OPW – Jan 15 – As of April 2015, apps will no longer be able to access info on users' Facebook friends. Any permission that involves “friends” will no longer be available to apps. The impact to this change to online dating will vary depending upon the app. Dating apps often connect users to friends (or friends-of-friends) because there is already a connection there, and an element of trust. Most apps want to grow “virally” and encourage recommending the app to friends, or give other incentives to get friends involved in the app. This will no longer be possible without the friend connections.
Dating apps that perform wholesale data “harvesting” of extended profile data in order to support marketing activities will be stopped cold. Dating apps will have to show exactly what they are doing with the data they are collecting. Collecting user data for “invisible” analytic purposes is expressly forbidden by Facebook.
Mark Brooks: This post is by Alex Kilpatrick, the CTO of BeehiveID. (They're a Courtland Brooks client btw). BeehiveID is a very sophisticated system for authenticating users via social media. Email rich@beehiveid.com to learn more.
Will this change in Facebook policy be the end of Tinder and other datingapps. Those apps rely fully on the Facebook profile information and connections to make matches. I hope onlinepersonalswatch will ask Tinder/IAC comment on this issue.
Will this change in Facebook policy be the end of Tinder and other datingapps. Those apps rely fully on the Facebook profile information and connections to make matches. I hope onlinepersonalswatch will ask Tinder/IAC comment on this issue.
I don’t think Tinder use any info of the users facebook friends. They just show the mutual friends, which on that reading, will still be allowed.
I don’t think Tinder use any info of the users facebook friends. They just show the mutual friends, which on that reading, will still be allowed.
The new API will allow discovery of friends who have also installed a particular app. However, it doesn’t seem that Tinder uses this. They recommend matches based upon geographical location. So all they need is a single user’s profile, plus their (self-reported) location. The new API changes shouldn’t affect Tinder at all.
The new API will allow discovery of friends who have also installed a particular app. However, it doesn’t seem that Tinder uses this. They recommend matches based upon geographical location. So all they need is a single user’s profile, plus their (self-reported) location. The new API changes shouldn’t affect Tinder at all.