View source for Online dating

{{short description|Romantic relationships formed on the internet}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Update|part=some statistics are from over a decade ago|date=June 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = November 2019}}
{{Close relationships}}[[File:Smartphone dating app illustration.jpg|thumb|Since the 2010s, Internet dating has become more popular with smartphones.]]
'''Online dating,''' also known as '''internet dating''', '''virtual dating''', or '''mobile app dating''',<ref name="Wright 2019 p. 67">{{cite book | last=Wright | first=M.F. | title=Recent Advances in Digital Media Impacts on Identity, Sexuality, and Relationships | publisher=IGI Global | series=Advances in Human and Social Aspects of Technology | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-7998-1065-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tEG6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 | access-date=2024-05-07 | page=67}}</ref> is a method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the [[internet]]. An '''online dating service''' is a company that promotes and provides specific mechanisms for the practice of online dating, generally in the form of dedicated websites or software applications accessible on [[personal computer]]s or [[mobile device]]s connected to the internet. A wide variety of [[Moderation system|unmoderated]] [[matchmaking]] services, most of which are [[User profile|profile-based]] with various communication functionalities, is offered by such companies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schwartz |first1=Pepper |title=Online dating |journal=The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality |date=2014 |pages=1–5 |doi=10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs317 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Akcabozan Kayabol |first1=Nazli Busra |last2=Uzun |first2=Bilge |title=Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior |date=2023 |publisher=[[Springer, Cham]] |isbn=978-3-031-08956-5 |pages=1–5 |url=https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_86-1 |language=en |chapter=Internet: Online Dating |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_86-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Toma |first1=Catalina L. |title=Online Dating |journal=The International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication |date=2015 |pages=1–5 |doi=10.1002/9781118540190.wbeic118 |isbn=9781118540190}}</ref>

Online dating services allow users to become "members" by creating a profile and uploading personal information including (but not limited to) age, gender, sexual orientation, location, and appearance. Most services also encourage members to add photos or videos to their profile. Once a profile has been created, members can view the profiles of other members of the service, using the visible profile information to decide whether or not to initiate contact. Most services offer digital messaging, while others provide additional services such as [[webcast]]s, [[online chat]], telephone chat ([[Voice over Internet Protocol|VOIP]]), and [[message boards]]. Members can constrain their interactions to the online space, or they can arrange a [[dating|date]] to meet in person.

A great diversity of online dating services currently exist. Some have a broad membership base of diverse users looking for many different types of relationships. Other sites target highly specific demographics based on features like shared interests, location, religion, sexual orientation or relationship type. Online dating services also differ widely in their revenue streams. Some sites are completely free and depend on advertising for revenue. Others utilize the [[freemium]] revenue model, offering free registration and use, with optional, paid, premium services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2011/12/13/badoo-unveils-features-to-help-shy-users-flirt/|title=Badoo Unveils Features to Help Shy Users Flirt|date=2011-12-13|publisher=Mashable.com|author=Brian Anthony Hernandez 7|access-date=2012-07-17}}</ref> Still others rely solely on paid membership subscriptions.

== Trends ==
=== Social trends and public opinions ===
A 2005 study found that online daters may have more liberal social attitudes compared to the general population in the United States.<ref name=twsDecH19h>{{cite news
 |first1= Mary
 |last1= Madden
 |first2= Amanda
 |last2= Lenhart
 |title= Online Dating: Americans who are seeking romance use the internet to help them in their search, but there is still widespread public concern about the safety of online dating
 |publisher= Pew Internet & American Life Project
 |quote= Online daters tend to identify with more liberal social attitudes, compared with all Americans or all internet users.
 |date= September 2005
 |url= http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2006/Online-Dating/05-Who-Is-Dating-Online/04-Online-daters-tend-to-identify-with-more-liberal-social-attitudes.aspx?r=1
 |access-date= 2010-12-08
 |archive-date= October 25, 2011
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111025170950/http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2006/Online-Dating/05-Who-Is-Dating-Online/04-Online-daters-tend-to-identify-with-more-liberal-social-attitudes.aspx?r=1
 |url-status= dead
 }}</ref>

=== Race and online dating ===
A 2009 study found that African Americans were the least desired demographic in online dating; and were the least interested in forming interracial relationships with non-Black Americans.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Yancey|first=George|year=2009|title=Cross racial differences in the racial preference of potential dating partners|journal=[[The Sociological Quarterly]]|volume=50|pages=121–143|doi=10.1111/j.1533-8525.2008.01135.x|s2cid=143872921}}</ref>

In 2008, a study investigated racial preferences using a sample of 6,070 profiles on [[Yahoo! Personals]]. Just 29% of white men excluded women of color, compared to the 64% of white women who excluded men of color.<ref name="Feliciano-2008">{{Cite journal|last1=Feliciano|first1=Cynthia|last2=Robnett|first2=Belinda|last3=Komaie|first3=Golnaz|date=September 18, 2008|title=Gendered Racial Exclusion Among White Internet Daters|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26333132|journal=Social Science Research|volume=38|issue=1|pages=39–54|doi=10.1016/j.ssresearch.2008.09.004|pmid=19569291}}</ref> Follow-up studies conducted by these authors in 2009 and 2011 found similar patterns: white women were less open to interracial relationships than white men.<ref name="Skopek 2023 pp. 211–238">{{cite book | last=Skopek | first=Jan | title=Research Handbook on Digital Sociology | chapter=Studying mate choice using digital trace data from online dating | publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing | date=2023-03-31 | isbn=978-1-78990-676-9 | doi=10.4337/9781789906769.00020 | pages=211–238}} "Earlier studies on racial preferences in online dating (Feliciano, Robnett, & Komaie, 2009; Robnett & Feliciano, 2011) collected data on stated race preferences (standardized tick boxes) from internet dating profiles on Yahoo! Personals, which was one of the major online dating services in the early 2000s. Regarding white majority users, Feliciano et al. (2009) could demonstrate, first, that race was a fundamental criterion for daters as preferences on race were expressed more frequently on other traits (e.g., education or religion). Second, they found decisive gender differences with (white) women being generally less open to non-white relationships than men and, compared to men, were much more likely to exclude Latino and Asian contacts. Robnett and Feliciano (2011) conducted a follow up study based on the same stated preference data but including minority racial groups as well...Gender and race-group interacted substantially"..."Taken together, the evidence garnered from stated preferences in online dating profiles suggests considerable racial hierarchies in dating but with different implications for race-gender groups due to substantive gender differences."</ref>

In 2018, a study analyzed the activity of approximately 200,000 users of an online dating app in the [[United States]]. The authors found that White men and Asian women were the most desired.<ref name="Jagannathan-2018" />

In 2021, a comprehensive analysis of online dating trends in the [[United States]] suggested that the rise of online dating has exacerbated underlying racial biases in dating.<ref name="Buggs 2023">{{cite journal | last=Buggs | first=Shantel Gabrieal | title=The Dating Divide: Race and Desire in the Era of Online Romance | journal=American Journal of Sociology | volume=128 | issue=5 | date=2023-03-01 | issn=0002-9602 | doi=10.1086/723010 | pages=1576–1578}}</ref> The authors found that [[white American|White]] men were preferred by [[women of color]], while men of color generally preferred women of color. White men were accepting of [[Asian American|Asian]] and [[Hispanic American|Hispanic]] women, yet White women tended to exclude non-White men.<ref name="Curington">{{cite book |last1=Curington |first1=Celeste Vaughan |last2=Lundquist |first2=Jennifer Hickes |last3=Lin |first3=Ken-Hou |title=The Dating Divide: Race and Desire in the Era of Online Romance |date=9 February 2021 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-96670-3 |pages=20, 154–170 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MTEaEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 |language=en |quote= Our analyses show that all groups of women and most gay men respond to White men. In other words, White men continue to be advantaged romantically, even more so than White women. We illustrate the specific operation of anti-Blackness among White men, who tend to accept all but Black women as romantic options when dating online, while White women exclude all non-White men.}}</ref>

However, these authors also disputed some common notions about racial bias in online dating.<ref name="Curington" /> For example, White women did not reject Asian men more so than [[African American|Black]] or [[Hispanic American|Hispanic]] men.<ref name="Curington" /> Black and Hispanic women were just as accepting of Asian men as they were of men of the same race. This is inconsistent with the idea that Asian men are particularly disadvantaged in online dating, relative to other men of color.<ref name="Curington" /> The authors also dispute the notion that Asian women's high outmarriage rate is due to "self hatred", as their interviews found that these marriages form out of perceived compatibility, rather than self hatred.<ref name="Curington" /> Gay Hispanic men did not have a preference for white partners.<ref name="Curington" />

=== Gender ===
According to a 2018 study, among American daters, male desirability increased until the age of 50; while women's desirability declined steeply after the age of 20.<ref name="Salam-2018" />

