According to our research: Data protection authority finds serious violations at well-known dating app
German data protection authorities have uncovered significant violations by a prominent dating app, revealing the app's transmission of precise mobile location data to advertising firms without user consent. This practice, detailed in the Hamburg data protection authority's 2025 annual report, poses a substantial risk to user privacy by enabling the commercialization of sensitive personal information. Investigations, prompted by the "Databroker Files" research conducted by netzpolitik.org and Bayerischer Rundfunk, identified that the app in question, widely believed to be Lovoo, shared detailed location data with advertisers even when users had not explicitly agreed to such sharing. This data was found to be available through data brokers, highlighting a critical loophole in user control over their digital footprint. The authority is continuing its investigation, and the app's operator has remained silent on the matter. The implications extend beyond individual users, raising concerns about the broader data privacy landscape within the European digital market. Such unauthorized data sharing undermines user trust and potentially violates regulations like GDPR. The findings underscore the ongoing challenge of regulating the opaque data brokerage industry and ensuring that digital platforms uphold robust privacy standards.
Curated and translated by Europe Digital for our multilingual European audience.
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