Why using dating apps for public health messaging is an ethical dilemma
Dating apps are not just about finding love or hooking up. They are becoming increasingly important in the communication of public health messaging, particularly sexual health.
In 2023, magazine suggested that dating apps could 鈥渂ecome a key component in [sexually infectious diseases] prevention鈥�. And their prediction seems to be spot on.
Grindr, a dating app popular among men who have sex with men, for example, has recently partnered with and in London to allow users to order HIV test kits through the app. While these partnerships hold promise for public health, they also raise important ethical challenges. Alongside colleagues from the UK and US, we have of these challenges and proposed ways of addressing them.
During the , more people than ever started using . Today, apps such as Tinder, Match, or Grindr have millions of users worldwide. A recent in the US showed that more than half of people aged under 30 had used dating apps. Most dating apps can be accessed from smartphones, allowing users to find other people based on shared interests, preferences or location.
A concluded that apps have multiple benefits for public health, including the ability to effectively target specific groups. In the US, is a successful example of collaborating with dating apps to promote sexual health. And, during the recent outbreak, Grindr provided information and its vaccine to users.
Profit, privacy and prejudice
But most apps are profit-generators for businesses and operate in ethical and regulatory contexts that are very different to those of medical or health related professions. One major concern is privacy, as apps collect vast amounts of personal data. Cybersecurity experts have argued that apps are a 鈥溾��. This is, in part, because the main goal of apps is 鈥済enerating, capturing and controlling 鈥� for profit.
Unfortunately, there are many examples of apps mishandling data. For example, has been fined for sharing sensitive user data with third parties, including users鈥� HIV status. This misuse of data can have severe consequences, including in unsafe environments.
Dating apps can also reproduce all too common in wider society. that many users, particularly from marginalised groups, experience harassment, including and , on these platforms. of the experiences of dating apps among rural sexual minority men in the US found that online dating often led to 鈥渄eception, bullying or discrimination, and harassment or coercion鈥�.
Some apps, such as Grindr, 鈥� but other with features which allow, if not encourage, discrimination. Discriminatory experiences undermine users鈥� trust in dating apps, making marginalised groups more reluctant to use them. This also means that marginalised groups may be less likely to access public health information and help through dating apps.
Some dating apps operate with opaque policies. For example, and can terminate any user鈥檚 account, for any reason and without any notice. Some who had been using apps to disseminate information have had their profiles blocked on some apps.
Future collaborations with apps should prioritise the benefit of users over those of the app businesses, develop transparent data policies that prevent users鈥� data from being shared for profit, ensure the apps鈥� commitment to anti-discrimination and anti-harrassment, and provide links to health and wellbeing services beyond the apps.
Dating apps have the potential to be powerful allies in public health, especially in reaching populations that have often been ignored. However, their use must be carefully managed to avoid compromising user privacy, safety and marginalisation.