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People are angry with Tinder after realising their dating profiles can be searched for $5

Tinder's Sean Rad
Tinder's Sean Rad

Getty

People are angry after it emerged it's possible to pay $5 (£3.50) to find out if someone is active on Tinder.

A new platform called Swipe Buster allows people to search and see if their partner, or anyone else for that matter, is active on Tinder.

A number of people on Twitter are unhappy about this, with some urging others to uninstall the app.

Ella Dawson, a social media manager for TED Talks, wrote on Twitter: "Delete Tinder. I'm serious. Delete it. Your data is available for purchase."

Selena Lawson, a journalist at The Daily Dot, described the situation as "hugely problematic," adding that it's interesting "the creator wants to remain anon while his tool exposes people."

Swipe Buster uses data that Tinder makes publicly available through an API to find out if individuals are on the Tinder dating platform, which many people use purely to facilitate sexual encounters.

In order to see if someone is on the platform, Swipe Buster requires a name, age, gender, and the city where they are likely to have logged into Tinder last.

Assuming they're on the platform, Swipe Buster then brings up that person's Tinder profile, including their photos, orientation, and when they last used Tinder.

Vanity Fair reports that Swipe Buster works as advertised.

"The searchable information on the website is public information that Tinder users have on their profiles," a Tinder spokesperson told Tech Insider in a statement. "If you want to see who's on Tinder we recommend saving your money and downloading the app for free."

Last year, users of adultery site Ashley Madison were exposed by hackers. Two suicides in Canada were reportedly linked to the data breach.

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