Editorial: Hook up and get hacked

While Valentine's Day may increase the desire to find a new companion through online matchmaking sites, users could be at risk for more than just an awful date. Privacy shortcuts taken by many of the more popular services may leave intensely personal information, as well as your photo and identity, exposed -- even after the account is closed.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil liberties organization, has found that many of the most popular sites don't have secure access, so profiles are not encrypted. Some are selling marketers the data and information shared by users. And uploaded photos, not hosted on a company's own servers, can be "rediscovered" after users delete them.

Until these sites accept the responsibility of providing extra safeguards, users may find only heartbreak.