In terms of educational attainment, men's desirability only increased the more educated they were. For women, however, educational attainment beyond the level of a [[bachelor's degree]] actually decreased their desirability. The authors suggested that besides individual preferences and partner availability, this pattern may be due to the fact that by the late 2010s, women were more likely to attend and graduate from university.<ref name="Salam-2018" /> In order to estimate the desirability of a given individual, the researchers looked at the number of messages they received and the desirability of the senders.<ref name="Davison-2018" />

Developmental psychologist Michelle Drouin, who was not involved in the study, told [[The New York Times|''The'' ''New York Times'']] this finding is in accordance with theories in psychology and sociology based on biological evolution in that youth is a sign of fertility. She added that women with advanced degrees are often viewed as more focused on their careers than family.<ref name="Salam-2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/style/dating-apps-online-men-women-age.html|title=For Online Daters, Women Peak at 18 While Men Peak at 50, Study Finds. Oy.|last=Salam|first=Maya|date=August 15, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 30, 2019}}</ref> Licensed psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser told ''[[MarketWatch]]'' men typically prefer younger women because "they are more easy to impress; they are more (moldable) in terms of everything from emotional behavior to what type of restaurant to eat at," and because they tend to be "more fit, have less expectations and less baggage." On the other hand, women look for (financial) stability and education, attributes that come with age, said Kaiser.<ref name="Jagannathan-2018" /> These findings regarding age and attractiveness are consistent with earlier research by the online dating services OKCupid and Zoosk.<ref name="Salam-2018" /><ref name="Jagannathan-2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/women-online-daters-peak-at-age-18-men-peak-at-50-2018-08-17|title=Women online daters peak at age 18. Men peak at 50.|last=Jagannathan|first=Meera|date=August 17, 2018|work=MarketWatch|access-date=November 30, 2019}}</ref>

In 2016, Gareth Tyson of the [[Queen Mary University of London]] and his colleagues published a paper analyzing the behavior of [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]] users in [[New York City]] and [[London]]. In order to minimize the number of variables, they created profiles of white heterosexual people only. For each sex, there were three accounts using stock photographs, two with actual photographs of volunteers, one with no photos whatsoever, and one that was apparently deactivated. The researchers pointedly only used pictures of people of average physical attractiveness. Tyson and his team wrote an algorithm that collected the biographical information of all the matches, liked them all, then counted the number of returning likes.<ref name="MIT Technology Review-2016">{{Cite news|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601909/how-tinder-feedback-loop-forces-men-and-women-into-extreme-strategies/|title=How Tinder "Feedback Loop" Forces Men and Women into Extreme Strategies|date=July 15, 2016|work=MIT Technology Review|access-date=December 8, 2019|department=Tech Policy}}</ref>

They found that men and women employed drastically different mating strategies. Men liked a large proportion of the profiles they viewed, but received returning likes only 0.6% of the time; women were much more selective but received matches 10% of the time. Men received matches at a much slower rate than women. Once they received a match, women were far more likely than men to send a message, 21% compared to 7%, but they took more time before doing so. Tyson and his team found that for the first two-thirds of messages from each sex, women sent them within 18 minutes of receiving a match compared to five minutes for men. Men's first messages had an average of a dozen characters, and were typical simple greetings; by contrast, initial messages by women averaged 122 characters.<ref name="MIT Technology Review-2016" />

Tyson and his collaborators found that the male profiles that had three profile pictures received far more matches than those without one. By sending out questionnaires to frequent Tinder users, the researchers discovered that the reason why men tended to like a large proportion of the women they saw was to increase their chances of getting a match. This led to a feedback loop in which men liked more and more of the profiles they saw while women could afford to be even more selective in liking profiles because of a greater probability of a match.<ref name="MIT Technology Review-2016" />

Aided by the text-analysis program Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, Bruch and Newman discovered that men generally had lower chances of receiving a response after sending more "positively worded" messages.<ref name="Jagannathan-2018" /> When a man tried to woo a woman more desirable than he was, he received a response 21% of the time; by contrast, when a woman attempted to court a man, she received a reply about half the time.<ref name="Davison-2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45114692|title=Online dating: Aim high, keep it brief, and be patient|last=Davison|first=Angus|date=August 8, 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=December 2, 2019|department=Science and Environment}}</ref> In fact, over 80% of the first messages in the data set obtained for the purposes of the study were from men, and women were highly selective in choosing whom to respond to, a rate of less than 20%. Therefore, studying women's replies yielded much insight into their preferences.<ref name="Meyer-2018" /> Bruch and Newman were also able to establish the existence of dating 'leagues'.<ref name="Jagannathan-2018" /> Generally speaking, people were able to accurately estimate where they ranked on the dating hierarchy. Very few responded to the messages of people less desirable than they were.<ref name="Meyer-2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/online-dating-out-of-your-league/567083/|title=Dude, She's (Exactly 25 Percent) Out of Your League|last=Meyer|first=Robinson|date=August 10, 2018|work=The Atlantic|access-date=December 1, 2019|department=Science}}</ref> Nevertheless, although the probability of a response is low, it is well above zero, and if the other person does respond, it can a self-esteem booster, said Kaiser.<ref name="Jagannathan-2018" /> Co-author of the study Mark Newman told [[BBC News]], "There is a trade-off between how far up the ladder you want to reach and how low a reply rate you are willing to put up with."<ref name="Davison-2018" /> Bruch and Newman found that while people spent a lot of time crafting lengthy messages to those they considered to be a highly desirable partner, this hardly made a difference, judging by the response rate. Keeping messages concise is well-advised. Previous studies also suggest that about 70% of the dating profile should be about oneself and the rest about the desired partner.<ref name="Davison-2018" />

Data from the Chinese online dating giant Zhenai.com reveals that while men are most interested in how a woman looks, women care more about a man's income. Profession is also quite important. Chinese men favor women working as primary school teachers and nurses while Chinese women prefer men in the IT or finance industry. Women in IT or finance are the least desired. Zhenai enables users to send each other digital "winks". For a man, the more money he earns the more "winks" he receives. For a woman, her income does not matter until the 50,000-yuan mark (US$7,135), after which the number of "winks" falls slightly. Men typically prefer women three years younger than they are whereas women look for men who are three years older on average. However, this changes if the man becomes exceptionally wealthy; the more money he makes the more likely he is to look for younger women.<ref name="Whitehead-2017">{{Cite news|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1426600/researchers-claim-have-method-improves-online-dating-odds|title=Chinese online dating giant Zhenai.com shows money still driver in politically incorrect matchmaking world|last=Whitehead|first=Kate|date=September 24, 2017|work=South China Morning Post|access-date=December 19, 2019|department=Lifestyle}}</ref>

In general, people in their 20s employ the "self-service dating service" while women in their late 20s and up tend to use the matchmaking service. This is because of the social pressure in China on "leftover women" ([[Sheng nu]]), meaning those in their late 20s but still not married. Women who prefer not to ask potentially embarrassing questions – such as whether both spouses will handle household finances, whether or not they will live with his parents, or how many children he wants to have, if any – will get a matchmaker to do it for them. Both sexes prefer matchmakers who are women.<ref name="Whitehead-2017" />

=== Desirability and physical appearance ===
At least three quarters of the sample surveyed attempted to date aspirationally, meaning they tried to initiate a relationship with someone who was more desirable, 25% more desirable, to be exact. Bruch recommended sending out more greeting messages, noting that people sometimes managed to upgrade their 'league'. Michael Rosenfeld, a sociologist not involved with the study, told ''[[The Atlantic]]'', "The idea that persistence pays off makes sense to me, as the online-dating world has a wider choice set of potential mates to choose from. The greater choice set pays dividends to people who are willing to be persistent in trying to find a mate."<ref name="Meyer-2018" /> Using [[optimal stopping]] theory, one can show that the best way to select the best potential partner is to reject the first 37%, then pick the one who is better than the previous set. The probability of picking the best potential mate this way is 37%.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36105365|title=The science behind online dating profiles|date=April 26, 2016|work=BBC Magazine|access-date=December 2, 2019}}</ref> (This is approximately the reciprocal of [[E (mathematical constant)|Euler's number]], <math>e = \lim_{x \rightarrow 0} (1 + x)^{1/x} \approx 2.718281828</math>. See [[Secretary problem#Deriving the optimal policy|derivation of the optimal policy]].) However, making online contact is only the first step, and indeed, most conversations failed to birth a relationship. As two potential partners interact more and more, the superficial information available from a dating website or smartphone application becomes less important than their characters.<ref name="Davison-2018" />

