Comparitech researchers published an in-depth study examining the data privacy practices of more than 100 popular dating apps. With an estimated 350 million people worldwide using dating platforms, the findings raise serious questions about how much personal data users are asked to give up in search of love.
By analyzing each app’s Android manifest, the researchers found that dating apps request an average of just over 30 permissions at download, nearly eight of which are classified by Android as high-risk or “dangerous.”
Key findings include:
- The average app requests access to just over 30 permissions in total, 8 of which are classed as high-level/”dangerous”
- The most common dangerous permissions are ones that request access to the device’s camera, access location data (precise geolocation data or approximate location based on cell tower or Wi-Fi data), read and write to external storage (data outside of the app, e.g. stored on the device), and record audio
- 24% of apps (24 apps out of 102) potentially violate Google’s privacy policy standards
- The most common omission from privacy policies was the data retention period (not provided by 15 apps), followed by a clear policy on how users can delete their data (omitted, restricted, or unclearly defined by 11 apps)
- The average app comes with 8.7 trackers with one app (Zoosk) using 28
- These apps have been downloaded over 1.2 billion times in total (based on each app’s download figure listed on Google Play)
For full details on the data privacy of these dating apps, the research can be read here: https://www.comparitech.com/news/the-privacy-costs-of-dating-on-your-phone-100-dating-apps-analyzed/
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This entry was posted on February 11, 2026 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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The privacy costs of dating on your phone: 100+ dating apps analyzed
Comparitech researchers published an in-depth study examining the data privacy practices of more than 100 popular dating apps. With an estimated 350 million people worldwide using dating platforms, the findings raise serious questions about how much personal data users are asked to give up in search of love.
By analyzing each app’s Android manifest, the researchers found that dating apps request an average of just over 30 permissions at download, nearly eight of which are classified by Android as high-risk or “dangerous.”
Key findings include:
For full details on the data privacy of these dating apps, the research can be read here: https://www.comparitech.com/news/the-privacy-costs-of-dating-on-your-phone-100-dating-apps-analyzed/
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This entry was posted on February 11, 2026 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.