But there is a cost to this accessibility and convenience, and it can be scary.

According to a recent study done byDatingroo, one of the most tacitly invasive components of your online dating lifestyle lies in the permissions that users grant their dating providers.

This data access people willingly give to dating providers can be surprisingly extensive and intrusive.

When signing up for a dating app, users will be asked to give permission for the dating app to access their personal data. This includes the user's identity, all their photos, their contact lists, and even their network access. Dating apps can even know the settings on your phone.

But it doesn't just stop there, according to the study.

There are approximately 45 personal data access points divided in 12 categories.

These can be far-ranging in their level of intrusion into your personal life, from access to information that is largely negligible to things you wouldn't want anyone to know about.

Here are the categories:

• Identity
• Phone
• Camera
• Device id & call information
• Location
• Wi-fi connection information
• Photos/media/files
• Contacts
• SMS
• Microphone
• Device & app history
• Miscellaneous

If you are at all concerned with privacy, then this might seem like a pretty drastic range of allowances we grant to dating companies who are looking to connect us with romantic interests.

By signing up for a dating app and agreeing to their permissions, you set yourself up to have this info accessed.

Datingroo looked at the top online dating platforms in the world, including Tinder, Badoo, Plenty of Fish, Elite Singles, Match, OkCupid, and more. The results show that there is a range of requests made by these dating providers, and not all are equal.

This means that reading the fine print is important, especially if you are at all concerned with the privacy of your data on your smartphone.

So, what exactly are some of the more egregious allowances that we're giving to mobile dating apps when we give them permission to access our data?

According to Datingroo, here are a few to think about the next time you register for a dating app:

• Add or remove accounts
• Connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi
• Read phone status and identity
• Directly call phone numbers
• Modify/delete the contents of your USB storage
• Approximate location (network-based)
• Precise location (GPS and network-based)
• Modify your contacts
• Send text messages (SMS)
• Read your text messages (SMS or MMS)
• Record audio
• Change your audio settings
• Use accounts on the device
• Pair with Bluetooth devices
• Reorder running apps
• Install shortcuts
• Prevent device from sleeping
• Create accounts and set passwords
• Disable your screen lock

As you can see, some of these are extremely invasive with what they allow the app to do your smartphone and with what they allow the app to see.

There can even be security risks if someone were able to get a hold of this information, which resonates with past instances of dating platforms being hacked and users' data becoming compromised. If you've never read through the permissions these apps ask for, it can be shocking.

Datingroo reports some of the worst-case scenarios for what an attacker could do to you with this kind of information, including stealing saved billing information, using confidential business proposals and contracts.

Compromising photos and videos could also be used to hold the user hostage or blackmail them, taking unauthorised photos and videos of the user, and even sending out messages with malicious code.

If it sounds scary, that's because it is.

Fortunately, Datingroo also has a few recommendations for what you can do to protect yourself. This includes creating strong passwords for all accounts on your smartphone, including your dating app, not divulging important information about yourself, and keeping important data off your phone.

Most importantly, you should always check your mobile apps and the access they are granted regularly. Make sure you actually agree with the permissions you grant these services and keep your private life private!