A comprehensive survey conducted by Roskachestvo in collaboration with the VK Lady Mail.ru project has unveiled that three-quarters of Russians have at least once ventured into the realm of online dating apps, with a third of them affirming a positive experience. However, a scrutiny of 24 such platforms revealed only one to be deemed secure by experts.
The poll gathered insights from over 6,400 individuals, predominantly women. A third of the respondents expressed satisfaction with the opportunities offered by online dating services in Russia, albeit 17% reported their experiences as unsuccessful, and 26% as negative. A notable disparity emerged in objectives, with half of the female participants aspiring for long-term relationships, while the male populace demonstrated a greater inclination towards intimate encounters.
Selection criteria within these digital courtships emphasized profile pictures, age, interests, proximity, and the information provided in user profiles.
Roskachestvo’s specialists evaluated 24 online dating services against 140 parameters, prioritizing data security. Alarmingly, nearly all services fell short in the security evaluation, with only a single service meriting a ‘good’ rating. Additionally, not one service featured a customer support chat function, yet only two were found to contain third-party advertisements.
Sergei Kuzmenko, head of the Digital Expertise Center at Roskachestvo, highlighted the prevalent openness on dating platforms, cautioning that it could lead to personal data breaches and potentially expose users to blackmail.
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