The Online Dating Scandal and Debacle!
The debates around the safety of online dating apps have gained immense limelight in the wake of Shraddha Walkar’s murder case, who was killed by her live-in partner Aftab; whom she met on an online dating platform.
Online dating apps- which have reduced relationships’ legitimacy to left and right swipes on the mobile screen- are selling ‘hope’ to the Gen-Zs. Dating apps first made their way into the Indian mainstream in 2012 with Tinder coming in.
Today in 2022, people have multiple options, such as Bumble and Grindr. In a conventional setting like India where a good relationship should ‘mandatorily’ end in a marriage, dating apps emerged as something which offered people the possibility of companionship with hundreds of people, who can even become friends!
However, the problem lies in the security that these apps fail to offer. The providers of “digital romance” offer a gateway for hackers to access members’ personal data, including live locations. These apps leak sensitive information to third parties for commercial gains. For instance; on Grindr, which is a dating app for homosexuals, leaked information about their sexual orientation which was not in the interest of public health, but was merely done for profit.
Another instance is how these apps collect the information regarding the user’s location, so that they can find potential matches for their user in a close radius- such a mechanism can in fact; facilitate the predators to pinpoint the location of their prey.
In India; particularly, online dating platforms exploit the loosely framed definition of privacy. The privacy law in India has narrowly defined sensitive personal information to include, only financial information in the nature of a credit/debit card/other payment instrument details, biometric information, passwords, health information, medical records and history, and sexual orientation information.
The problem, not only lies with the inbuilt technological method that these apps use for “matching” people, but a user’s security on these platforms is even threatened by those shrewd people; who are simply- fake.
These people spend weeks gaining the trust of the other person before they assault them; either financially, mentally, or sexually. There is no mechanism to find that the individual’s other side has a clear image because these apps do not have any way to cross check these. The face of a person cannot serve as biometrics, the user can’t be sure if the person has used his actual image or not.
Since 2020, Delhi Police has registered 284 cases of financial fraud committed via dating apps and 5 cases of rape/assault/attempt to rape. Although, it might not sound like a threatening number, we must remember that many cases are not reported given, there are 31 million users of these apps in India.
The problem of security in these dating apps is worse for women; in particular. There have been several instances, where women found themselves “stuck” in horrifying situations, such as blackmail and even death threats!
The scenario is not that favorable for men, as well. News regarding the extraction of money by blackmailing people is on the rise, and unfortunately; extremely common. People fake their profiles in order to get monetary benefits.
The problem lies in the fact that these apps don’t take any responsibility for ensuring their consumer’s safety; once they leave the chat box, and meet offline. It’s true; that seeking love online is not a new thing, but what these online dating platforms do is provide scope for meeting offline.
Over the years, some of these apps have taken steps to safeguard their users’ privacy, and ensure security. Tinder advanced its machine learning technology to detect the use of abusive words or inappropriate behavior in chats. Bumble introduced a feature, in which only a woman can initiate a conversation with the matched person. It even uses Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) to automatically blur a potential nude image share within a chat.
Shraddha Walkar’s case, and its linkage with dating apps might just be a coincidence! People have been chasing the “movie romance,” and dating apps just provide a platform to realize this chase.
There is a need for users to become more aware and careful. Dating apps; themselves can play a major role in protecting their users’ security, by having preliminary screening, and proper identification processes; in place. Unfortunately, most of these apps are bothered only by consumer acquisition; and growth. Thus, the law should introduce stringent regulations for the dating platforms as these are only expected to grow in the near future.
Written by- Jyoti Harsh
Edited by- Kushi Mayur