Tinder’s parent company Match Group has agreed to pay $60.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the dating app of charging older users significantly more for premium subscriptions. The lawsuit alleged that Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold subscriptions cost up to twice as much for users over the age of 29 compared to younger users receiving the exact same features. California users who paid for Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold between March 2015 and March 2024 may be eligible for a payment.
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Status: Settlement Approved — Claims Period Open
What Was the Pricing Scheme?
When Tinder launched its paid subscription tier, Tinder Plus, in 2015, the company implemented a two-tier pricing system. Users under 30 were offered the subscription at $9.99 per month. Users 30 and older were charged $19.99 per month — double the price for identical features. The same pricing disparity carried over to Tinder Gold when it launched in 2017.
Tinder made no secret of the age-based pricing. The company publicly stated that younger users had tighter budgets and needed a lower price point to convert them to paid subscribers. But the plaintiffs argued that this amounted to illegal age discrimination under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits businesses from discriminating against customers based on age, sex, race, and other protected characteristics.
The California Court of Appeal agreed with the plaintiffs in a 2018 ruling, finding that Tinder’s age-based pricing violated California law regardless of the company’s business justifications. That ruling paved the way for the class action settlement.
Who Can File a Claim?
The settlement class includes California residents who were charged the higher age-based price for Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold subscriptions between March 28, 2015 and March 1, 2024. To qualify, you must have been 29 or older at the time of your subscription and paid the higher rate compared to younger users.
If you qualify, your payment will depend on how much you spent and how long you subscribed. People who paid for monthly subscriptions over several years could receive substantially more than someone who subscribed for a single month. The settlement administrator is using Tinder’s internal records to identify class members and calculate individual payment amounts.
Why This Case Matters
This settlement sends a clear message to technology companies that personalized pricing based on demographics can cross legal lines. While many apps and services use algorithms to set prices dynamically, using protected characteristics like age as a direct pricing factor violates anti-discrimination laws in California and potentially other states.
The case also highlights how subscription apps can quietly charge different customers different prices for the same product. Unless users compare notes, they may never realize they are paying more than someone else. This type of hidden price discrimination is exactly what consumer protection laws are designed to prevent.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information presented is based on publicly available court records and news reports. Written by Steve Levine for OpenClassActions.org.