Dating app for Trump fans leaks users' data on launch-day
What's the story
A new dating app, meant exclusively for Donald Trump supporters and American conservatives, has found itself in a soup. The app, DonaldDaters, meant to help lonely conservatives find each other discreetly, leaked the data of its user base on its launch day, reported TechCrunch on Monday. Despite rave reviews on several conservative websites, the app evidently let its users down. Here are the details.
DonaldDaters
DonaldDaters wanted to 'Make America Date Again'
DonaldDaters, with its slogan of "Make America Date Again", describes itself as an app targeting the "American-based singles community, connecting lovers, friends, and Trump supporters alike". The app also made the bold claim of keeping all "personal information" of users completely private. On its launch day itself, the app had over 1,600 users, and more were joining in.
Security flaw
French cybersecurity researcher Elliot Alderson found the flaw
However, to the misfortune of its users, the app had a security flaw which was uncovered by famed French cybersecurity researcher Elliot Alderson, who is also known for exposing vulnerabilities in Aadhaar. To prove the app's lack of security, Alderson downloaded its entire user database, and shared the details with TechCrunch. This data included names, device types, private messages, profile pictures, and more.
Reactions
App founders did not comment on the data leak
Alderson was able to download the app's user database from a public and exposed Firebase data repository, which was hardcoded in the app. Following Alderson's expose, TechCrunch contacted the app, and the data was promptly taken offline. Meanwhile, Emily Moreno, the founder of DonaldDaters, did not respond to the publication's requests for comment.