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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

#41

Post by DenseComet »

onemoresoop wrote: post #31
stickfigure wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Whats the incentive to publish them? Isnt it in NYT’s best interest to be able to detect incognito mode?

Not publish them per say, but those methods are obviously in the javascript on the page and inspectable.

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

#42

Post by paul7986 »

All dating apps are filled with fakes and scams mostly perpetrated by those who own the app to milk you of your money.

Ive used match on and off for awhile and the crap stunt of them sending me a bunch of likes, messages just as my subscription is expiring has always ticked me off. Ummm where were these matches the first few weeks and oh wait if i want to find out if they are fake or not i have to subscribe again. Though after the first time of realizing I was being hookwinked by match I never re-up my subscription.

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

#43

Post by dehrmann »

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.

Spark Networks owns a bunch of the mostly niche others.

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

#44

Post by dehrmann »

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.

Okcuipd (and Sparknotes!) co-founder Christian Rudder wrote an article entitled "Why You Should Never Pay For Online Dating" saying exactly that. When Match Group acquired them, they took it down. I found a mirror, though.

https://web.archive.org/web/20190429100515/https://static.iz...

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

#45

Post by yumario »

Rewriting one of my earlier comments: I have used Tinder (owned by Match) before and it was one of the must frustrating experiences ever.

First, they do shady things with your data. Since I made a Tinder account I been getting constant ads for random dating sites. This have been going on for months. God knows how many companies now have my data.

Second, they employ dark patterns:

1) Easy account deletion. Why does that matter? Because they own nearly all dating sites. Including: "BlackPeopleMeet.com, Chemistry.com, Delightful, FriendScout24, HowAboutWe, Match.com, Meetic Group, OkCupid, OurTime, People Media, PlentyOfFish, Tinder, Twoo, Hinge" So, they don't care if they lose a user as long as they can shuffle them around.

2) They will keep a tab of the number of users who have like you. Then eventually that user will shown to you and you will swipe left or right. In that case the tab count will decrease. This is a complete scam. They would withhold these users to push to a pay subscription. Example: https://i.redd.it/e13yeek795x21.jpg . Moreover, most of these likes a bots and fake profiles.

3) Fake notifications: https://i.redd.it/r0lheira9rh31.jpg

4) Shadows-bans: I saw that my profile was getting no matches. So I made a new profile, ban! a match within minutes. Essentially they shadow ban users as a form of Neg.

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

#46

Post by daanavitch »

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.

You can even buy a "Super boost", which costs $30. It will show your profile to more people for 3 hours.

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

#49

Post by dmoy »

yumario wrote: post #45

Rewriting one of my earlier comments: I have used Tinder (owned by Match) before and it was one of the must frustrating experiences ever. First, they do shady things with your data. Since I made a Tinder account I been getting constant ads for random dating sites. This have been going on for months. God knows how many companies now have my data. Second, they employ dark patterns: 1) Easy account deletion. Why does th…

To be fair on the last part, shadow ban can be an extremely efficient moderation tool, though for people caught up as false positive collateral damage it can really suck.

This is true even in hackernews I would assume, certainly it is any other place I've moderated before.

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

#50

Post by lone_haxx0r »

jdkee wrote: post #23

[flagged]

Maybe we should try a system where there's no property and the state takes care of every aspect of the citizen's life.

People wouldn't need to work as much and the government would be honest and nice to everyone (except filthy dissidents).

I'm sure it won't end in a totalitarian bloodshed.

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