An online survey showed that Brazilians neglect security when using dating apps. The survey was released by the dating app happnand was also done globally.
The survey revealed that many Brazilian users take unnecessary risks when using the apps to find a crush: 69% share sensitive information, such as personal and/or professional information, places they frequent (such as gyms, bars, restaurants), family information , educational institution and accounts on social networks.
Brazilians take another risk when using dating apps sharing their personal phone number: 38% prefer to share their phone number or social network to continue the conversation through other means in the first moments of the online conversation. Only 27% prefer to continue chatting within the dating app until the first date.
20% of Brazilians believe that online safety depends on their conduct
Another notable fact from the survey is that 20% of Brazilians believe that their online safety depends more on the conduct of others than on their own online behavior. In comparison, 17% are aware that their online safety depends on their own behavior. But anyone who thinks Brazilians would be the least conscientious people in this regard is wrong: an even smaller percentage of the British and French consider their online safety to depend more on themselves than on others, 7% and 10%, respectively.
Added to this is the fact that more than half (57%) of users in Brazil believe that one week of contact is enough to share personal information. Similar figures in other countries: 49% in the UK, 61% in France and 61% in the Netherlands.
“These data are worrying because they show a high level of trust in the other person’s behavior, translating into a presence that is not very security-conscious in relationship tools. For example, we normally don’t share our address or other personal data with a stranger with whom we strike up a conversation in the movie line. Why would we do this in an app? We must be clear that the care we take in the real world must be transferred to the digital world”, warns Michael Illas, relationship specialist at happn.
Women are extra careful in dating apps
Research also shows that women tend to be more suspicious and resort to extra care. At the same time, only 14% of Brazilian users say they feel safe on dating apps, this percentage increases to 43% among the male audience in Brazil. While 61% of women say they often share their location with at least one friend during their first date (as a safety measure), only 28% of men say they do the same.
This reality changes in European countries. According to the survey, both women and men feel safer within the apps. In France, 24% of the female audience say they feel safe, while in the UK, this figure rises to 33%, and in the Netherlands, to 48%. Among men, the percentages are even higher: 44% (France), 67% (United Kingdom) and 61% (Holland), respectively.
But there is a positive consensus among the Brazilian public: the survey predicts that the vast majority of both sexes prefer to have their first date in public – 98% of women and 89% of men – and feel safer having a crush (when two profiles are liked) to a certified profile – 75% of women and 72% of men.
