I know short answered would be mostly a no with it being such a goldmine for collecting data but was at least wonder is there any stuff I can do to reduce that and is there a better alternative.
I don’t consider my risk profile to be high so I know I don’t had to take lot of steps but want to try gain bit of piracy while using such apps which I don’t know if it possible
If you’re on a dating app, there’s probably some privacy you’re fine with giving up. Here are some things that I think are good ideas:
Wipe metadata off your pictures. I don’t know how they can be extracted, but neither Tinder nor your potential dates need to know which bar you took that third picture at, and at what time, and on what phone. Also restrict photo access. None of these apps need access to your entire photo library.
Use an email alias, not your phone number for signing up, etc. Don’t sign up via Facebook/Google/Etc, and use as little info as possible.
Only give your phone number/social media/contact info to people in person. You don’t have to share that stuff on the apps. A polite “I try to only share contact info after I meet someone first :)” will be understandable to most people.
Consider whether or not you want to link other accounts to it. Many dating apps will have Spotify, Instagram, etc. Some people won’t feel super comfortable if they can’t vet you online first, though. This is probably easier if you have those things linked on your profile. You can either choose to have the dating apps know, or have the dating apps and the people you send them to directly know. I think if you’re even going to send them to one person through the apps, there’s not much harm in linking them in your profile. Otherwise I’d avoid it.
Turn your location off if you can. I’m pretty sure most dating apps still work and you can use their traveling mode if anything. You could also set it to only access your location when the app is open. Also if you can, turn off precise location tracking.
Use a VPN.
For some apps, using a pseudonym is accepted. For others, it’s not so much. Use your better judgment and read the room on which is which.
Turn off background refresh. This might mess up usability though. Test it out for yourself. You may have to check the app more.
Just wanted to add this video from Techlore about this :
The new oil made a nice video on this.
