Match Group Agrees to $14M FTC Settlement Over Deceptive Practices

The Federal Trade Commission announced that Match Group — the owner of Match, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and Plenty of Fish — has agreed to a $14 million settlement resolving a 2019 lawsuit accusing it of misleading users into paid subscriptions and mishandling billing disputes.

What the FTC alleged

According to the complaint, Match Group sent users marketing emails about new messages even after identifying those senders as likely bots or scammers. Those alerts allegedly pushed users toward paid subscriptions while the company continued to profit. Regulators also say Match locked users out of accounts when they disputed charges and made cancellations difficult to complete.

• Misleading message notifications tied to suspected bots
• Account lockouts after users disputed charges
• Poor cancellation mechanisms that frustrated customers

Terms of the settlement

Match Group agreed to pay $14 million to provide redress to injured consumers and must take operational steps to address the issues raised. The proposed order requires clearer labeling of the company’s six-month guarantee, prohibitions on retaliatory actions against customers who raise billing issues, and simpler cancellation processes.

Why this matters

Dating apps live and die on trust. When users feel misled, the damage goes beyond refunds — it erodes engagement, increases disputes and invites regulatory scrutiny. This settlement signals that regulators will hold platforms accountable for the intersection of consumer protection and trust-and-safety operations.

Practical steps for platforms

Companies should take three immediate actions: detect and label likely bot or scam contacts before they reach users; streamline dispute and cancellation workflows so consumers aren’t locked out; and audit marketing triggers to ensure they don’t push users into paid tiers based on deceptive signals.

• Improve detection and classification for suspicious accounts
• Create transparent billing and refund policies that are easy to access
• Preserve neutral dispute channels so customers can raise issues without fear of reprisal

For executives and product teams this is a reminder: trust and revenue are linked. A data-driven review of messaging triggers, billing flows and complaint handling will reduce customer harm and the legal risk that comes with it. QuarkyByte’s approach favors measurable controls, prioritized fixes and ongoing monitoring so leaders can prove improvement to customers and regulators alike.