Tinder has a terrifying amount of data on you - Here’s how to see it all

The dating app has to hand over all of its information on you under data protection law

Caroline Mortimer
Tuesday 26 September 2017 19:55 BST
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Judith Duportail says she received 800 pages of data when she asked Tinder for her personal information
Judith Duportail says she received 800 pages of data when she asked Tinder for her personal information

A French journalist has revealed how she discovered the dating app Tinder had 800 pages of personal data about her.

Judith Duportail said she discovered the app had gathered massive amounts of data about her age, gender, interests, the people she had dated or spoken to, where she went and where she lived over a period of several years she used it.

She said that with the help of a privacy activist group, personaldata.io, and human rights lawyer, Ravi Naik, she emailed Tinder asking them to send her all the information they have on her.

The US company is required under EU data protection rules to hand over any information it holds on any European citizen if they ask for it.

The process involves an email to the privacyinquiries@gotinder.com email address with a clear and precise list of all the information you want with the subject line “Subject Access Request”.

This could include a copy of all the personal data they have on you, where they got it from, whether any of it is currently being processed and what this data is being used for – i.e whether it has been sold on or used by third parties – or asking for information on what steps the company was taking to make sure this data is secure.

European citizens have the right to access this data under the Protection of Personal Data Directive issued by the European Commission in May 2016 but British people can apply for the information under domestic law as well.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, British citizens are entitled to access the same information as the rest of the EU and will continue to do so after Brexit.

They will then have 40 days to comply with the request and Tinder says they will typically compile a report within 30.

According to their privacy policy: “If you have a Tinder account, you have the ability to review and update your personal information within the Service by opening your account and going to settings.

“Applicable privacy laws may allow you the right to access and/or request the correction of errors or omissions in your personal information that is in our custody or under our control. Our Privacy Officer will assist you with the access request.

“This includes identification of personal information under our custody or control and information about how personal information under our control may be or has been used by us.”

But it warns that the data gathered may be used to deliver “targeted advertising” and “you should not expect that your personal information, chats or other communications will always remain secure”.

Ms Durportail wrote in the Guardian: “Some 800 pages came back containing information such as my Facebook ‘likes’, my photos from Instagram (even after I deleted the associated account), my education, the age-rank of men I was interested in, how many times I connected, when and where every online conversation with every single one of my matches happened … the list goes on.

“As I flicked through page after page of my data I felt guilty. I was amazed by how much information I was voluntarily disclosing: from locations, interests and jobs, to pictures, music tastes and what I liked to eat. But I quickly realised I wasn’t the only one.”

Luke Stark, a digital technology socialist at Dartmouth University said apps “lure” uses into giving away all their personal information.

He said: “Apps such as Tinder are taking advantage of a simple emotional phenomenon; we can’t feel data. This is why seeing everything printed strikes you. We are physical creatures. We need materiality.”

The Independent has contacted Tinder for comment.

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