Tinder has decided to stop charging older users higher subscription fees for its Tinder Plus service in 2022. This move isn’t as surprising as the Match Group-owned dating app’s decision to continue billing people based on their age for so many years in spite of facing lawsuits.
Now a Mozilla and Consumers International report has revealed that Tinder+ users (excluding those in Brazil) in the 30 – 49 years age group may be paying as much as 65.3 percent more for the service as compared to younger subscribers. These figures are based on data obtained from ‘mystery shoppers’ in six countries covering the US, India, New Zealand, Brazil, the Netherlands and Korea.
After losing a legal battle in 2019, Tinder was forced to stop charging older customers higher rates for its premium services in California. But it had not halted this practice anywhere else across the world where it offers special paid features like ‘unlimited swipes’, ‘boosts’ and ‘super likes’. What’s more, during the registration process, consumers are not explicitly informed that they may be shelling out more than other users for Tinder Plus.
Tinder has always argued that its age-based pricing policy is no more discriminatory than something like student discounts, for example. This practice is meant to make the service more affordable for those who are still studying or starting off their career. The company maintains that only age and region are taken into account when determining the personalized cost of its Plus tier of services.
But according to a 2020 CHOICE investigation, age and location may not be the only factors influencing the price users pay for Tinder Plus. Subscribers may also be showed differential rates based on their gender and sexuality. However, Tinder has vehemently denied these allegations. The discriminatory pricing policy is not the only worrying aspect here since those aware of the issue are also concerned about the data privacy problems it might pose.
As of now, Tinder has pledged to pull age-based pricing from all the countries across the globe where it’s available. This will happen by the end of the second quarter in 2022.
