Swipe right - but watch your data: Dating app hit with AI privacy complaint

Published on 26/06/2025 - 12:34 GMT+2

Dating level Bumble has been deed pinch a privateness title revenge by defense group NOYB complete its AI characteristic designed to thief users commencement a conversation.

According to NOYB, nan alleged AI Icebreakers feature connected Bumble for Friends uses individual floor plan accusation without consent successful breach of nan EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The feature, introduced successful December 2023, is powered by OpenAI and it allows the app to entree people’s individual floor plan information successful bid to AI-generate an opening connection based connected nan accusation group person shared connected nan platform, NOYB said.

“Bumble forces its AI features connected millions of European users without ever asking them for their consent. Instead, their individual information is being sent to OpenAI and fed into nan company’s AI systems,” said Lisa Steinfeld, a information protection lawyer astatine NOYB.

The title has been revenge pinch nan Austrian information protection authority.

AI tools

AI devices person travel nether scrutiny successful caller months from information protection authorities crossed Europe. For example, Meta has been asked to amended to its artificial intelligence instrumentality MetaAI following concerns from nan Irish Data Protection Authority complete nan usage of nationalist information from Facebook and Instagram accounts utilized to train its Large Language Models (LLMs).

The institution remains nether scrutiny and needs to study backmost to nan Irish Data Protection Authority (DPA) successful October, nan regulator said successful a statement.  

It is estimated that immoderate 50 cardinal group globally usage nan making love app Bumble. While nan app doesn’t supply circumstantial personification numbers for Europe, Germany unsocial accounted for 1.45 cardinal users successful 2024.

Other making love apps, including Grindr person besides faced privateness complaints and fines owed to their information sharing practices, successful peculiar pinch third-party advertizing companies. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority imposed a good of NOK 65 cardinal (approximately €5.8 million) connected Grindr for these violations.