‘Concerning’ Tinder act rorting Aussies
Tinder is allegedly charging users different prices depending on their personal data, consumer advocate Choice has revealed.
A mystery shop investigation found that Tinder uses its Tinder Plus customers’ ages to set different prices, but that the “secret” pricing rules went even further than that.
“Even within age groups, we saw a range of prices, demonstrating that there are other factors at play that Tinder is yet to explain,” Choice director of campaigns, Erin Turner said.
On average, Tinder Plus users over 30 were offered more than double the prices shown to people under 30, the Choice investigation found.
The investigation saw 60 Australians with a range of backgrounds sign up to Tinder Plus, with prices of between $6.99 to over $34 found for a one month subscription to the service.
“It is really concerning that we don’t know what information about us Tinder is using to determine these personalised prices,” Turner said.
“Without knowing what factors influence the prices people get for Tinder Plus, customers aren’t able to really compare prices with other services and can’t judge whether Tinder is unfairly discriminating.”
Tinder’s policy act does show what data it collects from Australians, but not that it uses that information to dictate its prices.
“It’s misleading by omitting one very important fact: this company will use your data against you,” Turner said.
Choice has since made a formal complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, asking the regulator to investigate the dating app for potential breaches of consumer law.
Tinder told Yahoo Finance its pricing varies “by a number of factors”, but did not specify what these were.
“We frequently offer promotional rates - which can vary based on region, length of subscription, bundle size and more. We also regularly test new features and payment options,” a Tinder spokesperson said.
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