Despite being a platform designed to be less centered on physical appearance,<ref name="NYT North">{{Cite news |last1=North |first1=Anna |title=The Hottest Body Part? For a Sapiosexual, It's the Brain |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2017-06-02 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/02/nyregion/the-hottest-body-part-for-a-sapiosexual-its-the-brain.html |issn=0362-4331 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> [[OkCupid]] co-founder Christian Rudder stated in 2009 that the male OkCupid users who were rated most physically attractive by female OkCupid users received 11 times as many messages as the lowest-rated male users did, the medium-rated male users received about four times as many messages, and the one-third of female users who were rated most physically attractive by the male users received about two-thirds of all messages sent by male users.<ref name="Julian Dec-2018">{{cite journal|last=Julian|first=Kate|title=Why Are Young People Having So Little Sex?|magazine=[[The Atlantic]]|date=December 2018|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/the-sex-recession/573949/|access-date=November 17, 2018}}</ref> According to a former company product manager, the majority of female [[Bumble]] users typically set a floor height of six feet for male users which limits their matching opportunities to only 15% of the male population.<ref name="WSJ 7-15-2022">{{cite news|last=Forman|first=Laura|date=July 15, 2022|title=Online Dating Is Great—for Investors. For Customers, It's Complicated.|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/online-dating-investing-match-tinder-bumble-11657890982|access-date=November 6, 2023}}</ref>

=== Niche dating sites ===
Sites with specific demographics have become popular as a way to narrow the pool of potential matches.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/14/finding.love.online/|title=Finding love online, despite health problems – CNN.com|date=2010-04-14|work=CNN|access-date=2010-05-20}}</ref> Successful niche sites pair people by race, sexual orientation or religion.<ref name="newyorktimes">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/fashion/27niche.html?_r=1&ref=fashion&oref=slogin|title=Let's Say You Want to Date a Hog Farmer|last=Sullivan|first=J. Courtney|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2006-04-28}}</ref> In March 2008, the top 5 overall sites held 7% less market share than they did one year ago while the top sites from the top five major niche dating categories made considerable gains.<ref name="techcrunch">{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/04/24/niche-dating-sites-grow-steadily-as-mainstream-ones-flail/|title=Niche Dating Sites Grow Steadily As Mainstream Ones Flail|date=April 24, 2008 |publisher=Tech Crunch|access-date=2008-04-24}}</ref> Niche sites cater to people with special interests, such as sports fans, racing and automotive fans, medical or other professionals, people with political or religious preferences, people with medical conditions, or those living in rural farm communities.

Some dating services have been created specifically for those living with [[HIV]] and other [[Sexually transmitted infection|venereal diseases]] in an effort to eliminate the need to lie about one's health in order to find a partner.<ref>{{cite journal|year=2012|title=An ethics of intimacy: Online dating, viral-sociality and living with HIV|url=http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/files/16366431/2012_Mazanderani_Ethics_of_intimacy_author_final.pdf|journal=BioSocieties|volume=7|issue=4|pages=393–409|doi=10.1057/biosoc.2012.24|author=Mazanderani, F.|s2cid=7365522|hdl=20.500.11820/4d4e919b-d299-4728-8227-8db7d9d95a89|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Public health officials in [[Rhode Island]] and [[Utah]] claimed in 2015 that Tinder and similar apps were responsible for uptick of such conditions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/28/hookup-apps-stds-tinder-grindr|title=Popularity of 'hookup apps' blamed for surge in sexually transmitted infections|last=Gabbatt|first=Adam|date=May 28, 2015|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

Some sites, referred to as '''adult dating sites''', match individuals seeking short-term sexual encounters.<ref>{{cite journal | journal=Current Anthropology | volume=57 | number=1 | date=February 2016 | last1=Jankowiak | first1=William | last2=Escasa-Dorne | first2=Michelle | title=Bisexual and Straight Females' Preferences Voiced on an Adult Sex Dating Site | pages=104–112 | doi=10.1086/684644 | jstor=26544049 }}</ref>

=== Economic trends ===
Although some sites offer free trials and/or profiles, most memberships can cost upwards of $60 per month.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/money/cost-comparison-internet-dating-sites-00000000028239/index.html|title=Cost Comparison: Internet Dating Sites|publisher=realsimple.com|access-date=2013-03-17}}</ref> In 2008, online dating services in the United States generated $957&nbsp;million in revenue.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://blogs.computerworld.com/online_dating_its_bigger_than_porn|title=Online dating: It's bigger than porn – Computerworld Blogs|date=2009-02-13|magazine=Computer World|access-date=2014-01-02|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102193659/http://blogs.computerworld.com/online_dating_its_bigger_than_porn|archive-date=2014-01-02}}</ref>

Most free dating websites depend on [[advertising]] revenue, using tools such as [[Google AdSense]] and [[affiliate marketing]]. Since advertising revenues are modest compared to membership fees, this model requires numerous [[page view]]s to achieve profitability. However, [[Sam Yagan]] describes dating sites as ideal advertising platforms because of the wealth of demographic data made available by users.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/sam-yagan/|title=Sam Yagan &#124; TIME 100: The 100 Most Influential People in the World|last=Levitt|first=Steven|date=2013-04-18|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=2014-01-02}}</ref>

In November 2023, the stock prices of [[Match Group]] and Bumble were down 31% and 35% on the year respectively, continuing a more than two-year decline since the latter's [[initial public offering]] in February 2021 and after posting declines more than double that of the [[S&P 500]] during the [[2022 stock market decline]].<ref name="WSJ 11-6-2023">{{cite news|last=Gallagher|first=Dan|date=November 6, 2023|title=Dating Apps Need to Rekindle Romance With Wall Street|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/business/dating-apps-need-to-rekindle-romance-with-wall-street-625757fb|access-date=November 6, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Forman|first=Laura|date=November 25, 2021|title=Bumble Investors Should Be More Thankful|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/bumble-investors-should-be-more-thankful-11637848981|access-date=November 6, 2023}}</ref><ref name="WSJ 5-12-2022">{{cite news|last=Forman|first=Laura|date=May 12, 2022|title=Match, Bumble Fight the Ick|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/match-bumble-fight-the-ick-11652351401|access-date=November 6, 2023}}</ref> In addition to price increases, slowing paid user growth, and flattening app download rates following the end of the [[COVID-19 lockdown]]s,<ref>{{cite news|last=Wolfe|first=Rachel|date=July 30, 2021|title=Looking for Love Post-Lockdown? Niche Dating Apps Are the Next Big Thing|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/looking-for-love-post-lockdown-niche-dating-apps-are-the-next-big-thing-11627639200|access-date=November 7, 2023}}</ref><ref name="WSJ 5-12-2022" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Forman|first=Laura|date=January 24, 2023|title=The Price Is Wrong in Online Dating|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-price-is-wrong-in-online-dating-11674543618|access-date=November 7, 2023}}</ref> assessments among [[financial analyst]]s of an [[Flooding the market|oversaturated market]], concerns about low consumer satisfaction with the services, and growing skepticism about dating app features and algorithms contributed to the declines.<ref name="WSJ 11-6-2023" /><ref name="WSJ 7-15-2022" /> Match Group and Bumble account for nearly the entire market share of the online dating industry, and the companies lost a combined $40 billion in market value from 2021 through 2024.<ref>{{cite news|last=Moreno|first=J. Edward|date=March 12, 2024|title=Dating Apps Have Hit a Wall. Can They Turn Things Around?|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/business/dating-apps-tinder-bumble.html|access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref> Match Group and Bumble shares continued to fall during the first quarter of 2024 while the S&P 500 rose, and the number of paid users for Match Group fell by 6% during the first quarter of 2024 while Bumble's paid users grew by 18% in comparison to a 3% decline and a 31% increase for each company respectively during the first quarter of 2023.<ref>{{cite news|last1=O'Brien|first1=Sara Ashley|last2=Deighton|first2=Katie|date=June 21, 2024|title=Dating Apps Once Ran on Novelty. For Some Users, the Fun Is Over.|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/dating-apps-once-ran-on-novelty-for-some-users-the-fun-is-over-4c673b4e|access-date=June 24, 2024}}</ref>

=== Matching and divorce rates ===
{{See also|Criticism of Facebook#Divorce|Social aspects of television#Psychological effects}}

