Valentine’s Day is coming in a blink of an eye, and friends who just want to find a companion may use the dating app to meet their confidants. However, there are risks in dating apps. In addition to the chance of “mishandling the goods”, what’s more, personal data will be used for promotion at any time! The survey report of the Consumer Council conducted an evaluation of 9 dating apps on the market and found that some dating apps required up to 12 items of personal information when registering. promotions or promotions, only 3 may provide an option to opt out of the above arrangement.
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In addition to personal information or being used for promotion, matching screening conditions vary greatly, and service charges change at any time, and may even vary due to gender, age, and even residence. The monthly fee can vary by up to 42%. The Consumer Council pointed out that users may be charged higher fees without knowing it, causing unfairness, and citizens should be careful when using dating apps.
The Consumer Council evaluated 9 dating mobile apps and 2 of them required 12 items of information to open an account
Nowadays, with advanced technology, you can use dating apps to meet new friends and expand your social circle without leaving home. There are so many dating apps on the market. Apart from worrying about which app to choose, user ratings, and success rate, have you ever noticed that your personal information is leaked or used for promotion?
The Consumer Council investigates 9 dating apps on the market, including
1.Bumble
2.Coffee Meets Bagel
3.Goodnight
4. Heymandi
5.OkCupid
6. Water
7. Factor
8.SweetRing
9.Tinder
I found that all Apps have preset information that can be used for promotion or promotion. Among them, “Heymandi” only needs to provide name and phone number to open an account; while “OkCupid” and “SweetRing” need to provide up to 12 items of personal information, among which ” “OkCupid” has to answer multiple self-value questions before becoming a user, which is a complicated and time-consuming process.
Although the 9 dating apps all preset that personal data will be used for promotion or promotion, “Bumble” allows users to refuse the use of data for related purposes when registering, and it can be changed afterwards; “OkCupid” and “Tinder” can also Let users make relevant choices after the fact.
The price gap of dating app charging plan is more than 2 times
In addition to paying attention to personal information being used for promotion, friends who choose dating app charging plans should be careful. Except for “Heymandi”, which only charges for a single “Ad Free”, the basic fee plans of the other 8 dating apps range from $78 to $235, with a gap of more than 2 times. As for the advanced subscription plan, the monthly fee ranges from $138 to $468, a gap of 2.4 times.
Different ages have different fees, which age has the highest fee?
Some overseas consumer organizations have pointed out that “Tinder” will charge different fees according to factors such as age. The Consumer Council conducted a survey and opened a series of accounts, covering 18-68 years old, with 10 years old as the boundary, to study the fees of Tinder in Hong Kong.
Found 6 different ages, there are 3 different charges. The highest charge was 38 years old, the next highest was 18 and 58 years old, and the lowest charge was 28, 48 and 68 years old. According to a report by the Australian consumer organization CHOICE, Tinder’s pricing mechanism may not only consider the age of the user, but also the operating system, device, location, and even personal interests. The algorithm is quite complicated and cumbersome, even if it is There are also varying degrees of charge differences among the same age group. The Consumer Council pointed out that the differential pricing method of “Tinder” is extremely opaque and unfair to users.
Consumer Council reminds users of dating apps to be careful
Dating apps have sprung up like mushrooms after rain in recent years, and online love scams also occur from time to time. When making friends online, consumers should “know people with their eyes”. Consumers can refer to the following tips:
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Meet with the object in a public place instead of a hidden or private place. Do not drink excessively or abuse drugs, so as not to reduce your vigilance and judgment; make sure you can arrange transportation to leave after the date. If you feel that the situation is different during the meeting, The appointment should be terminated early;
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When meeting for the first time, you should avoid talking about your own financial situation. If the other party proposes to go to high-risk sales places such as beauty salons or clinics for no reason, you should be careful. Never give any form of monetary assistance to someone you have never met;
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If users are harassed in the dating program, they can use the unmatch or block function to cut off contact;
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Before registering an account, you should refer to the terms and conditions and privacy policy documents for details on how the program handles personal data. If you do not want your personal data to be used for marketing or promotion, you can check whether there is a setting to reject the above-mentioned purposes;
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Most subscription services have an automatic renewal mechanism. In order to avoid unknowingly continuing to be charged, consumers must cancel the service in a timely and proper manner. Simply removing the app does not mean requesting the termination of the service.
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