Happn App – It is widely recognize as a popular and “cleaner” alternative to Tinder. It is how you connect with people you have met in everyday life but with whom you would not normally speak. Think about the other students at your favorite coffee shop on a Friday night. With the application, you can easily start conversations with people in your immediate environment. The app was launch in 2014 and had more than seventy million users worldwide.

When you communicate with others personally, you don’t want to get into trouble. That’s why it’s so important to respect your privacy online, especially on dating apps like Happn. Don’t cut too much information; hide your location if possible, and use a fake location app if necessary. In this article, we will tell you quite how to stay safe while dating online. We will also inform you about Happn’s privacy risks and how they affect you.

What Are Happn’s Privacy Risks?

Happn is a meeting app. Every time you cross paths with another Happn user, you’ll see their profile on your app (as long as it matches your default settings). Once there’s a match, meaning you’ve shown interest in each other, you can talk. It’s a fun system for connecting with people in your immediate area. However, like Tinder and Grindr, there are some potential privacy risks.

Connect Happn To Facebook

With Happn, you can create your account in two different ways: your phone number or your Facebook account. The option to use your phone number will add in an update. Before that, you could only sign in with your Facebook account. While some may find this useful, it also means that all of your Facebook information will  link to your dating profile.

Happn promises never to post everything on your Facebook page or send notifications or invites to friends. Happy says Facebook Connect is only used to share friends and common interests with Happn members you know.

Still, it’s important to take your online security and privacy seriously. Unless you sign in with your phone number, your Facebook profile will link to your Happn account. It makes it easier for Happn to prevent people from creating fake profiles. However, if you have linked the two social media platforms, Happn will automatically take photos from your Facebook profile to display on your dating profile. Users could then simply perform a reverse image search to learn more about you and discover your Facebook profile. Due to Happn’s configuration, it is difficult to avoid this.

Happn Has Violated Its Privacy Policy By Sharing Personal Information

In 2016, Happn also had problems. At the time, the Norwegian Consumer Council found that the company had breached its privacy policy. Happn promises never to share your personal information with third parties, but it was spotted anyway. They sent data to a US marketing agency called UpSight. The shared user data included information about the user’s in-app settings, full name, date of birth, employment status, and gender. Information about link Facebook accounts was also used. It meant that Happn was actively violating its privacy policy and lying to its users.

At the same time, another problem with the application was discovered. While Happn appealed that all user information and data would be deleted from their servers once an account was deleted, the opposite was true. Some of the cookies contained in the installation and use of Happn were not deleted. Essentially, Happn users have not been able to completely remove the app from their phones. As a result, your info has not been completely removed from Happn’s servers either.

Premium Users Know When You’ve “Liked” Them

On Happn, you can view user-profiles and like, dislike or “love” them. With a “Like” or a “Charm,” you show interest in them. However, the other person will only see you like if they choose to like you too. If so, you are both “in love” and can chat via the app.

However, there are ways to circumvent this system. For example, with a premium account, you can see exactly who liked it and when. Many Happn users choose Premium. In other words, your likes are no lengthier isolate to the people you send in the app. This could be embarrassing or embarrassing if you’re afraid of being reject or if you generally don’t want someone to know you love them unless they love you back.

In addition to the premium feature, an in-app game called Crush Time allows others to follow your in-app choices. In the game, you have the opportunity to find out which Happn users you liked. The game will show you  different profiles, one of which has given you a “Like.” If you can guess who this individual is, you will be automatically match and can talk to each other. The more you play this game, the easier it will be to guess. Some profiles may still show up, which probably means they liked you. While this is a cumbersome way to find out who likes you, it’s not impossible. If you prefer to keep your likes private until the other person shows genuine interest in you, that’s a risk you need to reflect.

Your Place Is No Longer Private With Maps

In 2018, Happn presented a new feature called Maps. The feature allows users to see where they have met other users on a map. These locations are fairly accurate: within a 250-meter radius. The times you and the other person were at that location are also mention.

Maps make it much easier to find people you know in real life on the app. Did you meet a cute boy or girl at your favorite club? Just use Maps to check if you have Happn too. If yes, you might like it.

It’s a great way to connect with others, but it also comes with a lot of security issues. If you can see exactly where and when you met a Happn member, those users can see that information about you too. This makes criminal activities like pestering very easy. In other words, people who choose to abuse the map feature can become a real threat to your privacy.