In 2012, social psychologists [[Benjamin Karney]], [[Harry Reis]], and others published an analysis of online dating in ''[[Psychological Science in the Public Interest]]'' that concluded that the matching algorithms of online dating services are only negligibly better at matching people than if they were matched at random.<ref name="Finkel Eastwick Karney Reis & Sprecher">{{cite journal|last1=Finkel|first1=Eli J.|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/rbtfl/cK9EB6/4zQ0AM/full|title=Online Dating: A Critical Analysis From the Perspective of Psychological Science|date=January 1, 2012|journal=[[Psychological Science in the Public Interest]]|access-date=February 20, 2020|publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]]|last2=Eastwick|first2=Paul W.|issue=1|volume=13|pages=3–66|doi=10.1177/1529100612436522|last3=Karney|first3=Benjamin R.|last4=Reis|first4=Harry T.|last5=Sprecher|first5=Susan|pmid=26173279|s2cid=5956951}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Finkel|first1=Eli J.|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientific-flaws-online-dating-sites/|title=The Scientific Flaws of Online Dating Sites|date=May 8, 2012|magazine=[[Scientific American]]|access-date=February 20, 2020|last2=Sprecher|first2=Susan}}</ref> In 2014, Kang Zhao at the [[University of Iowa]] constructed a new approach based on the algorithms used by Amazon and Netflix, based on recommendations rather than the autobiographical notes of match seekers. Users' activities reflect their tastes and attractiveness, or the lack thereof, they reasoned. This algorithm increases the chances of a response by 40%, the researchers found. E-commerce firms also employ this "[[collaborative filtering]]" technique. Nevertheless, it is still not known what the algorithm for finding the perfect match would be.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1426600/researchers-claim-have-method-improves-online-dating-odds|title=Researchers claim to have method that improves online dating odds|last=AFP|date=February 12, 2014|work=[[South China Morning Post]]|access-date=December 19, 2019|department=World}}</ref>

However, while collaborative filtering and [[recommender system]]s have been demonstrated to be more effective than matching systems based on similarity and complementarity,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wobcke|first1=Wayne|url=https://www.aaai.org/ojs/index.php/aimagazine/article/view/2599|title=A Deployed People-to-People Recommender System in Online Dating|journal=[[Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence|AI Magazine]]|access-date=February 22, 2020|publisher=[[Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence]]|last2=Krzywicki|first2=Alfred|year=2015|issue=3|volume=36|last3=Kim|first3=Yang Sok|last4=Cai|first4=Xiongcai|last5=Bain|first5=Michael|last6=Compton|first6=Paul|last7=Mahidadia|first7=Ashesh|pages=5|doi=10.1609/aimag.v36i3.2599}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Xia|first1=Peng|url=https://www.cs.uml.edu/~bliu/pub/ordec.pdf|title=Reciprocal Recommendation System for Online Dating|access-date=February 22, 2020|publisher=[[University of Massachusetts Lowell]]|last2=Liu|first2=Benyuan|year=2015|last3=Sun|first3=Yizhou|last4=Chen|first4=Cindy}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Tu|first1=Kun|url=http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~ribeiro/pdf/Tu_Ribeiro_Towsley_TR2014.pdf|title=Online Dating Recommendations: Matching Markets and Learning Preferences|access-date=February 22, 2020|publisher=[[Carnegie Mellon University]]|last2=Ribeiro|first2=Bruno|year=2014|last3=Jiang|first3=Hua|last4=Wang|first4=Xiaodong|last5=Jensen|first5=David|last6=Liu|first6=Benyuan|last7=Towsley|first7=Don}}</ref> they have also been demonstrated to be highly skewed to the preferences of early users and against racial minorities such as [[African Americans]] and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic Americans]] which led to the rise of niche dating sites for those groups.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Pardes|first=Arielle|url=https://www.wired.com/story/monster-match-dating-app/|title=This Dating App Exposes the Monstrous Bias of Algorithms|date=May 25, 2019|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Hansen|first1=Madison|url=https://massivesci.com/notes/monster-match-bias-online-dating-collaborative-filtering-algorithm/|title=This new game uses monsters to illustrate the pitfalls of online dating algorithms|date=June 12, 2019|access-date=February 22, 2020|website=Massive Science}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Heilweil|first1=Rebecca|url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/2/14/21137096/how-tinder-matches-work-algorithm-grindr-bumble-hinge-algorithms|title=Tinder may not get you a date. It will get your data|date=February 14, 2020|access-date=February 22, 2020|publisher=[[Vox Media]]|website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]}}</ref> In 2014, the [[Better Business Bureau]]'s National Advertising Division criticized [[eHarmony]]'s claims of creating a greater number of marriages and more durable and satisfying marriages than alternative dating websites,<ref>{{cite news|last=Gelles|first=Jeff|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/business/consumer_news/20140817_Dating_site_dinged_for_exaggerating_claims_of_success.html|title=Dating site dinged for exaggerating claims of success|date=August 17, 2014|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|access-date=February 20, 2020|publisher=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC]]}}</ref> and in 2018, the [[Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)|Advertising Standards Authority]] banned eHarmony advertisements in the [[United Kingdom]] after the [[False advertising|company was unable to provide any evidence to verify its advertisements' claims]] that its website's matching algorithm was scientifically proven to give its users a greater chance of finding long-term intimate relationships.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wakefield|first=Jane|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42546586|title=Dating website eHarmony's 'scientific' match ad banned|date=January 3, 2018|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Siddique|first=Haroon|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jan/03/watchdog-bans-adverts-claim-eharmony-is-scientifically-proven|title=Watchdog bans advert's claim eHarmony is 'scientifically proven'|date=January 2, 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref>

Data released by Tinder in 2018 showed that of the 1.6 billion swipes it recorded per day, only 26 million result in matches (a match rate of approximately only 1.63%), despite users logging into the app on average 11 times per day, with male user sessions averaging 7.2 minutes and female user sessions averaging 8.5 minutes (or 79.2 minutes and 93.5 minutes per day respectively).<ref name="Julian Dec-2018" /> Also, a Tinder user interviewed anonymously in an article published in the December 2018 issue of ''[[The Atlantic]]'' estimated that only one in 10 of their matches actually resulted in an exchange of messages with the other user they were matched with, with another anonymous Tinder user saying, "Getting right-swiped is a good ego boost even if I have no intention of meeting someone."<ref name="Julian Dec-2018" />

In 2012, Karney, Reis, and their co-authors suggested that the availability of a large pool of potential partners "may lead online daters to [[Objectification|objectify]] potential partners and might even undermine their willingness to commit to one of them."<ref name="Finkel Eastwick Karney Reis & Sprecher" /> In October 2019, a Pew Research Center survey of 4,860 U.S. adults showed that 54 percent of U.S. adults believed that relationships formed through dating sites or apps were just as successful as those that began in person, 38 percent believed these relationships were less successful, while only 5 percent believed them to be more successful.<ref name="Pew 2-6-2020">{{cite news|last1=Anderson|first1=Monica|last2=Vogels|first2=Emily A.|last3=Turner|first3=Erica|title=The Virtues and Downsides of Online Dating|publisher=Pew Research Center|date=February 6, 2020|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/02/06/the-virtues-and-downsides-of-online-dating/|access-date=April 25, 2022}}</ref>

Noting the research of Karney, Reis, and their co-authors comparing online to offline dating and the research of [[communications studies]] scholar [[Nicole Ellison]] and her co-authors comparing online dating to comparative shopping,<ref name="Heino Ellison & Gibbs 2010">{{cite journal|last1=Heino|first1=Rebecca D.|last2=Ellison|first2=Nicole B.|last3=Gibbs|first3=Jennifer L.|year=2010|title=Relationshopping: Investigating the market metaphor in online dating.|journal=[[Journal of Social and Personal Relationships]]|volume=27|issue=4|pages=427–447|doi=10.1177/0265407510361614|s2cid=14306740}}</ref><ref name="Finkel Eastwick Karney Reis & Sprecher" /> political scientist [[Robert D. Putnam]] cited the October 2019 Pew Research Center survey in the afterword to the second edition of ''[[Bowling Alone]]'' (2020) in expressing skepticism about whether online dating was leading to a greater number of long-term intimate relationships.<ref>{{cite book|last=Putnam|first=Robert D.|year=2020|orig-year=2000|title=Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community|place=New York|publisher=Simon & Schuster|page=425|edition=2nd|isbn=978-1982130848}}</ref> Social psychologist [[David Buss]] has estimated that approximately 30 percent of the men on Tinder are married.<ref>{{cite book|last=Buss|first=David M.|author-link=David Buss|title=The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating|title-link=The Evolution of Desire|year=2016|orig-date=1994|publisher=[[Basic Books]]|place=New York|edition=3rd|isbn=978-0465097760|page=163}}</ref>

