What Dating Apps Can Do with your Smartphone

News provided by

Metaflake

05 Oct, 2016, 08:00 GMT

LONDON, October 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Mobile Applications and Security Laws tested

- Almost every day, new dating apps for quick flirting or finding the love of your life are brought onto the market. The access permission that these apps provide open the doors to stalkers, malware and phishing attempts. Hardly any users are aware of this.  

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161004/414945 )

The experts at LeadingDatingSites.co.uk have tested ten dating apps for Android systems in the UK: they have analysed these apps regard potential risks, among them Tinder, Badoo 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. Dating app users are essentially "naked" in a digital security sense:

  • 80% of dating apps test can 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.

Complete Study:
www.leadingdatingsites.co.uk/press/security-risks-dating-apps.pdf

Associated Diagram:
www.leadingdatingsites.co.uk/press/app-security-risks-diagram.jpg

About LeadingDatingSites.co.uk: "UK's Leading Dating Sites" is an independent observer of the British online dating industry offering singles tips and information on finding a partner on the web. "LeadingDatingSites.co.uk" is part of the metaflake network, which operates from Germany, Switzerland and UK in 14 countries.

Contact:
Dirk Pflitsch
Telephone: +44(0)752-392-917-3
E-mail: press@leadingdatingsites.co.uk