Typically, most information big few through questionnaires [9]. The questionnaires ask for likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies, and so on. The number online few asked depends on the service that the user has selected. It appears that the more successful sites ask hundreds of questions to get better results [9]. Diagram dating in Figure 6 provided by an article [9] illustrates a simple depiction on how matches are made based on the information provided. Figure
Episode 18| Online Dating and Trading Data for Love (It’s Complicated)
dating | FlowingData
Tons more data is collected when I start filling out quizzes and surveys intended to find my match. Because I agreed to the legal jargon that gets me into the website, all of that data is up for sale—potentially through a sort of gray market for dating profiles. Anyone can purchase a batch of profiles from a data broker and immediately have access to the names, contact information, identifying traits, and photos of millions of real individuals. Berlin-based NGO Tactical Tech collaborated with artist and researcher Joana Moll to uncover these practices in the online dating world. For that relatively small sum, they gained access to huge swaths of information. The datasets included usernames, email addresses, gender, age, sexual orientation, interests, profession, as well as detailed physical and personality traits and five million photos.
But when it comes to security, what should you be aware of? What privacy concessions are you making when you swipe? How does your online behavior impact your real life?
When I was in college I joined an online dating site. This is a story about that experience, and how it helped me better understand data analytics. If someone asked me if I based my judgments on first impressions or on physical appearance I would say no, of course not.