Dating app data 'a gold mine' for advertisers in HK, but is transparency still lacking?

We shop online, make friends online, and more recently fall in love online. Dating apps have now become a part of our everyday lives. These apps have an immense power to lure in people from all walks of life, regardless of what their end goal on the platform might be.

With questions around your dating preferences and descriptions of your likes and dislikes, these apps also hold an immense amount of personal information beyond just name, gender, date of birth or location.

In fact, according to a survey by The Consumer Council, the personal data required at registration of several surveyed dating apps also include sexual orientation, email address, phone number amongst others. In some of these apps, users also chose to reveal information on education level, occupation and interests could be submitted per users’ preference.

The report also highlighted that in Hong Kong, dating apps have been collecting users’ personal information for marketing or advertising purposes by default, with very few players offering opt-out arrangements.

Don't miss: HK consumer watchdog says majority of dating apps use private information for marketing

Another report by MoneyTransfer.com also revealed that 67% of dating apps collected users’ personal data to share with third parties. This information included aspects such as identifiers (IP address and cookie identifies) and usage data.

Why are dating apps using personal data for marketing purposes? 

With the vast amount of information available, the move to monetise this data isn’t surprising to industry players MARKETING-INTERACTIVE spoke to. According to Jeffrey Hau, co-founder and CEO of The PRIZM Group, advertisers might be inclined to see this data “as a gold mine” given the amount of sensitive personal information revealed.

Advertisers see it as a "gold mine" as dating sites usually gather much more sensitive information than what other websites can.

Sometimes, information can include areas such as religious belief, sexual orientation, preference for having children, height and weight, which aren’t always openly discussed. This can then lead to ultra-targeted ads being sent to the right target audience within a dating app’s environment to generate revenue.

Adding to the view Kate Kwan, general manager, TEAM LEWIS Hong Kong agreed that many dating apps usually use first-party data for contextual personalisation which them create greater brand-led offline interactions with users – making them feel as though the dating app understands them and their lifestyle, hence driving customer loyalty. “It’s also highly non-intrusive as it’s simply enabling existing behaviour and interest patterns,” Kwan added.

However, worrisome situations arise when and if a dating app service provider chooses to re-sell private data to other companies for remarketing use, explained Ken Cheung, digital director of KREW Digital. "To avoid negligence, companies must state clearly that they will use customer's data for marketing purpose," shared Cheung. 

But of course, consumers in Hong Kong also need to be more diligent when it comes to protecting their personal data.

According to a recent survey by YouGov, nearly 39% of HongKongers are still unsure as to how to protect their personal information online, of which the age group of 35 to 44 accounted for 42% of the total respondents.

Commenting on the awareness of practices within the dating app world, Kwan said the constant growth of these apps over the years could either mean that consumers are not aware of the privacy terms, or feel that sharing their data does not pose any concerns at the time of signing up. 

“Some may even feel that getting consent is simply a ‘price’ they have to pay in return for using the service, depending on how literate users are when it comes to data and privacy issues,” Kwan added. 

Is there a need for more transparency?

The answer to this in today’s privacy laden world is a resounding yes.

“Transparency appears to be the key in protecting personal data – regardless of industry,” explained Florence Kong, founder and managing director of WeGlow Hong Kong. She added that dating apps should clearly indicate how users' information would be used to provide them with ads that may be of interest to them.

However, should consumers feel uncomfortable, they too should take added steps by not providing information around their work, home or finances. “Before signing up, it’s better to go through your chosen app’s privacy policy and take into account what it will use your data for,” Wong added.

Seconding the notion, PRIZM Group’s Hau suggested that the dating apps should clearly state the usage of the collected data, and explain if a consumers’ data is providing insights to third party instead of directly “selling” data.  “Any ad content or campaign should be designed wisely instead of creating creepy content that is directly derived from users’ sensitive data.”

This then would not just benefit the consumer, but also the app and its advertisers. “If users become reluctant to provide data due to data privacy concerns, at the end it will significantly affect the dating apps’ ability to deliver precise matching," he said.

However, optimistically Hau does hope that dating apps in Hong Kong are placing restrictions to safeguard information about their consumers when it comes to third party partners.

On the marketing front, there are plenty of rooms where ads and marketing can be fun, creative and likeable, especially for love and romance-related topics, without sacrificing the privacy of individual app users, according to Zenyum's former head of marketing Samson Fong.

This is further proven by the recent brand collaboration of dating app Coffee Meets Bagel and Zenyum Hong Kong providing smiling tips to groom users' app profile picture. "These are good case studies that brand collaboration customised for and focused on the overall and holistic dating app user experience, instead of ads drilling into and taking advantage of individual user data privacy." 

He said that dating apps as a medium, with the natural affinity of romance-seeking single users and general basic demographics, should provide enough good guides and resources for marketing and creative decision. "As marketers with ethics, one should not be tempted into a further breach of user privacy including chat conversations or granular app engagement data to protect users, app partners normally won’t leak either." he added. 

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