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Rela (热 拉), a popular dating app for gay and queer women, exposed millions of user and private data profiles because a server was not password protected.
Rela disappeared from the app stores in May 2017 after it was shut down by the Chinese control authorities, although the government never confirmed its decision. But the app came back a year later, according to its app store list, on another cloud provider. The rights of LGBTQ + in China remain very limited, even though they were decriminalized in 1997. Many members of the community still struggle against discrimination and attitudes have been slow to evolve.
Victor Gevers, a security researcher at the GDI Foundation, has discovered the database exposed this week, he told TechCrunch, containing more than 5.3 million users of apps.
According to Gevers, the database would have been exposed since June 2018, a month after the return of the application.
Each record included their nicknames, dates of birth, height and weight, ethnicity, and sexual preferences and interests. Recordings also, when users allow it, include accurate geolocation. The database also contained more than 20 million "moments" or status updates, including private data.
"The privacy of more than five million LGBTQ + people faces many social problems in China because there is no law to protect them from discrimination," Gevers said. "This data leak that has been open for years makes it even more damaging for those involved who have been exposed."
In a brief response, a spokesman for the company confirmed that the database had been secured.
Gay dating applications remain an important activity even for Chinese companies, despite the legal complexities that have led to the closure of several major applications. Zank, a popular app used primarily by gay and bisexual men, was shut down in April 2017, citing government rules for the distribution of pornographic content.
Still, more established apps such as Blued remain popular in the country.
The Chinese gaming giant has acquired a 60% stake in Grindr, a US-based gay dating app, in 2017, then bought the company as a whole.
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