Who Own's Your Data? Is it Safe with OKC?

Match.com is owned by IAC, which owns more than 50 companies and websites. IAC’s privacy policy allows it to share information freely between the many companies and websites it owns. As a result, users of OKC data can be shared freely among the 6^th largest online network in the world, which is not very private (Downey, 2011). OkCupid’s privacy policy states that if the ownership of all or substantially all of the OKC business or assets were to change, your user information would likely be transferred to the new owners (OkCupid, 2016). Under information they collect I found that OKC automatically collects information from your browser or device when you visit their website or application. Such information includes IP address, device ID, browser type and language. OKC may also receive information about its users from third party social platforms, such as Facebook. When users access their website or mobile app through such a site you allow them to access or collect information made available by third party sites. An interesting study was done on OKC by a couple of Danish researchers. They caused uproar by publishing data from 70,000 OkCupid users’ profiles (Hackett, 2016).

Some of the data collected included usernames, political leanings, drug usage, and intimate sexual details. The OKC research did not involve a security breach; however it did spark a controversy regarding the ownership of data and research ethics. Many individuals argue that the practice of collecting personal information on a massive scale without individual consent was a major breach of privacy, as well as social science ethics (Hackett, 2016). Sam Yagan explained that “there was no evidence that anyone had hacked the OkCupid deed – which would have required only sniffing the app’s Web traffic” (Schwartz, 2013). The researches explained that some may object to the ethics of gathering and releasing the data, however all the data found in the dataset was already publicly available online. No real names or pictures of the OKC users were leaked, but critics argue that their identities could easily be uncovered from the details provided. Below is a screenshot of one of the researchers Tweet about submitting their research paper and it sparking controversy about research ethics. 

References: 

Cox, J. (2016, May 12). 70,000 OkCupid Users Just Had Their Data Published . Retrieved from Motherboard Vice : http://motherboard.vice.com/read/70000-okcupid-users-just-had-their-data-published

Downey, S. A. (2011, February 10). Is you personal information safe on OkCupid. Retrieved from Abine : https://www.abine.com/blog/2011/is-your-personal-info-safe-on-okcupid/

Hackett, R. (2016, May 18). Researchers Caused an Uproar By Publishing Data From 70,000 OkCupid Users . Retrieved from Fortune : http://fortune.com/2016/05/18/okcupid-data-research/

OkCupid. (2016, July 1). OkCupid Privacy Policy . Retrieved from OkCupid : https://www.okcupid.com/legal/privacy

Schwartz, M. (2013). OkCupid Blind Date App: Beware Privacy Flub. Information Week. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.wlu.ca/docview/1270603808?rfr_id=info:xri/sid:primo

Tynan, D. (2011, February 11). Is OkCupid's Dating Data Safe With Match.com. Retrieved from PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/article/219480/okcupid_data.html

Woollacott, E. (2016, May 13). 70,000 OkCupid Profiles Leaked, Intimate Details and All . Retrieved from Forbes : http://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2016/05/13/intimate-data-of-70000-okcupid-users-released/#7d406a0419bd