Dating apps claim to help users find romance and true love, but are they actually just manipulating people into an addiction?
A proposed class-action lawsuit filed in federal court on Valentine's Day -- of all days -- claims that instead of helping users with relationship goals, apps including Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, OkCupid and Plenty of Fish are designed to turn users into "addicts" who buy expensive subscriptions to continue their compulsive use.
According to the 59-page lawsuit, parent company Match Group uses "hidden algorithms" and "game-like design features" to transform users into "gamblers locked in a search for psychological rewards," locking them into a "perpetual pay-to-play loop that prioritizes corporate profits over its marketing promises."
The complaint also accuses the company of designing at least three "psychologically manipulative product features" to drive user addiction.
"The platforms' content presentation format has 'gamified' romance to manipulate dopamine response by introducing intermittent variable rewards; push notifications prey on users' fear of missing out on any potential matches with a strategic notification system designed to capture and retain attention at all times of the day; [and] incentive rewards which punish users from disengaging and rewards compulsive users," the suit reads.
The complaint says Match makes false promises to consumers and continues to distribute the apps without disclosing their harmful addictive use, which violates consumer protection, false advertising and other laws.
"Match misrepresents the platforms as effective tools for establishing and
sustaining off-app relationships, when they are designed to coerce subscriptions and retain users forever with dangerously addictive yet undisclosed product features," the suit reads. "Users seeking to escape the platforms by finding partnership are assured that their chances will improve with a subscription. But all they receive is more of the same addictive features that serve only to further entrench users in the app while lining Match's pockets with profits unjustly earned based on materially false promises and omissions."
A spokesperson for Match Group denied the allegations, telling NPR the case is "ridiculous and has zero merit."
"Our business model is not based on advertising or engagement metrics. We actively strive to get people on dates every day and off our apps," the spokesperson said. "Anyone who states anything else doesn't understand the purpose and mission of our entire industry."