Buss has argued further "Apps like Tinder and OkCupid give people the impression that there are thousands or millions of potential mates out there. One dimension of this is the impact it has on men's psychology. When there is ... a perceived surplus of women, the whole mating system tends to shift towards short-term dating,"<ref>{{cite web|last=Sales|first=Nancy Jo|author-link=Nancy Jo Sales|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/tinder-hook-up-culture-end-of-dating|title=Tinder and the Dawn of the 'Dating Apocalypse'|date=August 6, 2015|access-date=October 29, 2018|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]}}</ref> and there is a feeling of disconnect when choosing future partners.<ref>{{cite web|title = Tinder and the controversy it creates|url = http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/opinion/tinder-and-the-controversy-it-creates/article_26928f42-8268-11e3-acb6-0019bb2963f4.html|website = madison.com| date=January 21, 2014 |access-date = November 18, 2015}}</ref> In addition, the cognitive process identified by psychologist [[Barry Schwartz (psychologist)|Barry Schwartz]] as the "[[The Paradox of Choice|paradox of choice]]" (also referred to as "[[Overchoice|choice overload]]" or "[[Fear of missing out#History|fear of a better option]]") was cited in an article published in ''The Atlantic'' that suggested that the appearance of an abundance of potential partners causes online daters to be less likely to choose a partner and be less satisfied with their choices of partners.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Slater|first=Dan|title=A Million First Dates|magazine=[[The Atlantic]]|date=January 2013|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/01/a-million-first-dates/309195/|access-date=November 20, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Julian Dec-2018" />

Research on associations between online dating and [[Divorce demography|divorce rates]] have found conflicting results. While research published in the ''Journal of Family and Economic Issues'' in September 2011 found no relationship between increased [[internet access]] and higher divorce rates in the United States,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kendall|first=Todd D.|year=2011|title=The Relationship Between Internet Access and Divorce Rate|journal=Journal of Family and Economic Issues|publisher=Springer|volume=32|issue=3 |pages=449–460|doi=10.1007/s10834-010-9222-3}}</ref> subsequent research published in the ''[[Review of Economics of the Household]]'' in June 2020 did find a correlation between increased access to [[broadband]] internet or [[mobile phone]]s and higher divorce rates in [[Rural areas in the United States|rural counties]] and lower divorces rates in [[Metropolitan statistical area|metropolitan areas]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Murray|first=Sheena|year=2020|title=How broadband and cell phone access have impacted marriage and divorce in the US|journal=Review of Economics of the Household|publisher=Springer Science+Business Media|volume=18|issue=2 |pages=431–459|doi=10.1007/s11150-019-09464-z}}</ref> In June 2013, ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|PNAS USA]]'' published a representative survey of 19,131 U.S. adults married between 2005 and 2012 that found that marriages that began online were slightly less likely to result in separation or divorce in comparison to marriages formed offline and were associated with slightly higher marital satisfaction.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cacioppo|first1=John T.|last2=Cacioppo|first2=Stephanie|last3=Gonzaga|first3=Gian C.|last4=Ogburn|first4=Elizabeth L.|last5=VanderWeele|first5=Tyler J.|year=2013|title=Marital satisfaction and break-ups differ across on-line and off-line meeting venues|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|volume=110|issue=25|pages=10135–10140|doi=10.1073/pnas.1222447110|doi-access=free |pmid=23733955|pmc=3690854|bibcode=2013PNAS..11010135C }}</ref> In July 2014, ''[[Computers in Human Behavior]]'' published a study that found that after controlling for various economic, demographic, and psychological variables that state-by-state differences in the United States in [[Facebook]] and other [[social networking service]] (SNS) user account rates was correlated with higher divorce rates and diminished marriage quality.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Valenzuela|first1=Sebastián|last2=Halpern|first2=Daniel|last3=Katz|first3=James E.|author-link3=James E. Katz|year=2014|title=Social network sites, marriage well-being and divorce: Survey and state-level evidence from the United States|journal=Computers in Human Behavior|publisher=Elsevier|volume=36|pages=94–101|doi=10.1016/j.chb.2014.03.034}}</ref> In October 2015, ''[[Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking]]'' published a study of 371 undergraduate students at a university in the [[Midwestern United States]] that found that [[Friending and following|Facebook friend lists]] increased physical and emotional infidelities among couples, lowered relationship commitment, and diminished relationship quality due to [[Priming (psychology)|psychological priming effects]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Drouin|first1=Michelle|last2=Miller|first2=Daniel A.|last3=Dibble|first3=Jayson L.|year=2015|title=Facebook or Memory: Which Is the Real Threat to Your Relationship?|journal=Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking|publisher=Mary Ann Liebert|volume=18|issue=10|pages=561–566|doi=10.1089/cyber.2015.0259|pmid=26378341}}</ref>

In November 2016, the ''Journal of International Social Issues'' published a study that found that U.S. states with a higher [[Google Trends]] [[Search engine|search volume index]] for [[Match.com]] in 2013 had fewer marriages in 2014, while U.S. states with higher search volume indices for [[Hinge (app)|Hinge]], Bumble, [[Plenty of Fish]], and Facebook in 2013 had a greater number of divorces in 2014.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Noor|first1=Sajid A.|last2=Djaba|first2=Theophilus|last3=Enomoto|first3=Carl E.|year=2016|title=The Role of Social Networking Websites: Do They Connect People Through Marriage or Are They Responsible for Divorce?|journal=Journal of International Social Issues|publisher=Winona State University|volume=4|issue=1|pages=40–49|url=https://www2.winona.edu/socialwork/media/noor%20etal%20the%20role%20of%20social%20networking%20websites.pdf|access-date=June 25, 2024}}</ref> In February 2019, ''[[Technological Forecasting and Social Change]]'' published a study examining associations between broadband internet access and divorce in [[China]] using [[Provinces of China|provincial data]] from 2002 to 2014 that found that for every 1% increase in the number of broadband subscribers the number of divorces grew by 0.008%.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Zheng|first1=Shilin|last2=Duan|first2=Yuwei|last3=Ward|first3=Michael R.|year=2019|title=The effect of broadband internet on divorce in China|journal=Technological Forecasting and Social Change|publisher=Elsevier|volume=139|pages=99–114|doi=10.1016/j.techfore.2018.07.038}}</ref> In December 2020, ''[[PLOS One]]'' published a study on online dating in [[Switzerland]] that found that couples formed through online dating had stronger cohabiting intentions than those formed offline and no differences in relationship satisfaction.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Potarca|first=Gina|year=2020|title=The demography of swiping right. An overview of couples who met through dating apps in Switzerland|journal=PLOS ONE|publisher=PLOS|volume=15|issue=12|pages=e0243733|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0243733|doi-access=free |pmid=33378386|pmc=7773176|bibcode=2020PLoSO..1543733P }}</ref> In January 2024, ''Computers in Human Behavior'' published a survey of 923 married U.S. adults where roughly half of the subjects met their spouses online that found evidence for an "online dating effect" where online daters reported less satisfying and durable marriages, but the researchers suggested that the differences could be explained by [[Social exclusion|societal marginalization]] and geographic distance.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sharabi|first1=Liesel L.|last2=Dorrance-Hall|first2=Elizabeth|year=2024|title=The online dating effect: Where a couple meets predicts the quality of their marriage|journal=Computers in Human Behavior|publisher=Elsevier|volume=150|page=107973|doi=10.1016/j.chb.2023.107973}}</ref>

=== Online matchmaking services ===
In 2008, a variation of the online dating model emerged in the form of introduction sites, where members have to search and contact other members, who introduce them to other members whom they deem compatible. Introduction sites differ from the traditional online dating model, and attracted many users and significant investor interest.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/06/12/speed-dating-site-woome-raises-125m-more-on-41m-valuation/|title=Speed-dating site WooMe raises $12.5M more, enjoys $41M valuation|date=2008-06-12|work=VentureBeat|access-date=2014-01-02}}</ref>

In China, the number of separations per a thousand couples doubled, from 1.46 in 2006 to about three in 2016, while the number of actual divorces continues to rise, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Demand for online dating services among divorcees keeps growing, especially in the large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. In addition, more and more people are expected to use online dating and matchmaking services as China continues to urbanize in the late 2010s and 2020s.<ref name="Whitehead-2017" />

== Reception ==
Opinions and usage of online dating services also differ widely. A 2005 study of data collected by the [[Pew Internet & American Life Project]] found that individuals are more likely to use an online dating service if they use the Internet for a greater number of tasks, and less likely to use such a service if they are trusting of others.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kang|first=Tanya|author2=Lindsay H. Hoffman|year=2011|title=Why Would You Decide to Use an Online Dating Site? Factors That Lead to Online Dating|journal=[[Communication Research Reports]]|volume=28|issue=3|page=205|doi=10.1080/08824096.2011.566109|s2cid=145355237}}</ref>

