Tinder ignites as members fret over Swipebuster spy website
Members of the Tinder dating app risk having their extra-curricular activities documented for all and sundry to gawp at following the development of a new website which claims to be able to track members to their last known location.
Swipebuster exploits a loophole in Tinder’s security by accessing the platforms own back end functions which are made publicly available to third party developers – including the name, gender, age and location of members.
For $4.99 a pop people can track anyone they suspect of being unfaithful simply by inputting their name and last likely location where they could have used the app. Armed with that information the app will divulge if and when that person was swiping for dates.
In a Vanity Fair interview the anonymous developer claimed the motivation was to raise awareness of the oversharing of personal data: “There is too much data about people that people themselves don’t know is available. Not only are people oversharing and putting out a lot of information about themselves, but companies are also not doing enough to let people know they’re doing it.”
In a statement defending its privacy standards Tinder said: “…searchable information on the Web site is public information that Tinder users have on their profiles. If you want to see who’s on Tinder we recommend saving your money and downloading the app for free.”