Feeld

Is Feeld safe?

Feeld is a riskier choice than the mainstream dating apps, because it holds more sensitive data and its security record is weaker. People use it to look for open relationships, kink and group dates, so profiles list sexual preferences and chats often carry intimate photos. In 2024 researchers showed that, through flaws in Feeld's API, other users could read those chats and open the photos. Feeld fixed the flaws and says it found no breach. We score it 49/100, above Grindr at 43 and below Tinder at 51.

Feeld launched in 2014 as 3nder and is run by Feeld Ltd, a UK company. Google Play lists more than 5 million downloads.

What the 2024 security flaws exposed

The security firm Fortbridge reported its findings to Feeld on 8 March 2024. The list is long. An attacker with an ordinary account could take another user's chat ID from one API response and use it to read that person's private conversations. Photos and videos shared in chats, including ones set to disappear after a few seconds, could be opened without logging in at all. The researchers could also delete and edit other people's messages, post into chats they were not part of, and change another user's name, age and sexuality. A free account could also see the full profiles of people who had liked it, a feature Feeld sells.

Feeld says it began investigating at once, deployed fixes by 28 May and then hired an outside firm to test them. Fortbridge's timeline shows Feeld asking several times for publication to be delayed, and The Register reported that the last word to the researchers came on 16 August, more than five months after the report and well past the usual 90-day disclosure window. Fortbridge published on 10 September 2024. Feeld's statement afterwards said it had "no evidence" of a breach and admitted that its communication with the researchers and with users needed to improve.

We score security at 40 because the flaws were basic access-control failures on the most sensitive data an app like this holds. Feeld does not say its chats are end-to-end encryptedEnd-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary, and we found no public bug bounty.

What Feeld does with your data

Apple's label lists purchase history, user and device IDs, product interaction and crash data that may be used to track you across other companies' apps and websites. Precise location, contacts, photos and "sensitive info" are linked to your identity. Google Play says device IDs are shared with other companies for advertising, and lists sexual orientation among the data collected.

The privacy policy, last changed on 22 May 2026, goes further than either label. It names analytics and session-replay tools (Amplitude, Smartlook and Microsoft Clarity) that can record what you do on screen, and says data is shared through cookies with ad networks and marketing providers for interest-based advertising. Feeld says it does not sell personal data. The policy names Yoti for age checks and Twilio for SMS codes.

Retention is clear. Feeld deletes accounts inactive for a year, deletes data within 90 days of closing an account, and handles a deletion request through support within 30 days.

Age checks and harmful content

Feeld requires age verification in the UK, where the Online Safety Act makes age checks mandatory, and in Australia, including for visitors and anyone with a phone number from those countries. Yoti checks your age either with your mobile network operator or by estimating it from a live selfie. Elsewhere, the 18+ rule rests on the date of birth you enter.

The bigger harms on Feeld are sextortion and intimate images leaking. The FTC says sextortion reports rose more than eightfold between 2019 and 2022, mostly through social media. Feeld blocks screenshots of photos in chats by default (on Android the whole chat), but not of short videos. Photo verification through Veriff is optional, so an unverified profile tells you little.

How to use Feeld more safely

1. Use profile photos without your face, or keep face photos for people you have already talked to.
2. Verify your own photos and ask matches to do the same before you share anything intimate.
3. Do not send videos you would not want copied, because screenshot protection does not cover them.
4. Keep chats in the app until you meet, and be wary of anyone who asks for money or pushes to switch apps.
5. On iPhone, choose "Ask App Not to Track" when Feeld asks.

How we scored it

Security (40) and privacy (40) are the weakest factors: the 2024 flaws exposed chats and photos, and the policy shares data for advertising and records sessions on an app about people's sex lives. Transparency and control (62) is better, thanks to in-app deletion and clear retention periods. The regulatory record (86) is clean, though no large regulator seems to have examined the app.