Dating apps collect extensive personal data including phone numbers, emails, photos, and location information that can be sold to data brokers or exposed in breaches. Using aliases for phone numbers and emails creates a protective barrier, letting you communicate without revealing real contact details while maintaining full control to mute or delete connections instantly.
LGBTQ+ daters face heightened privacy risks and benefit from additional protective layers like encrypted messaging
Most dating apps ask for your real phone number, email address, photos, and live location before you ever swipe right. That data footprint follows you long after a match fizzles out. The good news is that aliases offer a fast, practical fix. This guide walks through the risks, explains how phone and email aliases work, and shows you how to reclaim control over your personal information.
Why Dating Apps Gobble Up Your Data—and Why It Matters
Dating apps make it easier than ever to meet new people, but there is a flip side. When you sign up, you typically hand over your name, age, gender, photos, location, and preferences. That data does not just stay with the app.
A breach at location data company Gravy Analytics revealed that thousands of apps, including Tinder, were being used to harvest sensitive location data—often without the knowledge of app developers or users. Advertisers and data brokers can piece together your daily routines from this information, putting your safety at risk.
When you create an account on Tinder, for example, you provide your phone number, email address, and date of birth. Apps may also pull data from third-party platforms like Facebook or Google if you use social logins. Dating apps pose significant privacy risks because the information you share can be combined, sold, or leaked.
Key takeaway: The data you share on dating apps can end up in places you never expected—limiting what you give out is the first line of defense.
How Do Phone Aliases Hide Your Real Number?
A phone alias is a secondary number that forwards calls and texts to your real device. When you share this alias on a dating app, matches can contact you while your true number—and the metadata tied to it—stays hidden.
"Phone numbers have quietly become one of the most dangerous pieces of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) a person can share," according to Cloaked's privacy guide. They are tied to authentication systems, identity verification, and countless accounts.
Using an alias shields you from persistent callers and reduces risks such as stalking or cross-platform identity tracking. Almost two-thirds of women and 27% of men under 35 have experienced persistent contact from someone they met on a dating platform, even after saying they were not interested.
Cloaked's temporary phone numbers let you give out a number without it leading back to your real one. If a connection turns sour, you can mute, block, or delete the alias entirely.
Step-by-Step: Creating a Cloaked Number
1. Download Cloaked on your mobile device or access it via the browser extension.
4. Use the new phone number when registering for or chatting on dating apps.
5. All calls and texts to that alias forward to your real phone—your actual number stays private.
6. If you need to cut contact, mute or delete the alias instantly.
What Is Email Masking and Why Use It on Dating Apps?
Email masking means using a temporary email address to conceal your real one. Think of it as a digital mask that sits between you and the services you use.
Static email addresses give phishers and data brokers a permanent handle. With unlimited email aliases, you swap that single point of failure for disposable, one-click identities. If one alias gets compromised, you simply delete it and move on.
Cloaked lets you create virtual emails specifically for dating apps. By using a virtual email, you keep your real inbox out of the reach of marketers and spam operators. You can manage multiple virtual emails from one dashboard, making it easy to keep dating communications separate from personal or work emails.
Benefits of email masking on dating apps:
Prevents spam and phishing from reaching your primary inbox
Adds an extra privacy layer between you and strangers
Lets you organize dating-related emails in one place
Makes it easy to cut ties if a match becomes unwanted
Can You Stop Dating Apps from Tracking Your Location?
Location tracking on dating apps is not always obvious. A major breach at Gravy Analytics showed that user location data from Tinder was compromised, with terabytes of data stolen and shared on a Russian forum. This data included sensitive locations such as government facilities.
Gravy Analytics typically does not collect data directly from apps. Instead, it collaborates with ad-serving agencies that gain access to user data through the advertising "bid stream." This means your location can leak even if you trust the app itself.
"For the first time publicly, we seem to have proof that one of the largest data brokers selling to both commercial and government clients appears to be acquiring their data from the online advertising 'bid stream,'" (WIRED, 2025).
Here is how to limit location and ad tracking:
On Android: Go to Settings, then Privacy, and select Ads. From there, you can delete your advertising ID.
On iOS: Navigate to Settings, then Privacy & Security, and choose Tracking. Disable the option that allows apps to request to track you.
In-app: Review location permissions and set them to "While Using" or disable entirely if not needed.
