Match Group Accused Of Making Dating Apps That Make Dependence

Tinder, one of the applications created by Match Group (photo: x @Tinder)

JAKARTA - On Wednesday, February 14, Match Group was investigated in a class action lawsuit claiming that dating apps such as Tinder, Hinge, and The League were designed to make users addicted. In addition, it generates more benefits for companies than helping them establish relationships.

The plaintiffs stated that Match's "predator" business model deceived those seeking love with algorithms driving "compulsive use" of its platform, and persuaded them to pay hundreds of dollars annually for subscriptions.

Match uses the feature "to play with its platform to turn users into gamblers locked in a psychological reward search that Match deliberately makes it difficult to achieve," according to a lawsuit filed in a federal court in San Francisco.

Six plaintiffs - who live in California, Florida, Georgia and New York - called this inconsistent with Match's ad slogan stating that its app was "designed to be removed."

In his statement, Match rejected the plaintiffs' claims.

"This demand makes no sense and has no value," Match said. "Our business model is not based on advertising or engagement metrics. We are trying to actively organize people to date every day and get out of our app. Anyone who says anything else doesn't understand our entire industry's goals and missions."

The lawsuit accused Match of negligence, and violated several state consumer protection laws.

It is seeking unspecified compensation for people paying to use Tinder, Hinge, or The League in the last four years. It is also seeking new warnings about the risk of dependence, and the elimination of languages "designed to be removed."