--- title: "Lawsuit Accuses Dating Apps of Intentionally Addicting Users" description: "A lawsuit filed against Tinder and Hinge's owner accuses the online dating giant of intentionally getting users addicted to the apps." date: "2024-02-22" modified: "2024-02-22" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/lawsuit-dating-apps-addicting-users" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "dating apps" - "gedmatch" - "the digest" - "tinder" --- # Lawsuit Accuses Dating Apps of Intentionally Addicting Users ![A lawsuit filed against Tinder and Hinge's owner accuses the online dating giant of intentionally getting users addicted to the apps.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Game-Set-Match A class action lawsuit filed against Match — the parent company that owns the dating apps Tinder, Hinge, and The League — accuses the dating app giant of purposefully getting users hooked to the apps, [*The Washington Post* reports](). The suit, filed in California, argues that Match gamifies its apps to the point that they become addictive, ultimately disincentivizing users from forsaking the swipe machine to pursue offline romantic partnerships. In other words, dating apps often become an unbeatable doom loop – and according to the lawsuit, the apps' business models are at fault. "Match intentionally designs the Platforms with addictive, game-like design features," reads the filing," which lock users into a perpetual pay-to-play loop that prioritizes corporate profits over its marketing promises and customers' relationship goals." ## 21st Century Love The suit was filed by extremely-down-to-sue-tech-giants attorney Ryan Clarkson, whose firm is also leading separate class action lawsuits against [OpenAI]() and [Google](). Busy guy. Match, for its part, has maintained that the filing is bogus, [telling *Reuters*]() and others last week that the case is "ridiculous and has zero merit." "Our business model is not based on advertising or engagement metrics," Match's statement continued. "We actively strive to get people on dates every day and off our apps." On that note, experts have expressed some trepidation about the lawsuit's legal footing. "The lawsuit is a bit absurd, if I'm honest," Jo Hemmings, a psychologist and relationship coach, told *WaPo*, arguing that responsibility for compulsory app use "lies in the hands of the user." Other experts, however, aren't so quick to dismiss the lawsuit's allegations. "By hijacking the brain's reward system, which privileges the short-term hit of dopamine over more long-term rewards, the design of dating apps encourages us to keep playing," Mia Levitin, author of "The Future of Seduction," [told *The Guardian*](). "It's like the quick fix of junk food rather than enjoying a real meal." It's a fascinating premise for legal action, especially considering that the public has widely concluded that social media platforms and smartphones are addictive. (This isn't just vibes-based; many [studies]() have drawn links between [social media use and compulsive behavior]().) But it's one thing to recognize addictive patterns. Proving that a platform is acting deliberately to perpetuate them is another thing, and to that end, that the lawsuit exists mostly feels like a reflection of modern frustrations with life in a digital world. The promise of your next best date lying at the swipe of a thumb is alluring. And yet, in a world where algorithms provide seemingly endless choices in everything from shoes to partners, many are seemingly finding themselves lonelier than ever. **More on dating apps:** [*Man Uses AI to Talk to 5,000 Women on Tinder, Finds Wife*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()