Attitudes towards online dating improved visibly between 2005 and 2015, the Pew Research Center found. In particular, the number of people who thought that online dating was a good way to meet people rose from 44% in 2005 to 59%. Although only a negligible number of people dated online in 2005, that rose to 11% in 2013 and then 15% in 2015.<ref name="Smith-2016-2" /> In particular, the number of American adults who had used an online dating site went from 9% in 2013 to 12% in 2015 while those who used an online dating software application on their mobile phones jumped from 3% to 9% during the same period.<ref name="Smith-2016">{{Cite web|url=http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/02/11/15-percent-of-american-adults-have-used-online-dating-sites-or-mobile-dating-apps/|title=15% of American Adults Have Used Online Dating Sites or Mobile Dating Apps|last=Smith|first=Aaron|date=2016-02-11|website=Pew Research Center Internet and Tech|access-date=November 28, 2019}}</ref> This increase was driven mainly by people aged 18 to 24, for whom usage almost tripled. At the same time, usage among those between the ages of 55 and 64 doubled.<ref name="Smith-2016-2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/29/5-facts-about-online-dating/|title=5 facts about online dating|last1=Smith|first1=Aaron|date=February 29, 2016|work=Pew Research Center|access-date=November 28, 2019|last2=Anderson|first2=Monica|department=Fact Tank}}</ref>

According to a 2015 study by the [[Pew Research Center]], people who had used online dating services had a higher opinion of such services than those who had not. 80% of the users said that online dating sites are a good way to meet potential partners.<ref name="Smith-2016" />

In 2016, [[Consumer Reports]] surveyed approximately 115,000 online dating service subscribers across multiple platforms and found that while 44 percent of survey respondents stated that usage of online dating services led to a serious long-term intimate relationship or marriage,<ref>{{cite press release|title=Consumer Reports Survey Finds Online Dating can be Frustrating, Time-Consuming, but also produce Long-Term Results|date=January 1, 2017|publisher=Consumer Reports|url=https://www.consumerreports.org/media-room/press-releases/2017/01/consumer_reports_survey_finds_online_dating_can_be_frustrating_time-consuming_but_also_produce_long-term_results/|access-date=October 13, 2021}}</ref> a subset of approximately 9,600 subscribers that had used at least one online dating service within the previous two years rated satisfaction with the services they used lower than Consumer Reports surveys of consumer satisfaction with [[technical support]] services and rated satisfaction with free online dating services as slightly more satisfactory than services with paid subscriptions.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Meltzer|first=Marisa|date=December 29, 2016|title=Online Dating: Match Me If You Can|magazine=Consumer Reports|url=https://www.consumerreports.org/dating-relationships/online-dating-guide-match-me-if-you-can/|access-date=October 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Meltzer|first=Marisa|date=January 18, 2017|title=Are Paid Dating Sites Better Than Free Ones?|magazine=Consumer Reports|url=https://www.consumerreports.org/dating-relationships/are-paid-dating-sites-better-than-free-ones/|access-date=October 13, 2021}}</ref> In the October 2019 Pew Research Center survey, 57% of survey respondents who had used online dating said their experiences on the platforms was very or somewhat positive while 42% said their experiences were very or somewhat negative, and 76% of survey respondents felt that online dating has had neither a positive or negative effect on dating and relationships or a mostly negative effect while 22% felt that online dating has had a mostly positive effect.<ref name="Pew 2-6-2020" />

In a July 2022 survey of 6,034 U.S. adults conducted by the Pew Research Center, 53% of survey respondents who had used online dating said their experiences on the platforms were either very or somewhat positive while 46% said their experiences were either very or somewhat negative, 54% of all survey respondents said they believed that dating apps either made no difference in finding a partner or spouse or made doing so harder while 42% said they believed that dating apps made finding a partner or spouse easier, and 80% of survey respondents felt that online dating has had neither a positive or negative effect on dating and relationships or a mostly negative effect while 18% felt that online dating has had a mostly positive effect.<ref name="Pew 2-2-2023 Press Release">{{cite press release|last1=Vogels|first1=Emily A.|last2=McClain|first2=Colleen|date=February 2, 2023|title=Key findings about online dating in the U.S.|publisher=Pew Research Center|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/02/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s/|access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Pew 2-2-2023 Report">{{cite report|last1=McClain|first1=Colleen|last2=Gelles-Watnick|first2=Risa|date=February 2, 2023|title=From Looking for Love to Swiping the Field: Online Dating in the U.S.|publisher=Pew Research Center|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/02/02/from-looking-for-love-to-swiping-the-field-online-dating-in-the-u-s/|access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref>

=== Trust and safety issues ===
{{See also|Sexually transmitted infection|Date rape|Procuring (prostitution)}}

As online dating services are not required to routinely conduct [[background check]]s on members, it is possible for profile information to be misrepresented or falsified.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/2/20991656/match-group-dating-apps-identity-tinder-hinge-background-check|title=Would background checks make dating apps safer?|first=Ashley|last=Carman|date=December 2, 2019|website=The Verge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bustle.com/p/okcupid-is-now-making-you-use-your-real-name-but-these-dating-sites-still-let-you-be-anonymous-7678391|title=OkCupid Is Now Making You Use Your Real Name — But These Dating Sites Still Let You Be Anonymous|date=December 22, 2017|website=Bustle}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23117392|title=Background checks split online dating industry|date=February 12, 2008|website=NBC News}}</ref> Also, there may be users on dating services that have illicit intentions (i.e. date rape, [[Procuring (prostitution)|procurement]], etc.).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-25/sexual-predators-using-tinder-as-dating-apps-rape-rates-rise/10406654|title='He had me trapped': Sexual predators using dating apps to target victims|newspaper=ABC News |date=October 24, 2018|via=www.abc.net.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.insideindonesia.org/archive/articles/online-dating-apps-blocked|title=Online dating apps blocked - Inside Indonesia: The peoples and cultures of Indonesia|website=www.insideindonesia.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wxyz.com/news/the-apps-predators-are-using-and-what-parents-should-know|title = The apps human trafficking predators use and what parents should know|date = January 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Phan |first1=Anh |last2=Seigfried-Spellar |first2=Kathryn |last3=Choo |first3=Kim-Kwang Raymond |title=Threaten me softly: A review of potential dating app risks |journal=[[Computers in Human Behavior Reports]] |date=2021 |volume=3 |pages=100055 |doi=10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100055 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[OkCupid|OKCupid]] once introduced a real name policy, but that was later taken removed due to unpopularity with its users.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fortune.com/2017/12/23/okcupid-backtracks-on-its-real-names-only-policy-for-users/|title=OKCupid Backtracks on Its New 'Real Name' Policy &#124; Fortune|date=May 29, 2018|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=May 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529093928/https://fortune.com/2017/12/23/okcupid-backtracks-on-its-real-names-only-policy-for-users/|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>

Only some online dating services are providing important safety information such as STD status of its users<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/10/dating-apps-stds-080159|title=How some — but not all — dating apps are taking on the STD epidemic|date=December 10, 2019|website=Politico}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04349748|title=CTG Labs - NCBI|website=clinicaltrials.gov|date=May 25, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medcitynews.com/2016/01/tinder-healthvana-std/|title=Tinder adds link to Healthvana for STD testing services|first=Neil|last=Versel|date=January 22, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/985207/app-for-finding-out-std-status/|title=Apps for safe bumping|first=Christina|last=Caldwell|date=April 3, 2013}}</ref> or other infectious diseases, but many do not.

Some online dating services which are popular amongst members of [[LGBT community|queer communities]] are sometimes used by people as a means of meeting these audiences for the purpose of [[gaybashing]] or [[trans bashing]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/grindr-teenager-ben-bamford-sentenced-knife-murder-a7433656.html|title=A teenager is being sentenced after murdering a civil servant he met on Grindr|date=November 23, 2016|website=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gay man killed, another critically injured in Grindr meetup |website=[[NBC News]] |date=July 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602230832/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/gay-man-killed-another-critically-injured-grindr-meetup-n1029881 |archive-date=2023-06-02 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/gay-man-killed-another-critically-injured-grindr-meetup-n1029881}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35131546|title=Grindr users targeted by armed gang, say police|work=BBC News |date=December 18, 2015}}</ref>

A form of misrepresentation is that members may lie about their height, weight, age, or marital status in an attempt to market or brand themselves in a particular way.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140316230919-1288829-when-personal-branding-get-too-personal|title=When personal branding get too personal! Online dating and your brand.|date=March 16, 2014|publisher=Linkedin|last1=Jones|first1=Cher}}</ref> Users may also carefully manipulate profiles as a form of [[impression management]].<ref name="Couch 2008">{{cite journal|last=Couch|first=Danielle|year=2008|title=Online Dating and Mating: The Use of the Internet to Meet Sexual Partners|journal=Qualitative Health Research|volume=18|issue=2|pages=268–79|author2=Pranee Liamputtong|doi=10.1177/1049732307312832|pmid=18216345|s2cid=20787876}}</ref> Online daters have raised concerns about [[ghosting (relationships)|ghosting]], the practice of ceasing all communication with a person without explaining why. Ghosting appears to be becoming more common.<ref>{{Cite web|title = I Asked Men Why They Ghosted Me {{!}} VICE {{!}} United States|url = https://www.vice.com/read/i-asked-men-why-they-ghosted-me-511|website = VICE|access-date = 2016-02-03|language = en-us|date = 2015-11-10}}</ref> Various explanations have been suggested, but social media is often blamed,<ref>{{Cite journal|title = PsycNET - DOI Landing page|journal = Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice|volume = 8|issue = 4|pages = 291–301|doi = 10.1037/1089-2699.8.4.291|year = 2004|last1 = Smith|first1 = Anita|last2 = Williams|first2 = Kipling D.|citeseerx = 10.1.1.463.6556|url = http://www.psychology.stonybrook.edu/sbrennan-/psy384/papers/ostracis.pdf}}</ref> as are dating apps and the relative anonymity and isolation in modern-day dating and hookup culture, which make it easier to behave poorly with few social repercussions.<ref>{{Cite web|title = And Then I Never Heard From Him Again: The Awful Rise of Ghosting|url = http://www.thedatereport.com/dating/advice/and-then-i-never-heard-from-him-again-the-awful-rise-of-ghosting/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140820064044/http://www.thedatereport.com/dating/advice/and-then-i-never-heard-from-him-again-the-awful-rise-of-ghosting/|url-status = dead|archive-date = 2014-08-20|website = The Date Report (archived through The Internet Archive)|access-date = 2016-02-03}}</ref>

