Perils of online dating: 'Swipe right' for stalkers, murderers and con men?

Shraddha Walker was killed by her partner of 3 years. They had met on a dating app and after killing her, Aftab searched the same app to find another 'match'. So, how safe are these app that find you a date, but date with who?

New Delhi, Nov 30: Ever since the Shraddha Walkar murder case has hit the headlines, dating apps have come under the legal radar too and now there are questions raised about their safety parameters. As per media reports, Aftab Amin Poonawala who murdered her live-in girlfriend Shraddha Walkar had met through a dating app Bumble in 2019. They even moved-in together and stayed at a rented accommodation in Delhi. After almost three years of being together, Aftab killed her in Delhi's Chhatarpur. But what has made dating apps even scarier is the fact that Aftab had started using the same dating app to match with other women.

Aftab was arrested on November 12 and sent to police custody, which was further extended by five days on November 17. On November 22, he was sent to police custody for four days.

Bumble said that it was devastated to hear about the unspeakable crime, and it will continue to follow closely and remain available to the police, as quoted by ANI. "Everyone at Bumble is devastated to hear about this unspeakable crime, and our hearts are with Shraddha Walker's family and loved ones. We will continue to follow closely and remain available to law enforcement should they request our support." "The safety and wellbeing of our members is our top priority and we have a dedicated global team serving their needs," the spokesperson added.

While the Delhi police is still investigating the case, the fact that an alleged murderer used the app to meet more women begs the question: Are women safe?

Pandemic love

After Covid-19 pandemic, more and more young users had navigated to virtual spaces in search of friendship, love, and intimacy. In India alone, by 2020 itself, there were around 31 million users using the dating apps - Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, TrulyMadly and Aisle in search of companionship, as per a survey by statista.com.

While many apps did not reveal their exact user base, according to Statista.com, dating apps are projected to be used by 4.3 per cent of India's population by 2025 - up from 3 per cent in 2021.

Tinder saw a 19 per cent growth in messages exchanged and a 32 per cent increase in the conversation duration from 2020, according to data shared by the company. While a survey on Bumble in June 2021 revealed that 44 per cent people, who were previously against online dating, tried the app 'as it became the only way to meet someone' during the pandemic lockdown.

It must be noted that when the dating app was introduced In India back in 2012, the platform saw some immediate success, particularly among urban youth. Within a few years, a number of both foreign and Indian apps popped up, quietly transforming the way people look for love and virtual dates becoming a norm.

'Romcom' turned 'Rom con':

Every month thousands of scams has been reported on these platforms where miscreants use online dating and matrimonial sites to first build relationship with the victim.
Nirali Bhatia, Cyber Psychologist, and Psychotherapist speaking to LiveMint said that there are two kinds of perpetrators. A person whose motive is to make money out of the victim. The second category of scammers targets women, either to take 'revenge', or they enjoy the sadistic pleasure of victimizing in different ways, like physical, harassment and emotional abuse. Such perpetrators are sociopaths or narcissists. The scammer may send a small gift or flowers to the victim. In return, the victim may comply with a request to send a small amount of money.

Measure of caution:

Experts have recommend a few precautions when creating an online dating profile.

• Keep it minimal - When making a profile do not reveal personal information such as your address or employer. Also, it is important to remember that your photos can be used to find your social media profile.
• Check them out online- When you match with someone online, cross-check if the social media accounts and the information they shared is right. Go for a video chats may be two to three times before meeting anyone in real life. One should also be cautious because 'crooks' frequently establish trust before demanding money or information.
• Don't tell all- Never share your all the information with the person you met online, within the first few days.
• Keep a friend in the loop- Keep your friend informed with your whereabouts or make sure to share your live location when meeting them in person.
• Play safe: If you are meeting that person for the first time, meet at a public place, stalk their socials a bit.

Online dating and security:

The study by global cyber security company Kaspersky Lab showed that many dating apps have little motivation to protect users from oversharing. People often post far more about themselves than is sensible, forgetting or ignoring the possible consequences: doxing, stalking, data leakage and other online woes. The report also advises against providing your phone number and sticking to the app's message platform until you are confident that you can trust the person you are chatting with.

India's Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022

It must be noted that these dating apps also collect sensitive and personal data about their users. The Union Government had recently released the draft of the much awaited Digital Personal Data Protection Bill. The Bill requires entities processing the personal data of users to give an itemised notice in simple and plain language to all users about the types of personal data collected. It also makes it mandatory that the users should have the right to withdraw consent for data usage from the processing entity such as social media platforms from using their personal data. The Bill does not seek to regulate non-personal data and the Union Government would present the same in Parliament in the next session.