Swipe right and your privacy is under fire: a quick guide to dating app security

First a pandemic, then a full-scale war – that’s how online became the main place where Ukrainians look for their “other half”. It is simple, fast and significantly expands the circle of potential acquaintances.

However, along with opportunities come risks: by signing up for the app, you’ve already shared some of your digital data with third parties, and swipes and chats increase your vulnerability.

In order to understand whether it is safe to use online dating services, and to help Ukrainians strengthen the security of their data, we and the team of the all-Ukrainian toll-free digital security hotline Nadiyno.org analyzed the five most popular dating apps in Ukraine: Boo, Bumble, Kismia, PURE and Tinder.

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Why the conclusions surprised even us and what to do so that the acquaintance does not end in blackmail or threats, read in this article.

What risks should you be aware of before registering in online dating services? 1. Your correspondence, photos and personal data may be publicly available. There are several reasons for this: First, none of the applications examined offers built-in two-factor authentication (2FA), which protects the account even in the event of theft or a successful password selection by an attacker. Therefore, hacking an account becomes easier and opens access to your entire profile.

Part of the risk can be reduced by logging in via Google or Facebook if 2FA is enabled there. Another option is “Passkeys”, a way to log into your account without a password, where you confirm your login with your phone or biometrics. However, today it is not as popular as “two-factor” and is only available in one application – the American Bumble.

Secondly, the protection implemented by dating platforms is often insufficient. This is confirmed by real incidents: two of the five analyzed services have already had data leaks. One of them happened in 2020 and touched more than 320 million records from various dating services, including Ukrainian Kismia. Names, correspondence, IP addresses and access tokens got into the network. Users were never informed about the incident. Scandals with leaks also happened at Match Group — the parent company of Tinder.

Thirdly, you give some information yourself, agreeing to the terms of use. Platforms explicitly state in their policies that they can transfer your data to third parties — for advertising, analytics, or partner services. As a result, control over personal information goes beyond the limits of the application itself, and exactly how these third parties store and protect the received data remains unknown to the user.

In addition, the Russian service Mamba.ru is still among the most popular services for online dating in Ukraine. In conditions of full-scale war, it creates an obvious risk: your personal data processed by such an application ends up at the disposal of the aggressor state. This, in turn, can threaten your physical safety and blackmail for intelligence purposes against Ukraine.

2. You won’t always know who you’re talking to Dating apps don’t always require proof of identity and verify who created and maintains the profile. Therefore, false names and ages may be indicated, or fake accounts may be created in general. There was a case in the US: a woman filed a lawsuit against Tinder, because a fraudster created a fake account with her photos, and the system confirmed the profile as real. The victim discovered dozens of messages from strangers even before the account was blocked. The exception in our study is the Boo application: there is mandatory self-verification of profiles.

3. You do not have full control over access to your account. In all five investigated applications, there is no way to end active sessions: if you log into your account from another device or yours is stolen, you will not be able to log out remotely. In effect, this means that the attacker will have full access to your correspondence and data until you completely delete your account.

And in general, without a list of active sessions and login notifications, anyone who knows your password will be able to log into your account without you noticing.

Read also: Online dating: how apps are changing the world of romance and where to find love

How to protect yourself and your personal data? First, be careful what you say about yourself. Fraudsters often use manipulation and “romance” to lure money, documents, and other private information. Under no circumstances share passport details, card numbers, etc. with people on dating apps.

Do not send intimate content and do not agree to relevant video calls. Your photos or videos can be saved or recorded and then used for blackmail. If you decide to send something personal, hide your face and recognizable details.

Do not specify the exact address and location. Also, make sure that there are no clues about your location, for example, in photos. It is better to plan the first meeting in a safe public place and tell your friends where you are going and with whom you are meeting.

And, of course, do not use services related to Russia.

Based on the conducted vulnerability analysis, the team Nadiyno.org also prepared a short checklist — it will help minimize risks and protect yourself during online dating.

• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on Google/Facebook/Apple and in the app, if available (for details on how to do this, read here).
• Make sure that you have given the application only the necessary permissions (usually access to your camera, microphone, precise geolocation is not required either for the correct operation of the service or for successful dating).
• Enable in-app security filters like “verified profiles only”.
• Turn off exact geolocation in your phone or browser settings.
• Don’t share your address, place of work, financial data, or other sensitive information with someone you don’t know yet.
• Clean up correspondence by removing dialogues with personal information and photos.
• Before meeting, make a live video call, preferably through a dating app – this is the most reliable way to weed out fakes; enable access to the camera and microphone only during the call.

Online dating has already become the main way to build relationships – and this is a logical consequence of how our lives are changing. According to Rakuten Viber (2025), 67% of Ukrainians met their current partner online. But new opportunities always bring new risks. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to “red flags” in communication and not to forget the basic rules of digital security. This allows you to meet freely — and at the same time protected.

Oleksandr Marchenkohead of the digital security hotline Nadiyno.org

A column is a type of material that reflects exclusively the point of view of the author. It does not claim objectivity and comprehensive coverage of the topic in question. The point of view of the editors of “Economic Pravda” and “Ukrainian Pravda” may not coincide with the author’s point of view. The editors are not responsible for the reliability and interpretation of the given information and perform exclusively the role of a carrier.