How to Protect Your Personal Data on Different Apps?

We have come a long way, since the advent of the first internet connection. Having an internet connection used to be a luxury back then, now it has become a necessity. Our lives are virtually dependent on the internet, from professional work to entertainment, everything is online these days. Internet providers are constantly working on providing us higher speeds and expanding their coverage area. And if you have an Internet Service provider with after-sales service as amazing as the one offered by Spectrum customer service, it goes without saying that you are addicted to being connected 24/7. No matter what time of the day it is, we’re either working, chatting, or watching something online.

In an era like this, when we’re more interested in the screen in front of us than the person sitting right next to us, internet dating has really boomed. And why wouldn’t it? It’s so convenient. You could practically sit on your couch and swipe through hundreds of prospective dates. The choices are unlimited but so are the risks. You could be working on that report that needs to be submitted tonight while chatting with that special someone without even realizing that every word you type on the website, every picture or video you share and all the information you give out to set up your dating profile is at risk of a potential data breach.

No matter what these websites say about their privacy policy and the data security measures they implement, there can never be a 100 percent guarantee that your information won’t be misused by a hacker or predator. And let’s admit it, none of us reads those absurdly long agreements that we agree to when setting up profiles. The fine print usually allows these dating apps to sell our personal information to advertisers in return for loads of money and rendering our privacy breached with our unintentional consent.

Now, I’m not saying you should ditch the dating apps altogether. It definitely has its pros as long as we take the necessary precautionary measures. Just follow the below-mentioned tips to keep your privacy safe while dating online and you’ll have nothing to worry about.

1. Free apps will most likely sell your data. Its simple math, if they’re not making money off of you then how else are they making money? They aren’t a charity of course. So if you really want to try online dating then go ahead and sign up for a paid app.
2. Avoid using your full name so you’re not easily identifiable by hackers. It is ideal to use a nickname or only your first name.
3. Never give your home address, phone number, work address or e-mail address when signing up or when chatting with someone new.
4. It is better to chat through the dating app messaging system until you’ve met the person to avoid any potential stalkers.
5. Check the location settings to make sure your location is not visible to anyone.
6. Avoid displaying information like your education, employer, etc. on your profile.
7. Use unique photos for your dating profile to make sure stalkers aren’t able to run a reverse image search on you to access your social media accounts.
8. Set up a Google Voice phone number if you want to talk to people you meet on a dating app.
9. If you see any mutual friends on the list, talk to them to get an opinion on the person.
10. Avoid apps that let everyone message you without asking for your consent.

These are just a few examples of the precautions you can take to keep your information and yourself safe while dating online. The list can go on forever if we start producing a comprehensive one. The rule of thumb is to trust your instincts and use common sense. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.