Looks like Jack’d is finally letting someone else take the reins after it leaked users’ private pictures for a full year.
After losing major trust from internet users and its majority gay/bisexual men of color userbase, Jack’d’s parent company Online Buddies Inc. has been bought out by another dating app. Scruff’s parent company Perry Street Software has agreed to buy the now defamed app after its large data breach scandal and neglectful response.
That said, Jack’d will still operate as an independent app, according to Perry Street Software. Though, the app will be majorly redesigned and given a much-needed tech upgrade.
“This acquisition will provide Jack’d members with the same combination of technology and active moderation we have developed at Scruff,” said Eric Silverberg, the CEO of Perry Street, in a statement, “so that the Jack’d community members will be protected against harassment, spam bots, scammers, and risks while traveling.”
“Jack’d members can expect to see the removal of all programmatic advertising, enhanced controls over privacy and security, and new features such as improved messaging, redesigned Match, richer search, and the ability to include video as part of member private albums or in chat,” Silverberg added.
It is important to wonder though if the company will continue to cater towards men of color as the anti-thesis of Grindr’s “not so kindr” aesthetic.
But if you missed the entire situation surrounding Jack’d, here’s the rundown.
Back in February, a tech expert named Oliver Hough brought Jack’d to the attention of the internet. Hough had discovered that there was a gap in the coding at Jack’d that allowed anyone to access pictures (public and private) and data of the app’s users.
Hough says that he first reached out to Jack’d to let them know about the coding error. But after Jack’d did nothing about the mistake for three months, Hough took the story to news sources. It was later revealed that Jack’d knew about the issue for a full year.
Then last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James ruled that Jack’d had to pay $240,000 to the State of New York in a settlement after making this conscious mistake.
“This app put users’ sensitive information and private photos at risk of exposure and the company didn’t do anything about it for a full year just so that they could continue to make a profit,” said James.
“This was an invasion of privacy for thousands of New Yorkers,” James added. “Today, millions of people across the country—of every gender, race, religion, and sexuality—meet and date online every day, and my office will use every tool at our disposal to protect their privacy.”
