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Ricky PalittiProfessor H. CulikENGL 1190-C161520 April, 2017Online Dating: Trading Privacy for Love?In the 21st century the internet is used for just about everything. From emailing to shopping to social media, it’s only natural that this would progress into looking for love. Today there are hundreds of different dating sites: , , , there are even fetish dating sites like and (Michael). Over one-third of all marriages in the United States alone began with online dating (NY Daily News). But using these sites may come at a cost, even if it is free to join, users could be paying with their privacy. These dating sites require users to enter personal information when setting up their profiles such as: email address, age, height, weight, sexual orientation, race, religion and so much more. But do these companies use this information solely for the purpose of matchmaking? Or could they be collecting this data and using it for other purposes? Like selling it to third party agencies? And how long after a user deletes their profile is this personal information kept? Online dating is nothing new. While yes, the “online” part of it is, the concept is rather old. It started out in print, personal ads in newspapers. The first recorded personal ad was in 1685:A gentleman about 30 years of age that fays. He has a very good estate, would willingly match himself to some good young gentlewoman, that has a fortune of 3,000? or thereabout, and he will make settlement to content. Then, in 1870, the first newspaper dedicated to singles looking for love was created. It was called Matrimonial News, men would pay twenty-five cents to place an ad and women could post for free. With growing acceptance of personal ads, the UKs The Link was created in the 1910s, and later shut down due to suspicions that coded messaged were promoting then illegal homosexual activities. In the 1940s a new company, “Introduction”, began using data for matchmaking purposes, matching singles with their “social equivalents”. In 1959, students at Stanford University created the first computer based dating service as a project. It used a 30 question survey and an IBM 650 computer to match 98 participants. Fast-forwarding to 2000, Craigslist was created in San Francisco. It allows users to post free ads and includes “for sale”, “housing” and “personals” sections. In 2010, Craigslist was forced to close down its “erotic services” section as it was believed to facilitate sex trafficking and prostitution. And now more than forty million Americans have tried online dating, and sixty-one percent of same sex couples have met online (PBS). Grindr, the most popular dating app for gay men, has 1.8 million users daily (Grindr Advertising). Their privacy policy states that they collect “personal and non-personal data” and they define personal data as “any data that allows someone to identify or contact you.” The policy then goes into detail on what actual data they collect: Account Credentials: such as email address and phone numberDevice Information: software and hardware information from the device being usedDistance information: “When you use the Grindr App, we will collect your location to determine your distance from other users (“Distance Information”) through the GPS, Wi-Fi, and/or cellular technology in your Device. Your last known location is stored for the purpose of calculating Distance Information between you and other users.”Log Files: information like browser type, operating system, IP address, domain name, date/time stamp of your visit, information you searched for and viewed and cookies. Cookies are used to “provide you with a more personal and interactive experience on the Grindr Services and to improve our marketing efforts, including through the use of targeted advertising.”MessagesProfile Information: information like profile photo, display name, relationship status, ethnicity, age, date of birth, height, weight, social network links or any other information users choose to provide.Third Party Platforms: Grindr can collect information through third party platforms such as Facebook. Third Party Tracking: “Our advertisers and partners may also use their own cookies or other tracking technology which may collect information about you within the Grindr Services. We do not control use of these tracking technologies.”The privacy policy continues on to say how this personal information is used and shared. It is used to identify and communicate with users, to provide and improve services, for partner promotions at the user’s request. It is also used for marketing and advertising purposes, for internal administrative purposes and employment. The sharing of data includes the user profiles which are public. Distance information is shared with other users, along with the aforementioned third party platforms and tracking. What has proven to be a major issue for Grindr and its users is the sharing of distance information (Privacy Policy) The distance feature on Grindr is, according to the company, “the best way for users to meet up simply and efficiently.” However, users that are savvy enough can hack the system and change their location. This may not seem like a huge deal, but it can actually be very harmful. These users can change their location to three points and use the distance relative to another user displayed on the app to triangulate the exact location of that user. This is especially dangerous for users living in areas that have a history of violence against the gay community, so much so that the app began automatically hiding the location of users in Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Liberia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. While users can disable the “show distance” option, Dan Goodin, security editor with Ars Technica, an online technology publication, says this has not proven to be an effective solution. As it is, security researchers could track where (volunteer) users went to work, what gyms they exercised at, where they slept at night, and other places that they frequented. Because users often share personal details and link their social media accounts with their profiles, they could correlate users’ profiles with their real identities. The privacy implications are obvious, and are something that Grindr should take more seriously, especially because of the continuing frequency of attacks on LGBT individuals (Bolluyt)So how can users keep online data private? Keep the software on your devices up-to-date. Mark Surman, Mozilla’s executive director says “Software updates are like oil changes, hey can be a hassle in the moment but a lifesaver in hindsight.” A majority of the time these updates are “bug fixes” or “security improvements”, so make sure to have automatic updates turned on. Another way is to stop using passwords that make sense. The best passwords are just a string of a few random words (Reports). As far as masking location, users can disguise their IP address by using a proxy server, which routes the connection through a different server. Or VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) can be used to have the same effect (Prindle). And lastly, for mobile devices, location services can be turned off (by app, or all together) in the device settings.Works CitedBolluyt, Jess. "Online Dating? 7 Sites That May Be Invading Your Privacy." The Cheat Sheet. The Cheat Sheet, 24 May 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2017."Grindr Advertising." N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. <;."Infographic: A History of Love & Technology." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.Michael, Dawn. "Got A Bizarre Sexual Fetish? There's A Dating Site For That." YourTango. N.p., 13 Feb. 2017. Web. 22 Apr. 2017."One-third of U.S. Marriages Start with Online Dating: Study." NY Daily News. N.p., 04 June 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.Prindle, Drew. "How to Stay Anonymous Online." Digital Trends. N.p., 16 May 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017."Privacy Policy." GRINDR. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.Reports, Consumer. "66 Ways to Protect Your Privacy Right Now." Consumer Reports. N.p., 21 Feb. 2017. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. ................
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