AdultFriendFinder vs. hookup apps: How their privacy policies compare

Whenever you sign up for any dating apps and websites, it’s worth remembering the sheer amount of data they’re collecting from you. It’s just the name of the online dating game. You have to hand over all kinds of personal details, such as your name, age, location, and, in some cases, your salary level. Hell, you even tell them what turns you on, something you probably wouldn’t tell your closest friends.

For you and your potential matches, these are just rudimentary “personal details” — the admin you have to input before you get free rein on the app — but to the companies behind these sites and apps, it’s highly valuable information. They can use this information to serve you tailored ads or even sell it on to third-party data collection companies. 

If you value your privacy — and you really should — or if you just want to do your due diligence before you commit time and money to an app, it’s worth knowing its privacy policy and what the app does (or doesn’t do) to protect your information.

It’s a thorny subject, and it’s easy to get blindsided by jargon, so we’ve put together a quick overview of the data protection policies of some of the most popular hookup apps:

AdultFriendFinder privacy policy

AdultFriendFinder is a standout in the world of hookup apps and sites, largely because it allows members to post nude photographs and videos. Indeed, AFF actively encourages it. That’s kind of the point of the site, which is packed with nudity from top to bottom. That adds an extra layer of concern regarding privacy. You want to be sure that AFF’s privacy policy is both transparent and robust.

Thankfully, the folks at AFF 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.” 

There is a small caveat, however. Remember that if you log in to AFF via a third-party authorization platform — something like Facebook or Google, for instance — those companies will have access to your profile name, email address, and profile photo. It’s worth keeping that in mind if you don’t want other people to know that you’re using AFF.

Tinder privacy policy

Tinder is probably the biggest name in dating apps. It stands to reason that you’d expect them to have one of the more robust privacy policies around. But the policy reads like it was written by lawyers — not to inform you, the user, of your privacy rights, but to indemnify Tinder for how it uses your data. 

For starters, they operate under an “opt out” rather than an “opt in” paradigm. That means the default Tinder account will allow lots of data collection, including “access to specific types of device data such as phone contacts, pictures, advertising identifiers and location services,” in addition to the data you’ve already shared with Tinder. 

AFF is so keen to shout about about not selling your data that its uses caps lock, but Tinder uses slippery legal language instead: “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 — that doesn’t instill us with confidence.

If you’ve been a long-time user but are now suddenly concerned about what Tinder might know about you and what it might do with that information, we recommend that you request a copy of your personal data. You can download this as a ZIP file, review the data the app has about you, and decide for yourself whether you want to keep using it.

Pure privacy policy

What about Pure? Well, its privacy policy is lengthy and comprehensive, which makes sense. It’s a privacy-first app that deletes message history after 24 hours, reassuring users of safety and security.

The privacy policy isn’t as precise as we’d like, though. For example, Pure discusses what data it shares with third parties, citing that data may go to “service providers”. But it doesn’t make explicitly clear what or who 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.” It’s all a bit vague and confusing.

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.