Online dating site members may try to balance an accurate representation with maintaining their image in a desirable way.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ellison|first=Nicole|year=2006|title=Managing impressions online: Self-presentation processes in the online dating environment|journal=Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication|volume=11|issue=2|pages=415–441|doi=10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00020.x|author2=Rebecca Heino|author3=Jennifer Gibbs|doi-access=free}}</ref> One study found that nine out of ten participants had lied on at least one attribute, though lies were often slight; weight was the most lied about attribute, and age was the least lied about.<ref name="Hancock 2007">{{cite journal|last=Hancock|first=Jeffrey|year=2007|title=The truth about lying in online dating profiles}}</ref> Furthermore, knowing a large amount of superficial information about a potential partner's interests may lead to a false sense of security when meeting up with a new person.<ref name="Williams">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/fashion/the-end-of-courtship.html?pagewanted=all|title=The End of Courtship|last=Williams|first=Alex|date=2013-01-11|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Gross misrepresentation may be less likely on [[matrimonial website|matrimonials sites]] than on casual dating sites.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pewinternet.org/2006/03/05/online-dating/|title=Online Dating|last1=Madden|first1=Mary|date=2006-03-05|website=Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech|access-date=2017-04-01|last3=Lenhart|first3=a}}</ref>

Some profiles may not even represent real humans but rather they may be fake "bait profiles" placed online by site owners to attract new paying members, or "spam profiles" created by advertisers to market services and products.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/09/ashley-madisons-terms-and-conditions-told-users-it-ran-fake-accounts | title=Ashley Madison's terms and conditions told users it ran fake accounts &#124; Ashley Madison &#124; the Guardian }}</ref>

Opinions on regarding the safety of online dating are mixed. Over 50% of research participants in a 2011 study did not view online dating as a dangerous activity, whereas 43% thought that online dating involved risk.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Couch | first1 = Danielle | last2 = Liamputtong | first2 = Pranee | last3 = Pitts | first3 = Marian | year = 2011 | title = Online Daters and the Use of Technology for Surveillance and Risk Management | journal = International Journal of Emerging Technologies & Society | volume = 9 | issue = 2| pages = 116–134 }}</ref> Date rape is a form of [[acquaintance rape]] and [[dating violence]]. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a [[rape]] in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between the two parties.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kuersten |first=Ashlyn K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AnKGWlZG_ncC |title=Women and the Law: Leaders, Cases, and Documents |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2003 |isbn=978-0874368789 |pages=143–144}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What is rape and date rape? {{!}} girlshealth.gov |url=https://www.girlshealth.gov/safety/saferelationships/daterape.html |access-date=2021-09-05 |website=www.girlshealth.gov}}</ref> Acquaintance rape also includes rapes in which the victim and perpetrator have been in a non-romantic, non-sexual relationship, for example as co-workers or neighbors.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dziuba-Leatherman |first=Jennifer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K7Jh_LotPtkC |title=Acquaintance and Date Rape: An Annotated Bibliography |publisher=Greenwood |year=1994 |isbn=978-0313291494 |pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Horvath |first=Miranda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DNI3TKwWv20C |title=Rape: Challenging Contemporary Thinking |publisher=Willan |year=2009 |isbn=978-1843925194 |pages=117}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Belgrave |first=Faye Z. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbuhAQAAQBAJ |title=African American Psychology: From Africa to America |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2013 |isbn=978-1412999540 |pages=501}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Parrot |first=Andrea |url=https://archive.org/details/copingwithdatera00parr |title=Coping With Date Rape and Acquaintance Rape |publisher=Rosen Publishing Group |year=1998 |isbn=978-0823928613 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/copingwithdatera00parr/page/30 30] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wiehe |first=Vernon R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LhngpTXwtpMC |title=Intimate Betrayal: Understanding and Responding to the Trauma of Acquaintance Rape |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=1995 |isbn=978-0803973619 |pages=3–4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaminker |first=Laura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XMnPD6ji9msC |title=Everything You Need to Know About Dealing With Sexual Assault |publisher=Rosen Pub Group |year=2002 |isbn=978-0823933037 |pages=16–18}}</ref> According to the United States [[Bureau of Justice Statistics]] (BJS), date rapes are among the most common forms of rape cases.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hammond |first1=Elizabeth M. |last2=Berry |first2=Melissa A. |last3=Rodriguez |first3=Dario N. |date=2011-09-01 |title=The influence of rape myth acceptance, sexual attitudes, and belief in a just world on attributions of responsibility in a date rape scenario |journal=Legal and Criminological Psychology |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=242–252 |doi=10.1348/135532510X499887 |issn=2044-8333}}</ref> Date rape most commonly takes place among college students when alcohol is involved or [[date rape drug]]s are taken. One of the most targeted groups are women between the ages of 16 and 24.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Loiselle |first1=Marc i |last2=Fuqua |first2=Wayne R. |date=2007-04-01 |title=Alcohol's effects on women's risk detection in a date-rape vignette |journal=[[Journal of American College Health]] |volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=261–266 |citeseerx=10.1.1.494.4194 |doi=10.3200/JACH.55.5.261-266 |issn=0744-8481 |pmid=17396398 |s2cid=22404352}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frintner |first1=Mary Pat |last2=Rubinson |first2=Laurna |date=1993-12-01 |title=Acquaintance Rape: The Influence of Alcohol, Fraternity Membership, and Sports Team Membership |journal=Journal of Sex Education and Therapy |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=272–284 |doi=10.1080/01614576.1993.11074089 |issn=0161-4576}}</ref>

In the October 2019 Pew Research Center survey, 53% of survey respondents said believed that dating apps were a very or somewhat safe way to meet potential partners while 46% believed they were a not too safe or not at all safe way to do so, and 50% online dating respondents said that they believed that [[Catfishing|scam accounts]] were common.<ref name="Pew 2-6-2020" /> In the July 2022 Pew Research Center survey, 49% of survey respondents said believed that dating apps were a not too safe or not at all safe way to meet potential partners while 48% believed they were a very or somewhat safe way to do so, and 52% online dating respondents said that they believed that scam accounts were common.<ref name="Pew 2-2-2023 Press Release" /><ref name="Pew 2-2-2023 Report" />

In response to these issues, over 120 [[Facebook]] groups named ''[[Are We Dating The Same Guy?]]'' were created where women share red flags about men<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-20 |title=Are we dating the same guy? This Facebook group might know. |url=https://mashable.com/article/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-facebook |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=Mashable |language=en}}</ref> and check that he is not dating another person.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-20 |title=Are we dating the same guy? This Facebook group might know. |url=https://mashable.com/article/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-facebook |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615164343/https://mashable.com/article/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-facebook |archive-date=2023-06-15 |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=Mashable |language=en}}</ref> It is done by taking screenshots of a man's dating profile and posting it onto her city's designated Facebook group, asking "any tea?". Other users in the group will then share information about the man and share warnings.<ref name="vice2023">{{Cite web |last=Lavinia |first=Emilie |date=2023-05-26 |title=The Dark Side of 'Are We Dating the Same Guy' Groups |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy375q/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-facebook-groups |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230611071951/https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy375q/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-facebook-groups |archive-date=2023-06-11 |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref><ref name="The Independent-2023">{{Cite web |date=2023-10-12 |title=Inside the secret network of women naming and shaming their bad exes |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/are-we-dating-the-same-guy-b2428024.html |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=sgbb |url=https://timbaby.net/sgbb/ |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=HẸN HÒ NHANH CHÓNG - Kết nối Bạn Trai Giàu & Bạn Gái Xinh toàn quốc |language=vi}}</ref> The groups are moderated by volunteers,<ref name="The Independent-2023" /> and have been described as a [[Feminism|feminist]] group.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-11 |title="Are We Sharing Boyfriends?:" Toxic Dating Trend or Modern-Day Feminism? |url=https://hypebae.com/2022/4/tiktok-viral-facebook-group-are-we-sharing-boyfriends-trend |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805011536/https://hypebae.com/2022/4/tiktok-viral-facebook-group-are-we-sharing-boyfriends-trend |archive-date=2023-08-05 |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=Hypebae}}</ref>

=== Billing complaints ===
Online subscription-based services can suffer from complaints about billing practices. Some online dating service providers may have fraudulent membership fees or credit card charges.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2013/mar/21/bad-romance-online-dating-complaints-made-ftc/|title=Bad romance: Online dating complaints made to the FTC|website=MuckRock|date=March 21, 2013 |access-date=2015-12-14}}</ref> Some sites do not allow members to preview available profiles before paying a subscription fee. Furthermore, different functionalities may be offered to members who have paid or not paid for subscriptions, resulting in some confusion around who can view or contact whom.

