Despite Cooperation With Russian Authorities, Tinder Denies Leaking User Data

This week, Tinder publicly confirmed that the company had accepted to be included in a group of entities which were obliged to share their user messages and data to Russia’s agencies of law enforcement on demand; however, no personal information has been given away yet, according to the company. The regulator of telecoms and media in the country, Roskomnadzor, has made a couple of statements about the decision. On Monday, it clarified that Tinder had already been listed in the special register.

Russia’s action of adding Tinder to their special register belongs to the wider drive of putting the internet into regulation. By this, it also means that all users’ metadata owned by Tinder, including all types of messages (text, audio, video), must be stored on the servers in minimum duration of six months. In fact, a large number of popular domestic social media and social network sites have already been on the Russian register, such as Russia’s Vkontakte; meanwhile, foreign services are firmly supposed to be the authorities’ next target.

Tinder, run by Match Group, has been holding data of millions of users from everywhere around the globe. It has successfully created twenty billion matches between users till now and is perhaps among the most reputable dating sites in the world. The site has been helping people to have more friends, expand their social network, even get acquainted with the local residents during trips and more.