Match.com Glitch Reactivates Decades Old Accounts
A number of old accounts on Match.com have been reactivated in a glitch, prompting questions about data retention.
Speaking to The Verge, one (now married) former user said: “I log in, and there I am, from 15 years prior, with less gray hair. And my whole profile is there, everything.”
The Match.com privacy policy in the USA reads: “If you have an online account with us, you may close your account at any time by visiting the ‘Account Settings’ page for your account. After you close your account, you will not be able to sign in to our website or access any of your personal information. However, you can open a new, separate account at any time or re-activate your previous account by following instructions we will give you at the time you close your account.
“If you close your account, we may still retain certain information associated with your account for analytical purposes and recordkeeping integrity, as well as to prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, enforce our terms and conditions, take actions we deem necessary to protect the integrity of our website or our users, or take other actions otherwise permitted by law.
“In addition, if certain information has already been provided to third parties as described in this Privacy Policy, retention of that information will be subject to those third parties’ policies”.
In the UK, terms and conditions read: “The Member will be notified by e-mail of the termination or confirmation of the termination of its account. Data relating to the Member will be destroyed at the request of the Member or at the expiry of the current statutory period from the termination of the Member’s account.”
A spokesperson has said that Match will bring in an updated US privacy policy to comply with European Union GDPR legislation.
‘Zombie profiles’ affect both current users, who may be convinced that a site is more active than it is, and former users, whose romantic lives may be impacted by friends or family discovering their old profiles.
Gizmodo quips: “Suddenly, Match.com’s Walking Dead sponsorship is looking a lot more appropriate.”
Read more here.
