How to protect yourself on dating apps: the settings that keep your private life private

Dating apps run on data. Some of it you type in on purpose: photos, bio, preferences. Some of it your phone hands over on its own: where you are, what device you use, when you open the app. So how do you stay findable without being trackable, and in control of what you show and send?

This guide covers the settings on your phone and in the app, and what to do if your privacy gets breached anyway. Plain language, no jargon.

What dating apps can know about you, and why

A dating app knows two kinds of things about you: what you give it and what your phone gives it. You control both more than you think.

The information you provide yourself

• Photos
• Profile information (name, age, job, education, city)
• Preferences (age range, distance)
• Your bio and prompt answers
• Messages you send to other members

It becomes sensitive when it is too precise: an exact employer, a street, a routine.

The data your phone sends automatically

• Your location
• Advertising identifiers
• Your device model
• Your activity in the app (when you open it, from where)

This data runs features, security and sometimes advertising, and you decide what stays on. Regulators are watching: in May 2026 the FTC banned a data broker from selling sensitive location data without consumers’ affirmative express consent, after it sold data linked to hundreds of millions of mobile devices. The FTC’s list of sensitive locations includes places of worship (FTC order of May 4, 2026) [1]. The settings below keep that kind of data on your phone.

Before you create your account: prepare your phone

The best protection starts before you download the app. Four steps, ten minutes.

Update and lock your phone

• Turn on automatic screen lock (passcode, face or fingerprint unlock).
• Turn on automatic security updates.
• Back up your data regularly.

Create a clean access point

• A unique, strong password for the app: at least 16 characters or a passphrase of four to seven unrelated words, different for every account, kept in a password manager (CISA) [2].
• A dedicated email address for dating, so your profile can’t be cross-referenced with your other accounts.
• Multi-factor authentication on that email address, so a stolen password alone can’t get in.

Create a profile that doesn’t reveal too much of your identity

• Use a first name or a nickname nobody can trace to your social media handles.
• Fill in only what the app needs and what you want a stranger to know.
• Skip the overly specific details: an identifiable employer, a neighborhood that narrows down your address, your gym and your schedule. The fewer connections someone can make, the safer you are.
• If you’re a parent, leave your kids’ names, ages, school and photos off the profile. That can come later, on your terms.
• Think before you link Instagram or Spotify. A linked account gives every match a second search path: your handle, your friends’ tags, your tagged locations. If you connect one, make it private.

Choose photos without personal clues

A photo tells a stranger more than your bio does. Check the background for:

• License plates, work badges, name tags, lanyards
• Your kids’ school, your front door, a building front everyone in town recognizes
• Documents, mail or screens in the background
• Your church, your HBCU sweatshirt, your Greek letters, your job’s logo. Each one is a search term that leads to a chapter roster, a congregation directory or a staff page with your full name on it. Keep the pride, share it in conversation, and keep it off the grid until you trust the person.

Two checks most people skip:

• Run a reverse image search on yourself. Upload each dating photo to an image search engine. If it leads to your Instagram, your LinkedIn or your company’s team page, use different photos for dating than anywhere else. Face search engines make this faster than it used to be.
• Strip the metadata. Photos can carry the GPS coordinates, date and device they were taken with. Most apps remove it on upload; a photo you send by text may not be cleaned. On iPhone, tap Options in the share sheet and turn Location off; on Android, check the share settings.

Check your profile’s visibility

Before your first match, check what is displayed by default and who can see it. On BLK, you can take your profile out of view at any time by placing it in Hidden Mode: toggle off “Show me on BLK” under the settings page. Use it for a break or for travel.

Location: how to stay visible without being trackable

Location lets the app show you people near you. The safest setup: location on only while you’re using the app, at neighborhood precision, app closed when you’re done.

Allow location access only while using the app

The everyday setting is “Allow only while using the app” (Android [3]) or “While Using the App” (iPhone [4]). It stops continuous background collection.

Choose approximate location

Your phone can share an approximate position instead of an exact one: about a 3-square-kilometer area on Android [3], or the Precise Location switch turned off on iPhone. That is enough to meet people nearby without giving away your block. If the app itself offers a neighborhood-level option, use it.

Turn off very precise distance display

Showing “500 feet away” lets someone estimate your exact position by checking the distance from three points, a technique called trilateration. KU Leuven researchers showed in 2024 that six location-based dating apps could be trilaterated to a member’s exact location (USENIX Security 2024) [5]. Check whether your app can round or hide the distance it shows. A vague number protects you better than a precise one.

Cut off background collection

Some apps keep accessing your location or identifiers as long as the permission stays active. Close the app when you’re done; revoke the permission when you take a break.

Traveling: put your profile away before you land

Travel changes your risk: your profile shows up to a new pool of people, and in some places the law itself is the danger. BLK’s published guidance for LGBTQ+ members is direct: nowhere in the world is without potential risk, some countries have laws that target LGBTQ+ people, including laws that criminalize communications on same-sex dating apps, and some law enforcement have used dating apps for entrapment. Check the laws where you’re going in the ILGA World Database [6]. In unsafe territory, do not log into your BLK account while you are there. If you choose to log in, place your profile in Hidden Mode by toggling off “Show me on BLK” under the settings page. The same move works for the family reunion or the church retreat.

Managing permissions: a key point for your safety

Your phone lets you control what each app can do. Review it at setup and after any big update.

The permissions to review regularly

• Location
• Microphone
• Camera
• Contacts
• Photos (“selected photos” rather than full library access, where your phone offers it)

Keep only what the app needs for the features you use. Camera and photos, yes. Contacts and microphone, rarely.

