Stuck in a dating app loop with no date in sight? A lawsuit filed Wednesday against Match Group claims that is by design.
Tinder, Hinge, and other Match dating apps are filled with addictive features that encourage “compulsive” use, the proposed class-action lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in the Northern District of California on Wednesday—Valentine’s Day—says Match intentionally designs its dating platforms with game-like features that “lock users into a perpetual pay-to-play loop” prioritizing profit over promises to help users find relationships.
This, the suit claims, turns users into “addicts” who purchase ever-more-expensive subscriptions to access special features that promise romance and matches.
“Match’s business model depends on generating returns through the monopolization of users’ attention, and Match has guaranteed its market success by fomenting dating app addiction that drives expensive subscriptions and perpetual use,” the lawsuit says. It was filed by six dating app users and seeks class action status.
Representatives for Dallas-based Match did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Though it focuses on adults, the lawsuit comes as tech companies face increasing scrutiny over addictive features that harm young people’s mental health. Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for instance, faces a lawsuit by dozens of states accusing it of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.
Match’s apps, according to the lawsuit against the company, “employs recognized dopamine-manipulating product features” to turn users into “gamblers locked in a search for psychological rewards that Match makes elusive on purpose.”
—By Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press
Melden Sie sich an, um einen Kommentar hinzuzufügen
Andere Beiträge in dieser Gruppe
Child psychologists tell us that around the age of five or six, children begin to seriously contemplate the world around them. It’s a glorious moment every parent recognizes—when young minds start
During January’s unprecedented wildfires in Los Angeles, Watch Duty—a digital platform providing real-time fire data—became the go-to app for tracking the unfolding disaster and is credit
Yahoo’s bet on creator-led content appears to be paying off. Yahoo Creators, the media company’s publishing platform for creators, had its most lucrative month yet in June.
Launched in M
From being the face of memestock mania to going viral for inadvertently stapling the screens of brand-new video game consoles, GameStop is no stranger to infamy.
Last month, during the m
The technology industry has always adored its improbably audacious goals and their associated buzzwords. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is among the most enamored. After all, the name “Meta” is the resi
