Swipebuster: $4.99 is all it costs to see if your partner (or anyone you know) is using Tinder

Its developer -- who wishes to remain anonymous -- says that his website exists to educate people about the importance of privacy. But Swipebuster sells itself as a way for suspicious partners to check upon their other halves if they think they might be making use of Tinder to seek out some 'extracurricular activity'.

Swipebuster taps into the Tinder API to access publicly available data to see if a particular individual appears in the membership database. It’s perfect not only for confirming or denying worst fears, but also a valuable tool for a would-be blackmailer. For just $5, you can conduct three searches to see if people you know are using Tinder.

Talking to Vanity Fair, Swipebuster's developer said that the site is essentially an experiment that highlights the poor privacy practices used by sites and services, as well as the foolhardiness of users. "There is too much data about people that people themselves don't know is available. Not only are people oversharing and putting out a lot of information about themselves, but companies are also not doing enough to let people know they're doing it."

Swipebuster is not quite as scary as it sounds in terms of privacy invasion. Quite. The developer has been fairly careful to provide, and give, just enough information, but not so much as to risk facing lawsuits... probably. To search for a possibleTinder user, you need to provide a first name, age, gender and the location from which you feel they may have been using the dating app. In big cities, it's likely that searches could yield multiple results, but the same cannot be said for people living in more remote areas.

It's fair to say that Swipebuster is morally questionable, but the developer does highlight important privacy issues. This, however, will do little to calm the fears that have been expressed by concerned parties who point out that the site could be used by stalkers and disgruntled exes to gather ammunition. Interestingly, Tinder itself does not seem particularly concerned about the existence of the service. A spokesperson said: "If you want to see who's on Tinder we recommend saving your money and downloading the app for free."

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