Hide notifications on your lock screen

To keep a private message from popping up on the train or on the kitchen counter, turn on “Hide notification content on lock screen” (or “Show previews: when unlocked”) for the app.

Personalized ads, trackers and third-party sharing: what to check

Regulators are watching these practices, as the May 2026 FTC order shows [1]. On your end: turn off ad personalization in your phone’s privacy settings, reset or delete your advertising identifier, and refuse app tracking prompts. In the app’s own settings, check whether you can opt out of targeted advertising, refuse location sharing and turn off trackers. Saying no should be as easy as saying yes; if the opt-out exists, use it.

How to stay in control of your data and what you send

Two habits cover most of it: read the parts of the privacy policy that matter, and treat everything you send as something that could leave the app.

Read the key points of the privacy policy

72% of Americans say they have little to no understanding of the privacy laws that apply to them [7]. Skip the full read and answer five questions:

• What data is collected?
• For what purposes?
• Who is it shared with?
• How long is it kept?
• How do you exercise your rights (access, deletion, opting out of the sale or sharing of your data), which state laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act guarantee depending on where you live?

Messages, photos and content: how to stay in control of what you send

One rule covers it: anything you send can be copied, screenshotted, saved or shared outside the app, with no hacking required. Before you send, ask yourself: “If this image showed up somewhere else, with my name on it, could it hurt me?”

Avoid sensitive content

Never send:

• intimate photos
• ID documents (driver’s license, passport, Social Security number)
• bank account or payment details
• travel tickets, bills, anything with your address on it
• work documents or badge photos

Even with someone you trust: once shared, content is never fully under your control.

Keep the conversation on the app

Take your time before moving to text, another messaging app, email or phone. Exchanges on BLK are covered by our Safe Message Filters, automated tools plus trained human agents who review interactions and act against harmful or illegal behavior. People with bad intentions know that, which is why they push to move off the app right away. A phone number can be searched, and a messaging app can show your real name and photo to a stranger. When you’re ready, use a dedicated number.

Passwords and phishing: protecting the account itself

Most account takeovers start with a reused password or a fake login email.

• Never share your password, including with a match who “just wants to see your profile”, and be careful when logging in from a public or shared computer.
• BLK will never send you an email asking for your username and password. If you receive an email asking for account information, report it immediately.
• Know the FTC’s signs of phishing: a generic greeting, a claim that there’s a problem with your account, a link to “confirm” your details. Don’t click; open the app directly (FTC) [8].
• If you did enter details, change that password everywhere it’s used and check your login sessions for unknown devices.

If your privacy is breached: what to do

Someone found your Instagram, your workplace or your address. Someone is sharing your photos or won’t stop texting. The order of operations:

1. Screenshot first. The profile, the messages, anything that shows what they know or shared.
2. Block and report. On BLK, from any profile page or messaging window. Our trained agents can then review the interactions as needed and act, which may include removing content, banning the member, or notifying the appropriate law enforcement resources.
3. Close the doors. Change your passwords, switch on multi-factor authentication, revoke location permission for now, set your social accounts to private, and take your profile out of view while things settle.
4. Find where your content went. Reverse image search the photos involved, then use each platform’s process to request removal of images shared without consent.
5. Report beyond the app when money, threats or images are involved. File with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) and the FTC (ReportFraud.ftc.gov) [8]. Sextortion is a crime; the Emergency Resources button below has the specialized lines.
6. If you’re in danger, call 911 first. Someone at your door or your job, or saying they’re coming, comes before any report in the app.

Many of us think twice before calling the police. For non-urgent situations you have other doors: a trusted friend beside you while you report, the resources in the button below, the in-app report itself. In an emergency, 911 first.

Emergency Resources

Express checklist: protect your account in 2 minutes

1. First name or nickname only, minimal profile details
2. Photos that aren’t on my social media and don’t show my church, school, job or kids
3. A unique, strong password, plus multi-factor authentication on my email
4. Location on only while I’m using the app
5. Approximate location, where offered
6. Precise distance display off or rounded, where the setting exists
7. Microphone and contacts permissions off unless needed
8. Notifications hidden on my lock screen
9. Targeted advertising opted out, app tracking refused
10. App closed when not in use; Hidden Mode when traveling or taking a break
11. If something feels off: block and report, right away

8 sources

1. [1]

   ftc.gov — Federal Trade Commission, press release, FTC to Ban Kochava and Subsidiary from Selling Sensitive Location Data (May 4, 2026)

2. [2]

   cisa.gov — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Secure Our World: Use Strong Passwords

3. [3]

   support.google.com — Google Android Help, Manage location permissions for apps

4. [4]

   support.apple.com — Apple Support, About privacy and Location Services in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS

5. [5]

   usenix.org — Karel Dhondt, Victor Le Pochat, Yana Dimova, Wouter Joosen and Stijn Volckaert, DistriNet, KU Leuven, Swipe Left for Identity Theft: An Analysis of User Data Privacy Risks on Location-based Dating Apps, 33rd USENIX Security Symposium (2024)

6. [6]

   database.ilga.org — ILGA World (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), ILGA World Database of laws by country

7. [7]

   pewresearch.org — Colleen McClain, Michelle Faverio, Monica Anderson and Eugenie Park, Pew Research Center, How Americans View Data Privacy: Views of data privacy risks, personal data and digital privacy laws (2023)

8. [8]

   consumer.ftc.gov — Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice, How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams