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Match.com Used Fake Ads to Swindle Users, F.T.C. Says

nytimes.com

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Re: Match.com Used Fake Ads to Swindle Users, F.T.C. Says

#21

Post by gowld »

smt88 wrote: post #6
echelon wrote: post #4

The FTC needs to come down hard on this. Extremely hard. This isn't just a trick, it's outright fraud. They're playing with people's emotions and not just giving them nothing - they're abusing people's most basic need of feeling loved. Think about how vulnerable people become when they're searching for love. And then this corporate giant comes in with an army of psychologists, A/B tests, and analysts to figure out ho…

I agree and will add that all dating apps do things like this. They prey on lonely people using false hope. Tinder even introduced paid “boosts” (pay to be shown to users who otherwise might never see you), which is identical to a slot machine.

I don't think there's a problem with honestly offering a promotional feature. Personal responsibility still counts. If you want to pay to get your face out there, you deserve the right.

Re: Match.com Used Fake Ads to Swindle Users, F.T.C. Says

#22

Post by echelon »

smt88 wrote: post #6
echelon wrote: post #4

The FTC needs to come down hard on this. Extremely hard. This isn't just a trick, it's outright fraud. They're playing with people's emotions and not just giving them nothing - they're abusing people's most basic need of feeling loved. Think about how vulnerable people become when they're searching for love. And then this corporate giant comes in with an army of psychologists, A/B tests, and analysts to figure out ho…

I agree and will add that all dating apps do things like this. They prey on lonely people using false hope. Tinder even introduced paid “boosts” (pay to be shown to users who otherwise might never see you), which is identical to a slot machine.

OkCupid charges more for your membership the older you are. By the time you're in your 30s the rate is outright highway robbery.

Re: Match.com Used Fake Ads to Swindle Users, F.T.C. Says

#24

Post by dvt »

busymom0 wrote: post #14
dvt wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Short answer? They are all trash and the space is ripe for disruption. The best of the bunch is probably Hinge, Bumble, and Coffee Meets Bagel. But like I said, getting a date off these apps is like pulling teeth. I've reverted to asking girls out in person at coffee shops, social gatherings, etc. Even if you get rejected, it at least makes for a good story.

What would you change if you were to build a new dating app to disrupt the market?

I have a lot of thoughts on this, so excuse the long post (maybe I'll write a blog post on it at some point):

First, there's a clear (and artificial) skewing of supply-demand curves. There are probably like 30 (active) guys for every 1 (active) girl on these apps (looking at you, Tinder). This creates an imbalance where women are incredibly selective while men end up being incredibly non-selective (e.g. swipe right on everything). Clearly, this needs to be addressed -- this "marketplace" is a sham.

Second of all, a lot of women (but also men) use dating apps to increase their social following (be it Snapchat or Instagram). This probably only pertains to people in their 20s or 30s, but it's a huge problem when trying to seriously find someone to date.

Third -- the botpocalypse. About 70% of my matches on Tinder this past year (I actually quit all dating apps around 4 months ago) have been bots. Not sure if this is a tractable problem, but after a while, it just gets old. At this point, matching with bots is a meme on /r/Tinder, for example.

Fourth, there needs to be an in-app incentive to meet in real life. I feel that my generation (millennials) are kind of broken. I blow people's minds when I tell them that I work remotely at a coffee shop and started making friends with people there, hanging out, etc. In other words, we absolutely suck at real-life social interaction. So we need these apps to "nudge" in the right direction. A potential solution would be a cross between a meetup and a date.

Fifth, I think hookup culture really is starting to show its dark side. Tinder was very popular as a hookup app a few years ago, but nowadays it's more or less abandoned. People actually want deep and long-lasting connections. None of the apps out there really attempt to solve this. It's a tough problem to solve because building a relationship (like building a friendship) takes time.

Anyway, these are some issues I have with dating apps off the top of my head. I will say that it also probably doesn't help that I live in LA, which is a pretty superficial city to begin with. But the women are gorgeous, so I probably shouldn't complain :)

Re: Match.com Used Fake Ads to Swindle Users, F.T.C. Says

#25

Post by tempsy »

werber wrote: post #9
RandomBacon wrote: post #5

Unrelated, but I'm thinking about using one or more dating sites. Which ones do people here use, and what are your thoughts/observations?

I've had great luck with Scruff, and have had friends who have done well with bumble

A bit presumptuous to assume the OP is a gay male, no?

Re: Match.com Used Fake Ads to Swindle Users, F.T.C. Says

#26

Post by saagarjha »

stickfigure wrote: post #19
tyingq wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an arms race. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/google/google-chrome-i...

I wouldn't use the term 'arms race' because that implies each side can continue to escalate. A better way of looking at it is that there are bugs that leak information in browsers, and sites like the NYT are spending developer effort to discover those bugs and publish them (in the form of javascript) so that browser developers can fix them. The browser developers will eventually win this one.

"Eventually" hasn't come yet, and I doubt it will come anytime soon.

Re: Match.com Used Fake Ads to Swindle Users, F.T.C. Says

#27

Post by bigwavedave »

chongli wrote: post #20

I think it's a fatal flaw in the dating site business model, to be honest. Their incentive is for you to stay on the site for as long as possible. If you could find a relationship quickly and then they would leave the site quickly. This would reduce the amount of ad and subscription revenue, in addition to reducing the size of the pool of "potential matches", discouraging those who have more trouble finding someone.

Ah yes, the only profession aside from medicine that exists to eradicate itself.

Re: Match.com Used Fake Ads to Swindle Users, F.T.C. Says

#28

Post by SapporoChris »

busymom0 wrote: post #13
echelon wrote: post #4

The FTC needs to come down hard on this. Extremely hard. This isn't just a trick, it's outright fraud. They're playing with people's emotions and not just giving them nothing - they're abusing people's most basic need of feeling loved. Think about how vulnerable people become when they're searching for love. And then this corporate giant comes in with an army of psychologists, A/B tests, and analysts to figure out ho…

The worst part is that match owns pretty much all other dating apps- tinder, Okcupid, pof etc.

I successfully used Okcupid and I have been dating someone local. I am confident my current relationship is not a scam.

The fake accounts were rather obvious, extremely attractive women that would message, or send a like without having looked at profile. Many of the fake accounts were obviously not suitable matches. For example, the profile (if filled out) is seeking someone in country X, but they've contacted my in country Y.

I also noted some accounts would initiate contact and then account would disappear. I am not sure, but I suspect the host website is taking some efforts to combat problems.

I'm delighted the FTC is taking action, but I think the people that fall for these scams will always fall for the scams. It's hard to protect the vulnerable.

Lastly, if anyone is looking at online dating. Do your research, there is plenty of available information that explain the majority of the scams and detail what to look out for.

Re: Match.com Used Fake Ads to Swindle Users, F.T.C. Says

#30

Post by fragmede »

chongli wrote: post #20

I think it's a fatal flaw in the dating site business model, to be honest. Their incentive is for you to stay on the site for as long as possible. If you could find a relationship quickly and then they would leave the site quickly. This would reduce the amount of ad and subscription revenue, in addition to reducing the size of the pool of "potential matches", discouraging those who have more trouble finding someone.

It's a fatal flaw in the monthly subscription-based model, to be sure, but I don't think that many customers are subscribed for months on end - either they find someone, or give up (on that particular website/app) because "it isn't working". Thus, a feature-driven per-use pricing scheme which Tinder uses for "Super Likes". It sells them a la carte even if you don't have a subscription. (They also have a traditional scription model.)
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