Welcome to the June 2022 issue of Incognito, a monthly newsletter from DeleteMe that keeps you posted on all things privacy and security.
Here’s what we’re talking about this month:
And more!
If you know someone who might enjoy learning more about data privacy, feel free to forward them this newsletter.
When it comes to online dating apps, the choice is limitless. There are obviously the usual suspects like Tinder, Bumble, and Grindr. But there are also apps that only work one day a week, promise to introduce you to your celestial match, or cater exclusively to people with beards (or those looking for beards).
Facial hair preferences aside, almost all dating apps have one thing in common: your data privacy is not their priority.
When, several years ago, the French journalist Judith Duportail asked Tinder to see what kind of data they had on her, she was sent an 800-page report. It contained everything from the age rank of men she showed an interest in to what words she used the most.
Seeing all this data made Duportail cringe, as she said in an article for The Guardian. But she wasn’t the only one who had access to it.
Data apps/sites have access to the information you share with them. On Tinder, this includes, at a minimum, your phone number or Google/Apple account, name, date of birth, sexual orientation, location, and two photographs of yourself (i.e., the information required to create an account).
Of course, most dating apps encourage you to volunteer more information about yourself, like your ethnicity or hobbies. Your activity within the app/site (for example, whom you interact with) also provides valuable information. If you link your social media accounts to a dating app, the app will also have access to data on that social media profile.
Scarily, some dating apps can even control your smartphone. For example, Christian Mingle can disable your lock screen and take control of your phone’s flashlight.
A recent study found that dating apps are some of the worst offenders when it comes to collecting personal information (here’s a report listing the most data-hungry dating apps out there). Few dating apps provide clear information about what users consent to when they sign up for an account.
Here are just some of the ways the data you share on dating apps may be shared with other parties and abused.
To start with, use the *Privacy Not Included guide by the Mozilla Foundation to determine how creepy a dating app/site is before you sign up for it. Spoiler alert: out of 24 apps in the guide, a whopping 21 have the “*Privacy not included” warning label.
When you’re signing up for an app/site, be careful about the type of data you share.
Above all, remember that whatever information you share on a dating app/site (or any app/site for that matter) will likely end up elsewhere.
Our recent favorites to keep you up to date in today’s digital privacy landscape.
The privacy-focused internet search engine DuckDuckGo is under fire for not disclosing that it allows Microsoft trackers to continue running in its mobile browser even though it blocks trackers from Facebook and Google. This is a result of a search syndication agreement between the two companies. DuckDuckGo was quick to clarify that while Microsoft can track your IP address and other information, it’s not linked to a user advertising profile.
Due to security flaws in popular websites like Instagram and LinkedIn, hackers can break into people’s accounts before they’ve even registered for a service. As long as hackers know their victim’s email addresses, they can create an account in their name and then use various different methods to place that account into a pre-hijacked state. Once the victim is using the account, the attacker can take over.
Mastercard is launching a Biometric Checkout Programme that will let in-store customers make payments with a wave of the hand or a smile into a camera. According to Mastercard, the new payment system will speed up queues. It is also more hygienic. A pilot version has gone live in five supermarkets in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Further tests will also likely be carried out in Asia and the Middle East.
A data marketplace has been found selling information on people who have downloaded period tracking apps like Clue, Period Calendar Period Tracker, and Planned Parenthood Direct. Although the data sold doesn’t include information about menstrual cycles, it does include device information. Privacy experts worry that this could potentially be used to identify people who have gotten pregnant, had a miscarriage, or had an abortion.
Here are some of the questions our readers asked us last month.
Q: What should I do with an old email account that I no longer need/use?
A: You can do one of two things with an old email account:
Over the last decade or so, countless data breaches have exposed millions of records. Therefore, the chances that someone got ahold of your email username and/or password are quite high.
With older accounts you don’t use, you may not immediately notice that someone has broken into your email, gone through messages in your inbox, taken control of your other accounts, or even used the address itself to impersonate you.
For this reason, if you choose to keep your old email address, you should, at the very least, change the password for it AND enable MFA (FYI, you should really do that for all your important accounts). You can also “devalue” your email account by downloading all of the messages in your inbox and deleting that data from the cloud.
However, a better option is to delete an email account (or, really, any account) you no longer use. Just make sure you know what your old email address is linked to so you don’t lock yourself out of important services or accounts. Here too, it’s a good idea to download your emails if there are any important messages or attachments you might want to keep.
Note that if you delete your Yahoo account, you will delete your ENTIRE account, including Flickr, Skype, etc.
Q: Is there any way to automatically reject cookies?
A: There are a number of browser extensions that can automatically decline cookies on your behalf:
We’d love to hear your thoughts about all things data privacy.
Get in touch with us. We love getting emails from our readers (or tweet us @Deleteme or @Abine).
Share with friends! If you know someone who might enjoy learning more about data privacy, feel free to forward them this newsletter. If you’d like to subscribe to the newsletter, use this link.
Let us know. What are your thoughts on dating app privacy? Are there any specific data privacy topics you’d like us to explore in the upcoming issues of Incognito?
That’s it for this issue of Incognito! Stay safe and we’ll see you in your inbox next month.
DeleteMe is our premium privacy service that removes you from more than 30 data brokers like Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, plus many more.
Save 20% on DeleteMe when you use the code DIYPRIVACY.
Our privacy advisors:
Save 20% on any individual and family privacy plan with code: BLOG20
© 2023 Abine, Inc. All rights reserved.