Should you link other social media accounts to your data profile?
WhatsApp allows you to block people too, but there are other things to consider. Moving to WhatsApp requires exchanging phone numbers, which may be trackable via search engines or social media platforms, says Jake Moore, global cybersecurity adviser at Slovakia-based company ESET. “It is very important to keep conversations within the platform until you are confident.”
It’s possible to link your social media accounts to dating apps, but should you do this? Most experts think sharing information about your life requires a careful approach. It’s “very unwise” to link your social media accounts to your dating profile, says Tom Gaffney, principal security expert at security company F-Secure.
Cybersecurity specialists advise against logging into the dating apps via Facebook, which allows additional data harvesting to take place. Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Some apps already give you the option to limit sharing your entire social media profile, while exposing enough to let other users know you are genuine. For example, Bumble allows you to connect your Instagram, which will display your last 24 photos but won’t link out to your account, reveal your social handle, or display any other information such as captions or hashtags.
At the same time, logging in via Facebook is a definite no-no, because it allows additional data collection by the app, even if it’s not displayed publicly. “If you create a login with your Facebook account, apps such as Hinge can access Facebook data including your name, phone number and marital status,” says Gaffney.
