Complaints About Dating Services in Hong Kong Rise By 50%

Hong Kong’s Consumer Council has reported a significant increase in complaints related to dating services and matchmaking platforms in 2025, highlighting growing consumer dissatisfaction in a sector that continues to expand both online and offline.

According to figures released by the watchdog, the council received 88 complaints between January and November 2025, marking a 46.7% year-on-year increase compared with the same period in 2024. This is the highest annual figure recorded in recent years, continuing an upward trend that has fluctuated since 2022 but surged sharply this year.

Since 2022, the council has logged 268 complaints related to dating and matching services. Many of these cases involve disputes over unmet expectations, including candidates who did not align with stated preferences or discrepancies between how matches were described and their real-world attributes.

The majority of complaints were directed at physical matchmaking agencies, which accounted for around 95% of cases, according to Liza Fung Tsz-yan, the council’s director of complaints and advice. Complaints spanned both high-end and mid-range providers, with no single pricing tier emerging as more problematic than others.

One of the most prominent cases involved a woman in her 40s earning more than HK$3 million annually, who paid HK$70,000 to a matchmaking agency. The service promised to arrange eight one-on-one dates and recommend suitable candidates with no time limit. While the agency introduced 18 potential matches within a year, none fully met her stated requirements. When she sought to cancel the contract and receive a refund, the agency declined, citing contractual terms that did not guarantee exact matches. The council advised the complainant to consider independent legal action.

Complaints related to dating apps were fewer but still raised concerns. In one case, a man who purchased a three-month premium subscription reported suspicious behavior after being asked for a bank transfer by another user and noticing inconsistencies in her identity details.

While still isolated cases from specific apps, this sudden spike in complaints against apps could be due to the dating market’s notable growth and projected future rises. Not only are more and more users turning to dating apps – with more apps opening to serve those users – but the scrutiny directed at these platforms may rise sharply as it becomes a more significant part of the dating experience in China.