Tinder and Hinge Alleged to be Addictive

A class-action lawsuit against the parent company of Tinder and Hinge, Match Group, is underway, claiming misrepresentation of services and intentional ensnarement of users.

• Match Group, which owns popular dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid, faces allegations that its platforms are engineered with addictive features.
• The suit claims that the Group is reneging on its promise to facilitate users’ happy endings.

A federal lawsuit filed against Match Group, Hinge and Tinder’s parent company, alleges that its apps are designed to be addictive.

Match Group is the parent company of very popular dating apps, including Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, accuses the company of knowingly adding features that keep users in a “pay-to-play loop.” It claims that Match Group has been prioritizing profits over the users’ prospects of meaningful relationships.

The documents go into detail on how the apps’ game-like features manipulate user behavior and turn them into “addicts”, continuously paying for subscriptions and paid features. This in turn creates a cycle of compulsive use that prioritizes corporate profits over users’ relationship goals.

According to the documents, the lawyers are claiming that the expensive subscriptions and other “special” features “are not designed to deliver on Match’s marketing promises, but instead to further addict and forever entrench users in the app.” A case in point is Hinge’s slogan, “Designed to be Deleted.” A+ on the marketing, but poor execution.

There’s also the issue of misrepresentation, where the company claims that the apps are effective tools for building “off-app relationships, while secretly doing everything in its power to capture and sustain paying subscribers and keep them on-app.” At this point, the lawsuit claims that Match Group has violated consumer protection and multiple other laws in multiple states.

To no one’s surprise, the digital love giant is denying the allegations like its reputation depends on it… because it does. Match Group’s spokesperson called the suit “ridiculous and without merit.”

As ridiculous as it sounds, the plaintiffs are not wrong. I haven’t used the app in years, and I’m not too keen on downloading it again. But the old system worked. I’ve met several people who found a connection over dating apps, be it Tinder, OkCupid, or some other app that sells you love a click away.

Their love stories are a little bit weird, I admit. “He had nothing on his profile except a picture of him holding an owl.” Oh, you risk taker you! “I fell in love with her unfiltered self.” There was an attempt at a pun there. Something about women and using filters to ensnare men. When I had the app, I had a riddle from the Big Bang Theory on my profile. So edgy…. *Slowly dies inside* But you are not supposed to think too much about the fact that you are advertising yourself to others. You are on an honorable quest to find love.

But with time, capitalism crept in, and these companies that sold you the promises of a Happily Ever After turned into snake oil salesmen. They will keep you on the merry-go-round until you have to swipe right on a coffin.

Dating apps are not necessarily the end of human procreation, but apparently, capitalism is. Color me shocked.

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