Notice overview
Tinder users have the option to add their device’s contact list to Tinder in order to use Friends in Common. This voluntary feature allows them to find out if they have contacts in common with other Tinder users. As a result, if you are cataloged in the device contact list of a user who chooses to use Friends in Common, your phone number may be processed by Tinder even if you aren't a Tinder user.
This notice outlines Tinder’s practices for the collection, use, and storage of contact information belonging to third-party non-users, and provides information on how third-parties can opt out of having their information used as part of Tinder’s features.
How Tinder uses non-users’ contact information
How Friends in Common works
Friends in Common is a Tinder feature that requires the use of a Tinder user’s contact list. Once a Tinder user has given us permission to access their contact list, we collect phone number information from their contacts and store it securely. We check whether those contacts are shared by other users of Tinder that have also opted in to Friends in Common. This enables us to display the total number of mutual connections between users who have both opted in to Friends in Common. Only the total number of connections, and not the names of individual connections, are displayed.
How we use non-user information
Some of the contacts in a Tinder user’s contact list may belong to individuals that aren't Tinder users. When we detect that a phone number doesn't belong to another Tinder user, and may belong to a non-user, we transform that number into a cryptographic hash value that is designed to prevent the identification of those non-users by Tinder. Transforming the number into a cryptographic hash means that we don’t store non-users’ phone numbers; we only store these cryptographic hash values. Each hash value is stored in a list on Tinder’s servers, and is linked to the Tinder user(s) who originally provided the contact information. The hash value is stored for as long as the Tinder user who uploaded the contact continues to use Friends in Common and continues to store the non-user’s phone number in their contact list. Once the Tinder user deletes their account or decides to opt out of Friends in Common, the hash values associated with their account are also deleted.
Tinder doesn't use the non-user contact information we collect for any purpose other than the Friends in Common feature, and this information isn't shared with any other Match Group entities. Further, when a user gives us permission to access their contact list, we only collect phone numbers; other information contained in a user’s contact list, such as names or email addresses, is never collected.
Finally, should a non-user decide to join Tinder, and also opt in to Friends in Common, the phone number they provide to Tinder at sign-up is used to unlock the contact information that was previously being stored, for the purpose of connecting them to other Tinder users who also use Friends in Common and with whom they share common contacts.
Options for non-users
Non-users who don't wish for their information to be stored in connection with a Tinder user’s use of Friends in Common can contact Tinder Support and request to have their number added to a block list, for the purpose of ensuring that their information won’t be used for the Friends in Common feature.
Notwithstanding the above, since we only store cryptographic hash values in place of non-users’ phone numbers, we may not be able to confirm that your information is in our systems. As a result, our ability to respond to data subject requests, including access requests or the right to rectification, may be limited in practice.