Tinder charges people over 30 up to 48% more

Tinder is charging people more than 30 to 48 percent more for its premium service, a study has revealed.

That? said his findings point to potential discrimination and a possible violation of UK law by the popular dating app.

The consumer group also initially accused Tinder of raising prices for young gay and lesbian users aged 18-29, but has since backed down.

A statement from Which? said: “Initially opting not to provide further information, Tinder has since revealed that it is offering discounts to users aged 28 and under in the UK.”

It added that the dating app “claimed that by including 29-year-olds in our analysis of the relationship between price and age and sexual orientation,” the results would be skewed to make it appear that LGBTQAI+ members were paying more based on orientation, when in fact it was based on age”.’

That? said it has “no evidence that sexual orientation affects pricing for young Tinder users” in light of the new information.

Tinder had previously said it was “categorically untrue” that its pricing structure discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.

The dating app claimed that this price difference was ‘a discount for younger users’, but Which? found that this is not made clear to people using the app.

That? has reported its findings to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and called on them to investigate whether there has been a breach of UK law.

The EHRC, the UK’s equality regulator, said it was investigating the matter and called the findings “concerning.”

The consumer group asked nearly 200 mystery shoppers to create real profiles and quote prices for Tinder Plus, a premium package that includes perks such as unlimited ‘Likes’ and ‘Rewinds’ and the ability to undo unintentional selections.

Those in the 30-49 age bracket paid 48 percent more (€24 difference) and those over 50 paid an average of 46 percent more (€23.19 difference) for a 12-month Tinder Plus subscription.

That? found that the full extent of how personalized pricing is applied isn’t clear in the Tinder app — without explaining to customers that their personal data could be misused in this way.

It is occasionally justified under UK law to offer age-based price variations for the same product or service, such as discounts for the over-65s or students, where there can be demonstrated a legitimate basis for doing so.

However, in this particular example, it was not clear why people over 30 paid more. Which? said.

The research suggests that Tinder has an algorithm that is opaque and unpredictable.

Throughout the mystery shopping exercise, offers for a year of access to Tinder Plus ranged wildly from £26.09 to £116.99, with a total of 20 different prices.

That? analyzed Tinder’s terms of use and privacy policy and found that users were unaware of such vastly different prices.

Instead, the dating app refers only to processing individuals’ data to “provide and improve” its services and (among other things) to “help maintain [users] safe, and offer [users] with advertisements that may be of interest’.

That? said Tinder shouldn’t use personal data to determine what prices it charges users.

If so, the consumer group said, users will not give their explicit consent to this type of processing, making it a potential breach of UK data protection law.

Tinder, owned by the Texas-based Match Group, made $1.4 billion (£1 million) in global revenue in 2020.

A Tinder spokesperson said, “Tinder is free to use and the vast majority of our members enjoy our app without upgrading to the paid experience.

“However, we offer several subscription options to help our members stand out and match new people more efficiently.

“Tinder is a global business and in some regions we offer discounted subscriptions to younger members. In addition, we regularly offer promotional rates — which may vary based on factors such as location or subscription length.

“Our pricing structure doesn’t take other demographic information into account.”

Rocio Concha, which one? director of policy and advocacy, said: “Our research uncovered evidence that people who use Tinder may unknowingly face higher charges because of their age.

This indicates possible unlawful price discrimination, whether intentionally or not by Tinder, and possible unlawful processing of personal data.

“We call on the EHRC and the ICO to further investigate this matter.

“If regulators decide that Tinder’s personalized pricing violates the law, the dating app giant must take strong action.”

An EHRC spokesperson said: ‘As a UK equality regulator, our job is to protect, enforce and enforce equality laws. We take reports of discrimination very seriously.

“This report of possible discrimination by Tinder is alarming. We will consider these findings by Which? and respond in due course.’