• by Wendy Davis , August 12, 2025

Online dating service Match Group has agreed to pay $14 million to settle charges that it failed to offer consumers a simple way to cancel subscriptions, and deceived subscribers by promising them a free six-month membership if they didn't "meet someone special."

If accepted by U.S. District Court Ed Kinkeade in Dallas, the settlement will resolve a Federal Trade Commission complaint brought in 2019 against the dating company.

The FTC claimed in its complaint that Match violated the federal Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act by failing to enable subscribers to easily cancel memberships.

The agency also alleged that Match promised potential subscribers a free six-month membership if they didn't "meet someone special," but failed to clearly disclose key terms -- mainly that people would only be eligible for that deal if they messaged at least five different subscribers per month and posted a public profile with a Match-approved photo.

The original complaint included other charges against Match -- including that it duped potential subscribers by sending them email ads that promoted fraudulent profiles -- but Kinkeade threw out those claims in 2022.

The settlement agreement requires Match to disclose all material terms relating to promises like its "six-month guarantee," and to provide consumers with a simple way to cancel subscriptions.

A Match Group spokesperson said the company did not admit liability as part of the settlement and "was fully prepared to take the case to trial, but opted to resolve the case to put the matter behind it."

"The FTC’s outdated claims are entirely moot, as the alleged practices at issue ended years ago or are based on mischaracterizations that do not reflect our business today," the spokesperson added.