Protecting Your Privacy: How Can You See How Much Data Dating Apps Collect?

Online dating apps are convenient and let you connect with potential partners anytime, anywhere. However, they can also put your personal data at risk. The more you share through dating apps, the more you expose yourself to potential breaches and risk your sensitive information getting into the wrong hands.

Before finding a partner, you must find the balance of sharing the right amount of personal information without risking your digital identity safety and privacy.

Dating apps can collect vast amounts of data they share with third parties, such as advertisers. Before signing up, go through your chosen app's privacy policy and take into account what it will use your data for.

This typically includes your name, age, gender, email, location, likes, interests, sexual preferences, and even your payment details if you use their premium features.

You can see what data the app has on you and request a copy of it. This will help you understand what personal data you should provide and how to control it. Here's how to do it on 3 of the most popular dating apps:

Tinder lets other users learn a lot about you, including demographic information, your approximate location, details about how you use the app, and more. For various reasons mentioned in their privacy policy, they may also share your information with the Match Group family of businesses they are part of. When you sign up, you'll have the most public, and least private options by default, so check privacy settings control. Request a copy of your personal data by visiting https://account.gotinder.com/data.

Hinge's privacy policy describes how collecting data is necessary for using the app and to keep you safe by monitoring behaviour. Your information can be used to "provide you with advertising that may be of interest to you, and if you give permission, within the Match Group companies."

To request your data within the Hinge app:

1. Sign in to the Hinge app.

2. Tap your Photo Icon on the far right of the navigation bar

3. Tap Settings

4. Tap Download My Data

5. Select your Country

6. Tap Download My Data again

7. Confirm your email address

8. Tap Submit

After you submit your request, you will receive a notification verifying that we have received your request and once again, when your data is ready for download. The export will expire after 48 hours. If you have not accessed your download within that time, you will need to resubmit your request.

Bumble's privacy policy details similar data collection, including device identifiers, location based on your IP address, and age to share with advertisers.

Once you have signed up, you have the right to access your data via a Subject Access Request. According to their privacy policy, there are several different ways to request your data, but the fastest option is to submit your request via their contact form, and can take up to 30 days to process.

Are you curious to know what the Internet knows about you?

Get Digital Identity Protection to find out immediately. Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection scours the Internet (also the Dark web) for bits and pieces of information about you and lets you see your digital footprint.

Bitdefender Digital Identity dashboard shows you:

-   The breaches and data collector that exposed your information. It only needs your email address and phone number to crawl leaked data.

-   Your digital footprint and risk map – what the Internet knows about you and how risky it is for your privacy and safety

-   The steps to take for each of your accounts involved in a data breach to minimize the danger of identity theft and financial losses.

Bitdefender Digital Identity sends you reports, newsletters after scans, "how to" knowledge about setting up the proper privacy settings in various apps, and actionable advice in case of breaches and leaks.

Check out the best plan for your digital identity!