Love at First Swipe: How Dating Apps Compromise User Privacy and Data Protection
In today’s digital age, online dating has become perhaps the most common way to meet potential romantic partners. It seems as though everyone is “on the apps” these days, searching for a casual fling or lifelong partner. The romanticized meetcutes of the past have largely been supplanted by complex algorithms, perfectly curated profiles, and endless swiping. While navigating the dating scene from the palm of one’s hands has its benefits, as the saying goes, everything comes with a price—here, that price is privacy and personal safety.
Recent investigations demonstrate that some of the most popular dating apps have shared sensitive data to third parties, contained security flaws exposing users’ exact locations, and maintained misleading privacy policies concerning the extent of data collected. The U.S. lacks a federal privacy law to regulate online platforms, giving companies significant leeway in how they process personal data.
This Article advocates for increased, uniform regulation in the online dating industry. The proposed American Privacy Rights Act, mimicking existing legislation in the EU, would address this critical need by giving consumers rightful control over their personal information.
PDF: https://journals.law.unc.edu/ncjolt/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/Purohit-Final.pdf
Author: Anjali K. Purohit
Volume 26, Issue 2