Date: 04. October 2016

What Dating Apps Can Do with Your Smartphone Tested – Mobile Applications and Security Laws

LONDON, UK 04.10.2016 – Almost every day, new dating apps for flirting or finding the love of your life are introduced to the market. The access permissions that these apps require open the doors to stalkers, malware and phishing attempts. Hardly any users are aware of this.

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The experts at LeadingDatingSites.co.uk have tested 10 dating apps for Android systems in the UK: they have analysed these apps for potential risks, among them being Badoo, Tinder, Zoosk, Lovoo, Skout, Elite Singles and eHarmony.

The focus lies on all access permissions, which must be granted in order to use the app. This includes in-app purchases, location and access to photos, contacts and data.

The Dangers Lurking in Dating Apps

Hardly any dating app users are aware that by downloading an app, they are essentially "naked" in a digital security sense, as the most important results of the analyses shows:

80% of dating apps tested can immediately access photos and other data on one’s smartphone.
70% of apps collect data about the location of smartphones and with that can create a complete map of where the users have been, including where they live, their employer and their hobbies.
20% of apps investigated even allow for access to SMS contacts and can not only read text messages of the user, but also do so without their knowledge.

"One scenario would be that unauthorised SMS orders are being made via your smartphone. And then you have, for example, a year’s subscription for special cat food that you haven’t ordered,"

Dirk Pflitsch of leadingdatingsites.co.uk warns.

Dating apps from classical online dating agencies probably make the best cut in this regard, as they require the smallest number of access permissions.