It is estimated that 20% of all relationships start on the internet. If you're dating online, there is a new danger you need to be aware of.
When you post a picture on a dating site, you may be giving out more information than you realize.
Valentine's Week can be one of the most romantic of the year, the Walnut Street bridge can be a great place for a walk for two on a cold winter's night. But before you get there, if you are using some online dating sites, it could be your very safety that you are putting in jeopardy.
Charles Palmer, Associate Professor, Harrisburg University:
"There are lots of people who enjoy the act of portraying another personality when they are online. They might make up a fake name, a fake e-mail address or other ways that they can't be identified and hide behind that and we need to look out for that."
Stephanie Jackson, Has Tried On-Line Dating:
"It worked out for one of my best friends, she found her husband on an on-line dating site."
There are people out there who are looking to take advantage of you sexually, financially and there are always stories in the news and it's not just women who are being abused, it is also men as well.
When you take a picture with your smart phone the default setting is for the device to record your location. That information is part of what is know is Meta Data, which stores an amazing amount of information about your picture.
Some of the most important is the exact Latitude and Longitude of where that picture was taken. New research has shown that some online dating sites don't remove that information when you post a picture to their site. So if you took the picture at your house, anyone who downloads the Meta Data could know exactly where you live.
Saraiah Smith, Worried About Safety:
"Yeah it would probably creep me out a little bit that someone could stalk me and hunt me down."
You might not want to trust the dating site to take your personal data off your pictures.
Palmer:
"There are also a number of apps that allow you to strip off that information."
Before you get dressed for dinner, make sure you get all the information you can.
Palmer:
"There are a number of online services that you can use to do your own background checks."
According to the research done by the University of Colorado the sites that did not protect your photo's meta data ranged from; SingleParentMatch to SugarDaddyForMe.
Here is a link to the University of Colorado research and a list of all the sites that don't protect Meta-Data.....Oh and good luck this week.
Link to Univeristy of Colorado Research.
Websites that don't remove Meta Data:
Agematch.com
Bikerkiss.com
Casualfriends.com
Catholiccupid.com
Catholicsingles.com
Churchfriends.com
Deafsinglesmeet.com
Interracialmatch.com
Jromances.com
Largeandlovely.com
Latinfriends.com
Ldate.com
Matemakers.com
Meetingmillionaires.com
Militaryfriends.com
Millionairematch.com
Seniorscircle.com
Sexsearch.com
Singleparentmatch.com
Sugardaddyforme.com
Passionsearch.com
When you post a picture on a dating site, you may be giving out more information than you realize.
Valentine's Week can be one of the most romantic of the year, the Walnut Street bridge can be a great place for a walk for two on a cold winter's night. But before you get there, if you are using some online dating sites, it could be your very safety that you are putting in jeopardy.
Charles Palmer, Associate Professor, Harrisburg University:
"There are lots of people who enjoy the act of portraying another personality when they are online. They might make up a fake name, a fake e-mail address or other ways that they can't be identified and hide behind that and we need to look out for that."
Stephanie Jackson, Has Tried On-Line Dating:
"It worked out for one of my best friends, she found her husband on an on-line dating site."
There are people out there who are looking to take advantage of you sexually, financially and there are always stories in the news and it's not just women who are being abused, it is also men as well.
When you take a picture with your smart phone the default setting is for the device to record your location. That information is part of what is know is Meta Data, which stores an amazing amount of information about your picture.
Some of the most important is the exact Latitude and Longitude of where that picture was taken. New research has shown that some online dating sites don't remove that information when you post a picture to their site. So if you took the picture at your house, anyone who downloads the Meta Data could know exactly where you live.
Saraiah Smith, Worried About Safety:
"Yeah it would probably creep me out a little bit that someone could stalk me and hunt me down."
You might not want to trust the dating site to take your personal data off your pictures.
Palmer:
"There are also a number of apps that allow you to strip off that information."
Before you get dressed for dinner, make sure you get all the information you can.
Palmer:
"There are a number of online services that you can use to do your own background checks."
According to the research done by the University of Colorado the sites that did not protect your photo's meta data ranged from; SingleParentMatch to SugarDaddyForMe.
Here is a link to the University of Colorado research and a list of all the sites that don't protect Meta-Data.....Oh and good luck this week.
Link to Univeristy of Colorado Research.
Websites that don't remove Meta Data:
Agematch.com
Bikerkiss.com
Casualfriends.com
Catholiccupid.com
Catholicsingles.com
Churchfriends.com
Deafsinglesmeet.com
Interracialmatch.com
Jromances.com
Largeandlovely.com
Latinfriends.com
Ldate.com
Matemakers.com
Meetingmillionaires.com
Militaryfriends.com
Millionairematch.com
Seniorscircle.com
Sexsearch.com
Singleparentmatch.com
Sugardaddyforme.com
Passionsearch.com