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How Dating Apps Exposed Users To Potential Stalking Threats

A Deep Dive Into Vulnerabilities In Popular Dating Apps

 


In a shocking revelation, researchers from the Belgian university KU Leuven discovered significant security flaws in several popular dating apps, including Bumble and Hinge, which could have allowed stalkers to pinpoint the locations of their users with alarming accuracy. This vulnerability posed severe risks to user privacy and safety, highlighting the need for stronger security measures in the rapidly growing online dating industry.

The Discovery: Vulnerabilities in Location-Based Filters

The researchers analyzed 15 popular dating apps and found that six of them—Badoo, Bumble, Grindr, happn, Hinge, and Hily—had a common vulnerability. Although these apps do not share exact locations when displaying the distance between users, they did use precise locations for their "filters" feature. This allowed users to refine their searches based on various criteria, including distance, inadvertently creating a security loophole.

To exploit this vulnerability, the researchers developed a novel technique called “oracle trilateration.” Traditional trilateration involves using three known points to determine a fourth point, similar to how GPS functions. Oracle trilateration, however, starts with a rough estimate of the target's location and then refines this estimate incrementally by moving in three different directions until the target's location can be pinpointed within two meters.

Real-World Implications

Karel Dhondt, one of the researchers, expressed surprise at finding these vulnerabilities in such widely-used apps. "While this technique doesn’t reveal the exact GPS coordinates of the victim, I’d say 2 meters is close enough to pinpoint the user," Dhondt said. The discovery underscored the potential dangers posed by these flaws, as malicious users could exploit them to track unsuspecting individuals.

The good news is that all affected apps have since modified how their distance filters work, making them less precise and mitigating the risk of oracle trilateration. By rounding up the exact coordinates by three decimals, these apps introduced an uncertainty of about one kilometer, significantly improving user safety.

Responses from the App Developers

Bumble's vice president of global communications, Gabrielle Ferree, stated that the company swiftly resolved the issues after being alerted by the researchers in early 2023. Similarly, Dmytro Kononov, CTO and co-founder of Hily, reported that their company investigated the vulnerability and implemented new geocoding algorithms in collaboration with the researchers.

Happn CEO and President Karima Ben Abdelmalek mentioned that their app has an additional layer of protection beyond just rounding distances, which was not accounted for in the researchers' analysis. This extra measure effectively neutralizes the trilateration technique, ensuring user safety.

Grindr, another app mentioned in the study, had already implemented a measure that rounds user locations to the nearest 111 meters. While this is less precise than two meters, it could still pose risks in densely populated areas. Grindr's Chief Privacy Officer, Kelly Peterson Miranda, emphasized the importance of proximity in fostering connections within the LGBTQ+ community and noted that users have the option to disable distance display for added privacy.

Broader Implications and the Future of App Security

The findings of this study have broader implications for the tech industry, especially for apps relying on location-based features. It underscores the necessity for ongoing security audits and robust privacy measures to protect users. As dating apps continue to evolve and integrate new technologies like artificial intelligence, the importance of safeguarding user data and privacy cannot be overstated.

Conclusion

The vulnerabilities discovered in popular dating apps like Bumble and Hinge serve as a critical reminder of the ever-present need for stringent security measures in digital platforms. By addressing these flaws and improving their systems, these companies have taken essential steps to protect their users. However, the responsibility to ensure user safety is an ongoing process that requires vigilance and proactive measures.

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Vertical Bar Media

For more information on enhancing your digital security, visit Vertical Bar Media.

Source: Tech Crunch

Photo Credit: AI

Social Media Hashtags: #CyberSecurity #OnlineSafety #PrivacyMatters

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