What you need to know about Bondee, is it safe to use?

Bondee is indeed a trend as more and more people join its community.

Source: Bondee website

Bondee, a new trend for Gen Zs and others?

Launched this year, Bondee is a social networking app developed by Metadream, a tech startup based in Singapore. Its product development and operations teams are based in Japan and South Korea, while its three independent data centers are located in Singapore, Japan, and the United States "to ensure data security and compliance with regional information security laws, its website read.

The app itself

The company plans to set up regional operations centers in Thailand and the Philippines.

Through this app, users can create their own avatars, and interact with other users. They can also decorate their own so-called space, which can be considered one of its most attractive features.

In the Philippines, there have been a number of viral space designs, some of which show a usual Filipino home setup, and some are designed like well-known fast food restaurants, a printing services shop, and a computer shop, among others.

Users can add their friends through the app, creating a community, thus living up to the aim of Bondee which is “Live with your friends.”

Evidently, Bondee has attracted many users since its launch. But, is it really safe to use?

The interface and the Privacy Statement

Upon downloading the app, users are asked to provide their mobile number, birthday, name, Bondee ID, and password.

According to Bondee's Privacy Policy, data collected from users are used to provide the platform services. These are also used to improve and develop the platform and ensure safety.

On sharing data, Bondee said,

We share your data with third-party service providers who help us to deliver the Platform, such as cloud storage providers, SMS service providers, content review service providers, data analyzers, software performance analyzers, messaging service providers, CDN service providers, etc. Where and when required by law, we will share your data with law enforcement agencies, regulators, or third parties pursuant to a legally binding court order.

To ensure the security of personal data, Bondee said it has "appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk of varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of you and other users, including developing internal data protection management programs, granting access on a need-to-know basis, and controlling access to personal data."

In the event of a security incident involving personal data, we will report to the competent authorities in accordance with the law, conduct a timely investigation into the incident and initiate contingency plans. At the same time, we will send notifications to relevant users through effective channels to prevent or control any data breach, it assured its users.

Recently, there was an issue that said the credit card information of Bondee users leaked.

According to The Straits Times, the company already refuted the allegations.

We would like to assure our users that such rumors are false and untrue, as Metadream does not currently collect users’ credit card information or any other financial information. We have also undertaken a precautionary review of our systems and wish to assure our users that our systems and our users’ personal data remain safe and secure, Metadream said in a statement posted on its Instagram account.

It further said it would take legal action against those who spread misinformation.

Official IG accounts of Bondee

In another IG story, Bondee reminded users of its only official IG accounts as there have been IG accounts pretending to be them.

Bondee has never and never will send you spam. Bondee has never and never will request your personal information, including your under info, paypal, or bank account, it said.

According to The Straits Times, field cyber-security officer Ian Lim from cyber-security firm Palo Alto Networks noted it is unlikely for an app to gain access to a user’s bank account if it has access to only the camera and media folder. Bank accounts can be vulnerable if users have financial information stored in images on their photo albums, he noted.

If there are unauthorized credit card or bank transactions, there should be an electronic trail from the merchant to the bank on who conducted these transactions and whether a card was even present, Lim explained.

He reminded users to install programs from only reputable developers and be cautious of apps that ask for permissions that are beyond the app’s functions.

So far, more and more users are getting attracted to Bondee.

In the App Store, it is currently ranked number 1 in the Social Networking chart. Bondee is also number 1 in Play Store’s Top Free chart, with over 1 million downloads.

Have you created your own Bondee yet?

Sources: Bondee, The Straits Times