data may be used behind their back.  One of the top uses of this information is for targeted internet advertising, and while some users are starting to expect this sort of behavior from sites like Google and Facebook, there is one that might not cross their minds: Tinder.

Tinder app

Tinder, along with other dating websites, naturally needs to collect a wide variety of information about you for their matching algorithms to function properly.  This data includes your interests, hobbies, and personality traits, all of which each of the 50 million Tinder users voluntarily provide without the fear (other than that of…well…rejection) of unwanted sources obtaining it.  But truth be told, this is not the case and it is worse than you think.  According to The Guardian reporter Judith Duportail’s study of her own Tinder data, she states “the dating app has 800 pages of information on me” including and not limited to “my Facebook “likes”, my photos from Instagram (even after I deleted the associated account), my education, the age-rank of men I was interested in, how many times I connected, when and where every online conversation with every single one of my matches happened” (Duportail).  She goes on further to show that “Tinder’s privacy policy clearly states your data may be used to deliver ‘targeted advertising’,” so there is no doubt about it that if you use Tinder, any of your information and interactions on the app can be collected and used by advertisers (Duportail).

With the unwanted dealing of your private information and the always prevalent threat of a cyber security breach, do you still feel comfortable using Tinder?  Leave a comment below.

 

Duportail, Judith. “I Asked Tinder for My Data. It Sent Me 800 Pages of My Deepest, Darkest Secrets.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 26 Sept. 2017, www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/26/tinder-personal-data-dating-app-messages-hacked-sold

Image: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/11/21/11/3A9BEBE100000578-3956628-image-a-1_1479726284520.jpg

5 thoughts on “The New Third Wheel: Internet Advertisers

  1. I found an article that lists the major dating sites and what they have about you. And it’s crazy to see all the top sites on the list. it shows just how much information we give out without even really noticing because we think it’s typical. All those things listed in the main post all seem like typical things that we would think you have to give when in reality it’s not needed.

    https://www.cheatsheet.com/gear-style/online-dating-7-sites-that-may-be-invading-your-privacy.html/?a=viewall

  2. Even though I don’t use Tinder I feel that there is a common theme among the highly anticipated new technology coming out in the 21st century; the amount of privacy of the user. Through Facebook, google, twitter and other apps that the user provides their information to, there is barely any privacy. Although I strongly believe that the internet contains way too much personal information on way too many individuals, everybody who signs up for these apps and other websites are warned before they do anything significant. When creating an account for Facebook, google, or twitter, they ask you to agree to their rules. According to Twitters official website, every user is required to accept their terms of service, private policy, and their rules. Even though I don’t like how much information is out in the public regarding myself, I do think it is fair considering the steps one has to go through to create accounts for these websites like Twitter and Tinder.

    https://twitter.com/en/tos

  3. Privacy is a huge concern for the online-dating world in today’s society, and just with social media in general. It’s becoming easier to obtain and modify data by altering a few lines of code or putting your “Instagram stalking” skills to the test. Along the lines of the potential threat in cyber security breaches, a developer stationed in the Netherlands named Shaked Klein Orbach, gained access to an immense about of personal information through altering code that shouldn’t be possible in the first place. The Business Insider article written by Ryan Bushey stated, “Orbach manipulated a few lines of code and illustrated how easy it was for him to obtain someone’s Facebook information and email address.” The ultimate goal of Tinder is being compromised by the threat of an invasion of privacy through the manipulation of the engineering language. When they say all of your personal information is easily accessible once you’re present on social media, they weren’t lying. The synchronization of one’s social media profile and their exclusive information is a present risk, and needs to be addressed by the CEO of Tinder, and the technological population in general. It’s scary to know that jobs and future opportunities can be jeopardized for a lack of regulations and guidelines.

    Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-tinder-privacy-issues-2013-11

  4. This article raised a question when I think of people using these apps. I think the majority of people using these apps simply do because of the end goal, like getting a match on tinder. They don’t think about surrendering their personal information or search habits because if at the end of the day, the app does what it is supposed to, then that user is usually happy. I also looked up how easy it is to view your own history on all of these and found that it is indeed possible, but some sites make it hard to. Facebook hides your search history from you, but I’m just glad you can still view it at all. People will most likely give away information for an end goal, but once people start thinking where this information goes, they may grow more concerned.

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/you-can-now-view-your-facebook-search-history-and-it-is-the?utm_term=.ewXEaRaYmW#.mrnW3l3859

  5. This article provides more information that supports what you’re saying. It surprises me how little control we have over our own information and that there really isn’t much we can do to stop an app from releasing our data wherever it wants. Bridget Read stated, “In the U.S., none of these companies are under any legal obligation to allow you to download any of your own data.” That is concerning to me because if my data was somehow released and used in a way I didn’t want it to be, there would be nothing I could do about it legally and therefore no way to ensure the removal of my information. Especially, as the article says, since dating is typically a personal thing, you’d think there would be more safety and security regarding the information the dating website is allowed to release about you.

    Source: https://www.vogue.com/article/dating-apps-privacy

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