Other social media platforms

Today we looked into the use of fake profiles on different social media platforms. The two we looked at were apps available on the iPhone called Snapchat and Tinder.

Snapchat is an app that allows you to send images to people that you add but only for up to 10 seconds and then the image disappears. Now why would anybody create a fake account on this social media platform when the whole point of it is to send pictures of yourself to one another. After looking into it, it seems the fake accounts are created to spam Snapchat users. These spam chats as they have started to be called are usually of naked images of women. While the photo may vary, each snap includes the caption, “Add me on KIK for nudes swap ;)” along with a username on Kik Messenger, an instant messaging application for mobile devices. The idea we guess being that some gullible users downloading the messenger service and spending money on it therefore making the creators of the fake accounts money.


The second app we looked at is called Tinder. A profile appears on screen with images of a person, the app allows the user to anonymously like or pass them. If two users like each other then it results in a "match" and Tinder introduces the two users and opens a chat. So again, why would anybody go through with the effort to create a fake profile unless its money motivated? 

When we looked into it it seems that similarly to Snapchat the fake profiles encourage users to sign up to pornagraphic website/ messenger services which cost them money. However it appears Tinder is also being used to encourage users to download mobile games which again, cost money. This is arguably a clever way of advertising, using a fake account of a good looking woman to encourage naive men into downloading the game. Therefore we think the use of fake accounts in this instant is actually quite clever.