Security Gap Means Scammers Could Access OkCupid User Locations

OkCupid is unknowingly revealing users’ locations putting millions of daters at risk of scams, tech news company, CyberNews, has found.

CyberNews researchers discovered it was possible to access the last location ID of OkCupid users by hacking into the app’s Man in the Middle (MitM) Proxy Service.

Through this, researchers were able to access user location, which is updated every time a dater logs in. After carrying out this process several times they could pinpoint a user’s location to within ten to twenty metres.

CyberNews said they informed OkCupid of the security gap in January but the dating company has not responded to say whether the problem is resolved.

However, later research by CyberNews revealed that the location tracker had been removed though it is unclear as to when this happened and for how long users were put at risk.

The news comes as recently published research by CyberNews found that nearly 90% of women had been harassed through online dating apps and over two-thirds feared being stalked by someone they had met online.

Last February, OkCupid came under fire when Israeli researchers discovered that hackers could access users’ personal information.

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