Match Group Accuses Apple's Cost Of Hampering Tinder Growth In India

JAKARTA Match Group, the parent company of dating app Tinder, assesses that a cost policy of up to 30 percent implemented by Apple in India will hamper its long-term revenue and business growth. In an official submission to the India Business Competition Commission (CCI), Match requested that Apple be fined a large amount to protect the digital business ecosystem in the country.

Tinder is one of the main players in India's dating app market which is expected to be worth around $1.42 billion by 2030, according to firm MarketNtel.

Since 2022, Match has been involved in an antitrust dispute with Apple at CCI. In 2024, the CCI investigative team assessed that Apple was practicing abuse of dominance in the app market on the iPhone operating system (iOS).

Apple rejected the allegations and stated that they were just small players in the Indian market, where most phones use the Android system from Google. Apple, Match, and CCI have not yet responded to requests for comment from the media.

In a response dated October 13 to a CCI investigation report first revealed by Reuters Match urged regulators to order Apple to stop its anti-competitive practices.

Apple's policy had a negative impact on capital returns and brand-brand revenue sources in Match portfolios, the company wrote in its document. In the long term, Apple's restrictions and overpayments will hinder the growth and scalability of Match brands," he continued without specifying a definite figure.

Apple is currently facing antitrust surveillance in various countries. On Thursday, October 23, a court in London ruled that Apple was abusing its position by imposing an unfair commission on app developers.

In India, the iPhone market share has quadrupled in the last five years. According to Counterpoint Research, by mid-2025, the iOS system controlled about 4.5 percent of India's total 735 million smartphones, while the rest was dominated by Android.

CCI has the authority to impose fines of up to 10 percent of Apple's average global revenue over the past three years. Match assesses that global revenue-based fines, not just India, will be a significant deterrent effect against repeated violations.

The CCI investigative team previously found that Apple had banned the use of third-party payment processors in in-app purchases, which could cost 30 percent. Match accused Apple of being discriminatory by providing different treatment to Uber applications, which are classified as physical goods providers and subject to lower commissions, while Tinder is considered a digital service provider.

"Tinder and Uber basically both offer matching services," Match wrote in the document.

In April, EU regulators also demanded Apple remove restrictions preventing app developers from directing users to cheaper offerings outside the App Store, and imposing fines of 500 million euros (approximately 583 million US dollars).

In response, Apple in June changed its App Store rules to comply with the European regulator's decision.

This case in India could be a big test for local authorities in enforcing digital regulations amid the global dominance of tech giants like Apple.