An investigation from consumer watchdog Which? has found that Tinder charges young people more for its premium service. The investigation discovered that users over the age of thirty are charged up to 48% more for the same premium service.
Which? said its findings suggest possible discrimination and a potential breach of UK law by the popular dating app. The consumer group also initially accused Tinder of hiking prices for young gay and lesbian users aged 18-29, but has since backtracked on this.
A statement from Which? said: ‘Having initially chosen not to provide further information, Tinder has since revealed that it offers 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 with age and sexual orientation, “the results would be skewed to make it appear that LGBTQAI+ members paid more based upon orientation, when in fact, it was based upon age”.’
Tinder has 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.
Which? 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.