I hacked a dating app (and how not to treat a security researcher)

Not excusing this is any way, but this app is apparently a fairly junior effort by university students. While it should make every effort to follow good security (and communication) practices, I'd not be too hard on them considering how some big VC funded "adult" companies behave when presented with similar challenges.

https://georgetownvoice.com/2025/04/06/georgetown-students-c...

i have an idea, if you don't know anything about app security, don't make an app. "Whataboutism" not-withstanding, this actually made me feel a little ill, and your comment didn't help. I have younger friends that use dating sites and having their information exposed to whoever wants it is gross, and the people who made it should feel bad.

They should feel bad about not communicating with the "researcher" after the fact, too. If i had been blown off by a "company" after telling them everything was wide open to the world for the taking, the resulting "blog post" would not be so polite.

STOP. MAKING. APPS.

Programming should require a gouvernment-emited license reserved to alumni of duly certified schools. Possession of a turing-complete compiler of interpreter without permission should be a felony.

> Programming should require a gouvernment-emited license reserved to alumni of duly certified schools.

Nonsese. I've met PhDs in computer science that were easily out-performed by kids fresh out of coding bootcaps. Do you think that spending 5 years doing a few written exampls makes you competent at cyber security? Absurd.