The world of modern dating has drastically changed over the last few years following the launch of Tinder.
Now, instead of sifting through eligible dating candidates online (and reading through endless profiles), men and women can swipe their way to a potential match with the flick of their finger.
As the success of the app grew, so did the insecurities of men and women in relationships, as they were worried their partner might be on Tinder behind their back. And, following the Ashley Madison hack last summer that rocked the online dating world by exposing millions of cheating partners, tracing partner infidelity online is at an all-time high.
Now, with the help of Swipebuster, doubtful partners can find out if their significant other has a Tinder account, and can even go as far as tracking them down to their last known location.
To gain access to the information, users must pay a $5 fee and then input the name, age, and location of the person they want to check up on. The website will then retrieve data from Tinder’s application programming interface, or A.P.I., which holds all of this information about its users.
Next, the website will display all of the Tinder users who fit the inputted criteria, allowing the searcher to see their photos, when they last logged on, and whether they are seeking out men or women.
And while many people might applaud the website for tracking down potential cheating partners, we have a few problems with it.
Our first concern is what happens to those who had the app years ago, got into a relationship and then deleted the app — forgetting to properly deactivate their account. By not deactivating it, their information could still be in Tinder’s database. So, if your partner paid the fee and uncovered your old Tinder account, you could end up in the dog house for something that has nothing to do with them.
Next, we’re bothered by how easy it was for Swipebuster to reveal and share someone’s private information. But according to Vanity Fair, the developer, who asked to remain anonymous, said the intention of the website was actually to highlight how much oversharing takes place online.
“There is too much data about people that people themselves don’t know is available,” the developer said. “Not only are people oversharing and putting out a lot of information about themselves, but companies are also not doing enough to let people know they’re doing it.”
Tinder has responded and said there were no privacy issues raised, and told Vanity Fair “searchable information on the website is public information that Tinder users have on their profiles. If you want to see who’s on Tinder we recommend saving your money and downloading the app for free.”
As of now Tinder has yet to close its A.P.I., so Swipebuster will continue to raise awareness regarding online privacy. But if Tinder locks its information and Swipebuster draws to a close, curious partners can just track their partner down the hard way by downloading the app and trying to come across them.
Either way, this seems like a lose-lose to us.
[ad_bb1]