Key takeaway: Adjusting your device's privacy settings can significantly reduce how much location data dating apps—and their ad partners—can collect.
Why Do LGBTQ+ Daters Need Extra Privacy Layers?
"For the LGBTQ community, this journey often involves navigating a minefield of privacy concerns." In numerous parts of the world, being openly LGBTQ can still attract hostility and prejudice.
Many LGBTQ dating apps use location data to match users. Some apps have been scrutinized for sharing sensitive data with third-party advertisers. Grindr, for example, denied any relationship with Gravy Analytics, stating they have not shared geolocation with ad partners for many years—but the broader ecosystem remains risky.
Practical steps for LGBTQ+ daters:
Use alias phone numbers and emails to keep your real identity private.
Avoid linking social media accounts to dating profiles.
Consider encrypted messaging apps like Signal, which encrypts messages end-to-end.
Cloaked offers tools that can help LGBTQ+ users manage their privacy, including unique, disposable contact information and the ability to instantly mute or delete aliases if needed.
Cloaked vs. Burner: Which Privacy Tool Keeps You Safer?
Both Cloaked and Burner offer secondary phone numbers, but they differ in scope and features. Here is a side-by-side comparison:
Cloaked vs Burner Comparison
Feature
Cloaked
Burner
Phone aliases
Unlimited
Up to 3
Email aliases
Unlimited
Not included
Password manager
Yes
No
Identity theft insurance
$1 million
No
Data removal
140+ brokers
No
2FA support
Yes
No
Pricing
Starts at $96/year
Subscription required
Burner is described as the original second phone number app with over 14 million users. It lets you mute or block contacts, use a pin lock, and delete numbers when needed. However, it does not offer email aliases, password management, or identity theft insurance.
Cloaked takes a different approach. Instead of offering just another communication app, its phone aliasing lives within a full identity separation system. Cloaked minimizes metadata exposure and reduces the chance of cross-platform tracing. It also includes a million-dollar insurance policy against identity theft and scans around 130 data broker sites to remove your information.
For those who want a comprehensive privacy solution—especially for online dating—Cloaked offers more layers of protection.
Protect Your Heart—And Your Data
Dating apps can open the door to meaningful connections, but they also collect more personal information than most people realize. Using aliases for your phone number and email is one of the simplest ways to reduce your data footprint and protect yourself from unwanted contact, spam, and identity theft.
"Cloaked offers a suite of tools designed to safeguard your details so you can focus on enjoying the moment rather than worrying about potential privacy threats," according to Cloaked's privacy guide.
Take control of your privacy. Review your app permissions, delete unnecessary accounts, and consider using a privacy tool like Cloaked to keep your real information out of the wrong hands. Your next match does not need your real phone number to say hello.
Cloaked FAQs Accordion
Frequently Asked Questions
Sharing personal data on dating apps can expose you to privacy breaches, scams, and unwanted tracking. Profile details may be sold, leaked, or aggregated by advertisers and data brokers, increasing the risk of identity misuse.
Phone aliases generate a secondary number that forwards calls and texts to your real device. This keeps your actual phone number hidden, reducing risks like stalking, harassment, and cross-platform identity tracking.
Email masking uses unique or temporary email addresses instead of your real inbox. This prevents spam and phishing, helps compartmentalize dating communications, and allows you to disable an address instantly if misuse occurs.
Limit location tracking by restricting app permissions, disabling ad tracking, using approximate location instead of precise GPS, and regularly reviewing in-app privacy controls to minimize data collection.
LGBTQ+ daters may face higher risks due to harassment, discrimination, or targeted abuse. Using aliases, encrypted messaging, and strict privacy controls helps protect identity, location, and personal safety.
Cloaked provides unlimited phone and email aliases, identity theft insurance, and data broker removal. Burner focuses on temporary phone numbers and lacks email masking and identity theft protection, making Cloaked a more comprehensive privacy solution.
At Cloaked, we believe the best way to protect your personal information is to keep it private before it ever gets out. That’s why we help you remove your data from people-search sites that expose your home address, phone number, SSN, and other personal details. And to keep your info private going forward, Cloaked lets you create unique, secure emails and phone numbers with one click - so you sign up for new experiences without giving away your real info. With Cloaked, your privacy isn’t a setting - it’s the default. Take back control of your personal data with thousands of Cloaked users.
*Disclaimer: You agree not to use any aspect of the Cloaked Services for FCRA purposes.
