Relationship statuses leaked: what it means and what to do
Risk level: medium. Can you change it: no. Found in 7 breaches in this directory.
What this data is
A label describing your relationship situation, such as single, married, separated, divorced or widowed, stored by dating apps, social networks, insurers and marketing forms.
The risk on its own
A relationship status cannot open an account. Its harm is in who it singles out: romance scammers look for people who are single, recently divorced or widowed because loneliness makes grooming easier. On an affair or dating site, a married status can be deeply compromising.
The risk combined with other data
With your name, age and contact details, the status becomes a shortlist for romance fraud. A widowed person in their sixties with an email address is exactly who long running romance scams are built around. Married users on dating or affair sites become extortion targets once their real email is known.
How criminals use it
A recently widowed person is approached on social media by a stranger who seems to share their grief and later asks for money.
An extortion email tells a married user of a dating site that their spouse will be sent their profile unless they pay.
A fake dating profile messages everyone marked single in a city with the same investment tip.
A scammer claims to be a lawyer handling an inheritance and targets people marked as widowed.
What to do now
Remove relationship status from social media profiles or set it to only me.
Never send money, gift cards or crypto to someone you have only met online, however long you have talked.
Do not pay extortion demands linked to dating sites. Save the messages and report them to police.
Talk to older or recently bereaved relatives about romance scam warning signs.
Delete dating profiles you no longer use.
Frequently asked questions
Why would a scammer care about my relationship status?
Romance scams work best on people who are single, divorced or widowed, so the status helps them choose who to approach.
I was on a dating site while married. What should I expect?
Possible extortion emails. Do not pay or reply. Paying rarely stops the demands, and most threats are never carried out.
Is my relationship status public anyway?
Sometimes on social media. The leak adds it to your email and other data, which makes targeted scams easier.
Breach data sourced from Have I Been Pwned, used under CC BY 4.0. Additional breach metadata provided by XposedOrNot. DataExposed is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.