The introduction of dating applications has revolutionized the dating scene across the globe. With each passing year, the percentage of men and women who are bypassing the perceived hassles of regular in-person dates and have moved to dating applications has multiplied significantly. We have departed from the traditional avenue and are no longer going on causal dates to find our perfect significant other.
While these data applications are a fun way to socialize and meet new people, they are disguised hosts to danger. No dating application has a perfected algorithm to filter out fake accounts that are a major source of privacy and security issues for other users. Behind every swipe and matches, several hidden truths guide the game of dating fueling privacy risks in mobile dating applications.
As with many other online platforms these days, sharing your personal data on dating applications is a risk-driven choice. Several dating applications are known for monitoring your user journey on the app, allowing them to conveniently store your data. These apps also fail to offer users any authentic guarantee that their activity and conversations are kept secure under privacy restrictions. Consequently, making it a lot more important for you to take an active initiative to protect your privacy as best as you can when using any online dating application.
In this article, we break your privacy protection roadmap into two major categories;
Shielding yourself online
1. Careful consideration of what you share online.
You need to think critically about what you choose to put up online for your audience to see. We all have a street-smart friend who can easily find the guy we met at the movies last weekend, simply by knowing his name and the neighbourhood he lives in. As much as this amazes us, it is a lot scarier to find how effortless it is to extract information about someone online these days.
Therefore, choosing to limit the amount of personal information like what you do, where you live, your contact details, you share online will help guard your privacy online. If this leaves you to wonder what information about you is available online, Nuwber will help you find that out in a matter of a few seconds.
2. Keep switching your photos on dating applications.
You may not have realized, but using the same photos both for your dating app accounts and social media is a major security concern and raises privacy risks in mobile dating apps. By using the same collection of photos, it is easier for someone to find more about you.
A reverse image search is adopted by many as it is quick, simple, and will give in most of your social media account details along with the personal information you’ve posted there. Therefore, for dating apps, it is recommended that you use photos you haven’t posted anywhere else online.
3. Dating applications track your location.
While location settings help you find potential dates in your neighborhood, make sure that the dating app you’re using is efferently masking your location in order to prevent other users from tracking you down. Some dating applications are vulnerable in terms of data security when it comes to location protection, allowing any and everyone with basic programming knowledge to extract your location coordinates, increasing the privacy risks in mobile dating applications adversely.
Guarding yourself on dates
So, if you have been lucky enough to find yourself the perfect match after days of continuous chatting, and are keen to transition things offline by going on your first actual date. Then that is indeed a piece of good news to celebrate! But don’t forget that haste makes waste.
Before you set out in a pretty dress, with blow-dried hair and high heels or in a steam ironed polo shirt with a perfectly trimmed beard and a classic watch, you should be more focused on protecting yourself in the offline world as well, particularly when meeting someone you met online.
1. Before you agree to a date, do a little extra research.
Unfortunately, not everyone we meet online is exactly who they have portrayed to be. For your own safety, consider doing some background check into your potential date.
You can start by skimming through their friend list on social media and see if you can notice any strange trend. You can also try to find out if they’re using a script to talk to you or check to see if their profile images are altered in any way.
Nuwber is a convenient one-stop solution for you to find publicly available information quite easily. It is crucial to verify your date’s identity can warn you with any prospective red signals that may sabotage your date later.
2. Schedule your date at public places
For your first date, opt for a restaurant, movie theatre, sports event, concert, or any other place where there is a crowd around you. The reason being that if something doesn’t work out as planned and you feel uncomfortable and find your security at risk, then you’ll feel a lot safer in a public place rather than at an isolated avenue, where you can’t possibly find help.
3. Keep one of your friends informed about where you’re going.
You should always ensure that you keep a close friend in the loop and share a few details about where you’re going and who you’re going with prior to your first date.
If you’re comfortable, then you can even consider setting a time for check-in during the date when your friend can drop by anonymously to keep a check on you, or you can even use the location sharing feature on your phone, so your friend knows exactly where you are.
Online dating comes with its own scintillating charm, but as the world is progressing towards technological advancements, so are privacy concerns propelling. And as the digital world develops as a congenital part of our lives, it is our responsibility to always take the necessary steps to prioritize our personal safety.
Keep the tips mentioned above in mind to counter the privacy concerns of dating applications while ensuring that you and your date feel comfortable around each other.
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