Communications of the ACM
Grindr, OkCupid Spread Personal Details, Study Says
Finn Myrstad of the Norwegian Consumer Council oversaw a new report that traced how widely dating apps spread personal information.
Credit: The New York TImes
An examination of 10 popular Android apps commissioned by the nonprofit Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) found that online dating services like Grindr, OkCupid, and Tinder are spreading personal user information to advertising and marketing companies in ways that may violate privacy laws in Europe and elsewhere.
NCC hired Oslo, Norway-based cybersecurity firm Mnemonic to examine how developers embed software from ad tech companies into their apps to track users' app usage and locations.
Said NCC's Finn Myrstad, “Any consumer with an average number of apps on their phone — anywhere between 40 and 80 apps — will have their data shared with hundreds or perhaps thousands of actors online." The Council said it has filed complaints asking Oslo regulators to investigate Grindr and five ad tech companies over potential violations of EU data protection law.
From The New York Times
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