Ah, Lex. The once simple lesbian, bisexual, and trans focused text-based anti-dating dating app has changed. Sometimes change is good...sometimes it's not. In the case of Lex, well, if you're a queer person looking for community, change is good. If you're a queer person looking for sexy romance, maybe change isn't so good. What was once a simple, text-based personal ads that harkened back to ads found in lesbian erotica publication On Our Backs, has evolved into a community based "vibrant social platform." Of course, that evolution involved raising a few million in start up money and looking for ways to monetize the platform. Such is the way of life in under capitalism. The for-sure-good news? Lex still gets a thumbs up from us. Woohooo!
Wat kan er gebeuren als er iets misgaat?
Thank goodness for Lex. This global queer community app is the only dating app we reviewed in 2024 to earn our Best Of distinction. Phew! Now because of a recent redesign, the app does collect more personal data than it used to when we first reviewed (and loved) them back in 2021. But c’est la vie in 2024! And more importantly, we don't see any red flags about how that data is handled. Based on their privacy practices and our conversations with Lex, they seem to be doing their best to protect their users' privacy which is sadly rare in the dating app space. We see you, Lex!
To use Lex, you have to give your phone number or Instagram handle. We suggest not using a third-party app to create a new account -- especially when that other app is owned by a member of the *Privacy Not Included hall of shame, like Meta’s Instagram. When you do, it means both apps can potentially collect more information about you. And Meta already has enough of our private data.
Besides your login, Lex will collect registration basics like your name, email, preferred pronouns, and username. That’s pretty standard stuff. In case it’s not clear in the app, that means you don’t have to add a profile photo or give Lex access to your geolocation. Know that if you don’t, you won't be able to use all the app’s features. But if you do add your location, “it’s not possible to undo it,” Lex says. There’s also your posts and the messages you send through the app. And like most apps, Lex collects some information automatically, like potentially everything you do on the app and information about your device, which includes your IP address.
It could add up to a decent amount of information about you. So it's cool that all Lex users have the right to have their personal data deleted, "no questions asked!" At first, we weren't 100% sure if that really meany all users -- even those who don't live in places with stronger privacy laws. But when we emailed Lex to ask, they confirmed that it did AND updated their privacy policy right away to make that part crystal clear. Smooth move, Lex!
And Lex won't sell your personal information or use it in ways that worry us too much. They do say they can use “aggregated or de-identified” data for “any legitimate business purpose.” In case that involves sharing that information at all, we should mention that privacy researchers have found that those datasets can be re-identified.
So Lex is pretty good overall and they do use good enough security measures to keep your personal data safe. We don't think too much could go too wrong with Lex. But we'll close with a caution from their privacy policy, which says that “no method of electronic storage or method of transmission over the internet or phone lines is 100% secure” and that “when you transmit your personal data to us, you do so at your own risk." That’s true for all apps and products that connect to the internet, but feels especially important if you're a lesbian, non-binary, trans, or gender non-conforming person who’s not out or who wouldn't feel safe being identified as a user of a queer community app.
Tips om uzelf te beschermen
- Follow Lex tips to protect your privacy regarding your location
- Visit the app's privacy preferences at the app and opt out from personalized advertising as well as all non-essential data collection.
- Request your data be deleted once you stop using the app. Simply deleting an app from your device usually does not erase your personal data nor does close your account.
- Do not give consent to constant geolocation tracking by the app. Better provide geolocation 'only when using the app'.
- Do not share sensitive data through the app.
- Do not give access to your photos and video or camera.
- Do not log in using third-party accounts.
- Do not connect to any third party via the app, or at least make sure that a third party employs decent privacy practices.
- Do not give consent for sharing of personal data for marketing and advertising.
- Chose a strong password! You may use a password control tool like 1Password, KeePass etc.
- Do not use social media plug-ins.
- Use your device privacy controls to limit access to your personal information via app (do not give access to your camera, microphone, images, location unless necessary).
- Keep your app regularly updated.
- Limit ad tracking via your device (eg on iPhone go to Privacy -> Advertising -> Limit ad tracking) and biggest ad networks (for Google, go to Google account and turn off ad personalization).
- When starting a sign-up, do not agree to tracking of your data if possible.
Kan het me bespioneren?
Camera
Apparaat: Niet beschikbaar
App: Ja
Microfoon
Apparaat: Niet beschikbaar
App: Ja
Volgt locatie
Apparaat: Niet beschikbaar
App: Ja
Wat is er nodig om u aan te melden?
E-mailadres
Nee
Telefoonnummer
Ja
Account van derden
Nee
Welke gegevens verzamelt het bedrijf?
Persoonlijke
First name, email address, preferred pronoun(s), gender expression, geolocation data, username, password, location, hardware model, operating system information, IP address, mobile network information, device identifiers, cookies, usage logs, financial information.
Lichaamsgerelateerd
Sociale
Contacts, messages, posts.
Hoe gebruikt het bedrijf deze gegevens?
Hoe kunt u uw gegevens beheren?
Hoe staat het bedrijf bekend als het gaat om het beschermen van gebruikersgegevens?
No known data breaches discovered in the last three years.
Privacyinformatie voor kinderen
Kan dit product offline worden gebruikt?
Gebruikersvriendelijke privacy-informatie?
Koppelingen naar privacy-informatie
Voldoet dit product aan onze minimale beveiligingsnormen?
Versleuteling
According to the company representative, ""Lex products follow industry standards for encryption, ie.: HTTPS protocol for all communication with our servers and third party providers Encrypted JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for authentication Encrypted iOS & Android keys and certificates for signing app binaries""
Sterk wachtwoord
Lex uses the sms code verification instead of a password.
Beveiligingsupdates
Beheert kwetsbaarheden
According to the company representative, "Lex users are encouraged to contact [email protected] in case of any security or data privacy concerns. All reports are handled internally by the Lex Engineering team. Additionally, the Lex source code and dependencies are automatically & regularly scanned for security vulnerabilities."
Privacybeleid
Dieper duiken
-
After Raising Almost $6 Million, Lex Plans to Expand and Start Rolling Out Paid FeaturesThem
-
Queer social app Lex gets a new CEO and $5.6M to growTechCrunch
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How to use Lex, a queer dating app with no profile photos or cisgender menInsider
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‘Keep Lex filthy’: Users react to queer dating app’s new directionTechCrunch
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Lex, a dating app, is the opposite of Tinder — and might be my queer utopiaMic
-
Lex Is the Lesbian and Queer Dating App That Puts Language FirstAllure
-
Lex Is the New Photo-Free Dating App That Anyone With Swiping-Fatigue Has Been Waiting ForWell and Good
Opmerkingen
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