Survey: 23% of Online Dating App Users Have Experienced Stalking

JAKARTA - A survey conducted by Kaspersky which interviewed 1000 people from 21 countries in the world revealed that they are ready to take steps to protect themselves when using online dating applications.

“The internet is a brilliant thing and offers a world of possibilities. However, along with opportunities, threats also arise and one of them is the ease of access to traceable data which makes us vulnerable to misuse," said David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky.

Based on the survey, at least 23% of respondents admitted that they had experienced threats from online dating applications in the form of stalking and online harassment, due to oversharing or excessive sharing of personal information.

More than a third (39%) of respondents have even reported some form of violence or harassment at the hands of their partners, namely 16% of respondents have received unwanted emails or messages and 13% have been filmed or photographed without their consent.

In addition, another 10% of people admitted that their location had been tracked, 10% admitted that their social media or email accounts had been hacked, and, the remaining 7% had installed stalkerware on their devices without consent.

Proportionately, more female respondents had experienced some form of violence or harassment than male respondents (42% versus 36%).

In fact, 34% of respondents said they were worried about the possibility of being stalked online, and female respondents were slightly more concerned about the prospect than men (36% were concerned compared to 31% of male respondents).

“I think it's great that people are taking steps to verify their identity online, and this will encourage people to pause and do a quick check of their information, passwords or any data they share, to avoid so that the information falls into the wrong hands," suggested Emm further.