AdultFriendFinder vs. hookup apps: How their privacy policies compare

It's no secret that the world of dating apps and websites involves the collection of an enormous amount of data. How could it be otherwise? You're voluntarily telling these companies how old you are, where you live, what you're looking for, and maybe even how much money you earn or your level of education. 

All of this may just be "personal details" to you, or to the people you're trying to match with, but to the companies that own the sites and apps you're using, this is valuable information that can be used to serve you ads or even sold to third-party data collection companies. 

If you're privacy-minded, or if you just want to do your due diligence before you commit your time and maybe even your money to a company, it's worth knowing about each app or site's privacy policy and how it does or doesn't protect your information. 

Here's a quick overview of the data protection policies of some of the most common hookup apps:

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Credit: AdultFriendFinder

AdultFriendFinder

 

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AdultFriendFinder privacy policy

AdultFriendFinder is unusual in the constellation of hookup apps and websites for the simple reason that it allows and even encourages its members to post nude photographs and videos, so as you can imagine, their privacy policy should be both transparent and robust.

Thankfully, they are unequivocal about what they won't do with your private information: "We DO NOT sell, rent, or give any personally identifiable information about you to any third party without your permission." 

One thing they do note, however, is that if you opt to log in to AFF through a third-party authorization site like Facebook or Google, those companies will have access to your profile name, email address and profile photo, which is something to keep in mind, especially if you don't want other people knowing you're using this site.

Tinder privacy policy

Tinder has one of the more robust privacy policies we've come across, but the impression it gives the reader is that it was written by lawyers less to inform you, the user, of your privacy rights and more to indemnify Tinder for how it uses your data. 

To begin with, they operate under an "opt out" rather than an "opt in" paradigm, so the default Tinder account is set up to allow lots of data collection, including "access to specific types of device data such as phone contacts, pictures, advertising identifiers and location services," on top of all the data you're already voluntarily sharing with Tinder. 

And unlike AFF, which was so emphatic about their refusal to sell your data that they resorted to using caps lock, Tinder uses slippery legal language: "If we 'sell' or 'share' your data or use it for 'targeted advertising,' we will provide an opt out in the 'Your Privacy Choices' link in the footer of our website and in the Settings menu of the app." The sentence begins with a conditional and then puts quotation marks around two words (sell and share) that have a pretty commonly understood meaning — not a good sign! 

If you've been a long-time Tinder user and are suddenly concerned with what the app might know about you, we recommend you request a copy of your personal data, which the site allows you to download as a ZIP file, so you can see exactly what they've collected on you and decide for yourself if you want to keep using the app. 

Pure privacy policy

What about Pure, the privacy-first app that boasts about deleting your message history after 24 hours? Their privacy policy is lengthy and comprehensive, but it's also less precise than it could be. 

For example, when discussing what data Pure shares with third parties, it prominently names "service providers" as an entity that might receive your data, but they bury the lede in a lengthy list of who exactly qualifies as a service provider: "providers of telecommunications systems, email, database, hosting, customer-communication tools, outsourcing, payment, user verification, advertising, marketing, analytics, anti-spam service, security, fraud prevention, and trust and safety moderation."

Pure acknowledges that these third-party services "may also use your Personal Data for their own purposes," but then also states that, "We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your Personal Data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your Personal Data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions." Pure didn't respond to Mashable's request for comment about what this means.

And if you're a California resident, Pure uses an "opt out" rather than an "opt in" approach to data collection, so if you do plan on using the app, it's worth thoroughly exploring your account settings to ensure you're not sharing more data with the company than you would like.