Joseph Parker

Joseph Parker

LIS 530

2/12/2026

Dating App Schema and Privacy Policy

Looking through the privacy contracts of these different dating apps and thinking through how my own application could work effectively with the least amount of data collection possible enhanced this idea that we are not only putting so much data out into the world, we are doing it willingly. We are purposely creating avatars ^[1]  of ourselves through our creation of dating, LinkedIn, social media or other profiles. That information in combination with how we use those apps creates a separate version of us. Seeing the ways many of these companies, using ideas of user consent^[2], are willing to provide this data to third parties that can then use that data in aggregate with other personal or demographic data to create more and more effective modeling and prediction systems^[3] .

 I wanted to create an app somewhere in between the bumble friend finder and linkedin, a place where people could go to find mentors, share skills, and make connections in a slightly lower pressure arena. With this in mind I wanted to make sure that connection was easy but that there were also guardrails to make sure that people didn’t have to expose too much of their own information and that they could opt out at any time. To do this I decided that senders, the mentees, were invisible until they reached out to the mentors. The idea behind this was to acknowledge the existing power dynamic in these types of relationships and try to take at least some of that pressure off by letting the mentees browse and think about where their interests may align before having to engage. Additionally I wanted there to be options to opt out so I decided that contact information, beyond the app, would be blocked until both mentees and mentors had met once through the app and made the active decision to continue their professional relationship.

Even with these safety measures I was daunted by the data collection and storage necessary for even these basic functions. Even with its nature as more of a job relationship app rather than a full on dating app the information that I would need to connect mentors and mentees is still data that could be potentially dangerous. Names, job titles, and interests not to mention contact information. It makes clear the necessity of these policies and some regulation over how data is used. More and more of our lives are online and with that should come some regulation. It is great that so many apps have comprehensive policies but there should be some overarching policy that makes sure that we maintain our agency over our own data when we go online. Whether it’s taxes, legal, or trying to hook up on a Friday night we should be able to comfortably use the web without worrying about how the data we leave behind may be used against us.

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