Consolidation within the online dating industry has led to different newspapers and magazines now advertising the same website [[database]] under different names. In the UK, for example, [[Time Out (company)|''Time Out'']] ("London Dating"), ''[[The Times]]'' ("Encounters"), and ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' ("Kindred Spirits"), all offer differently named portals to the same service—meaning that a person who subscribes through more than one publication has unwittingly paid more than once for access to the same service.

=== Imbalanced gender ratios ===
Little is known about the sex ratio controlled for age. [[eHarmony]]'s membership is about 57% female and 43% male,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Compare Online Dating Site reviews and prices at NextAdvisor.com|url = http://www.nextadvisor.com/online_dating/compare.php|website = www.nextadvisor.com|access-date = 2015-12-14|archive-date = December 22, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222131416/http://www.nextadvisor.com/online_dating/compare.php|url-status = dead}}</ref> whereas the ratio at [[Match.com]] is about the reverse of that.{{update inline|date=May 2024}} On specialty niche websites{{which|date=May 2024}} where the primary demographic is male, there is typically a very unbalanced ratio of male to female or female to male.<ref>[http://www.brandchannel.com/careers_profile.asp?cr_id=53 Brandchannel.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012200213/http://brandchannel.com/careers_profile.asp?cr_id=53 |date=2007-10-12 }}. Retrieved 21 November 2007.</ref> As of June 2015, 62% of [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]] users were male and 38% were female.<ref>{{cite web|title = Distribution of Tinder Users Worldwide as of 2nd Quarter 2015, by Gender|url = http://www.statista.com/statistics/426059/tinder-gender-distribution/|website = Statista|access-date = November 18, 2015}}</ref>

Studies have suggested that men are far more likely to send messages on dating sites than women.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cupid on Trial: An OKCupid Online Dating Experiment|url = http://jonmillward.com/blog/attraction-dating/cupid-on-trial-a-4-month-online-dating-experiment/|website = Jon Millward|access-date = 2015-12-14|language = en-US|date = 2012-06-19}}</ref> In addition, men tend to message the most attractive women regardless of their own attractiveness.<ref>{{Cite journal|title="Where Have All the Good Men Gone?" Gendered Interactions in Online Dating|journal = Journal of Marriage and the Family|date = 2014-04-01|issn = 0022-2445|pmc = 4043335|pmid = 24910472|pages = 387–410|volume = 76|issue = 2|doi = 10.1111/jomf.12072|first1 = Derek A.|last1 = Kreager|first2 = Shannon E.|last2 = Cavanagh|first3 = John|last3 = Yen|first4 = Mo|last4 = Yu}}</ref> This leads to the most attractive women on these sites receiving an overwhelming number of messages, which can in some cases result in them leaving the site.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}

There is some evidence that there may be differences in how women online rate male attractiveness as opposed to how men rate female attractiveness. The distribution of ratings given by men of female attractiveness appears to be the [[normal distribution]], while ratings of men given by women is highly skewed, with 80% of men rated as below average.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/2009/11/17/your-looks-and-online-dating/|title=Your Looks and Your Inbox|author=Christian Rudder|work=OkTrends}}</ref>

=== Allegations of discrimination ===
[[Gay rights]] groups have complained that certain websites that restrict their dating services to heterosexual couples are discriminating against [[homosexuals]]. Homosexual customers of the popular [[eHarmony]] dating website have made many attempts to litigate discriminatory practices.<ref>{{cite news|last=Buss|first=Dale|title=Discordant Voices Among eHarmony.com's Customers|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB122782471897362521|access-date=31 October 2013|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal – Eastern Edition|date=28 November 2008}}</ref> eHarmony was sued in 2007 by a [[lesbian]] claiming that "[s]uch outright discrimination is hurtful and disappointing for a business open to the public in this day and age."<ref>{{cite web |title=Woman sues eHarmony for discrimination – USATODAY.com |url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-06-01-eharmony-suit-discrimination_N.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025013749/https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-06-01-eharmony-suit-discrimination_N.htm |archive-date=25 October 2011 |website=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> In light of discrimination by sexual orientation by dating websites, some services such as [[Gaydar (website)|GayDar.net]] and [[Chemistry.com]] cater more to homosexual dating.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

== Lawsuits filed against online dating services ==
A 2011 class action lawsuit alleged [[Match.com]] failed to remove inactive profiles, did not accurately disclose the number of active members, and does not police its site for fake profiles;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wfaa.com/story/money/consumer/2014/08/10/13658956/|title=Popular dating Web site sued for using fake profiles|date=4 January 2011|publisher=WFAA TV|access-date=November 9, 2014|archive-date=November 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109035316/http://www.wfaa.com/story/money/consumer/2014/08/10/13658956/|url-status=dead}}</ref> the inclusion of expired and spam profiles as valid served to both artificially inflate the total number of profiles and camouflage a skewed gender ratio in which active users were disproportionately single males.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2011/01/04/matchcom-customers-sue-their-matchmaker.html|title=Customers sue Match.com|date=4 January 2011|work=Dallas Business Journal}}</ref> The suit claimed up to 60 percent were inactive profiles, fake or fraudulent users.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cio.com/article/2412313/internet/match-com-sued-by-sour-love-seekers.html|title=Match.Com Sued By Sour Love Seekers|author=John P. Mello Jr.|date=5 January 2011|work=CIO|access-date=November 9, 2014|archive-date=December 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213014218/http://www.cio.com/article/2412313/internet/match-com-sued-by-sour-love-seekers.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some of the spam profiles were alleged to be using images of porn actresses, models, or people from other dating sites.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110114/09203212668/matchcom-sued-over-deadfake-profiles.shtml|title=Match.com Sued Over Dead/Fake Profiles|work=Techdirt.}}</ref> Former employees alleged Match routinely and intentionally over-represented the number of active members on the website and a huge percentage were not real members but 'filler profiles'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kens5.com/story/local/2014/10/01/10770267/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109042435/http://www.kens5.com/story/local/2014/10/01/10770267/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 9, 2014|title=Match.com website sued for using fake profiles|date=10 November 2013|publisher=KENS TV 5}}</ref>

A 2012 class action against Successful Match ended with a November 2014 [[California]] jury award of $1.4 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/11/05/successfulmatch_dating_site_has_to_pay_after_sharing_users_sti_statuses.html|title=SuccessfulMatch dating site has to pay after sharing users' STI statuses.|work=Slate Magazine|date=2014-11-05}}</ref> SuccessfulMatch operated a dating site for people with STDs, [[PositiveSingles]], which it advertised as offering a "fully anonymous profile" which is "100% confidential".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/07/24/major-dating-service-faces-legal-action-for-allegedly-sharing-hiv-and-std-statuses-of-customers|title=Major Dating Service Faces Legal Action for Allegedly Sharing HIV and STD Statuses of Customers|author=Elizabeth Flock|work=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref> The company failed to disclose that it was placing those same profiles on a long list of affiliate site domains such as GayPozDating.com, AIDSDate.com, HerpesInMouth.com, ChristianSafeHaven.com, MeetBlackPOZ.com, HIVGayMen.com, STDHookup.com, BlackPoz.com, and PositivelyKinky.com.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outandaboutnashville.com/story/hiv-positive-dating-website-faces-class|title=HIV-Positive dating website faces class action lawsuit for allegedly sharing HIV status of users|work=Out & About Nashville|date=2013-07-29}}</ref> This falsely implied that those users were black, Christian, gay, HIV-positive or members of other groups with which the registered members did not identify.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tcattorney.typepad.com/techlaw/2012/01/successfulmatchcom-class-action-filed-alleging-unfair-competition-and-californias-consumers-legal-re.html|title=Positive Singles and Successful Match Class Action Filed, Alleging Unfair Competition and California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA)|publisher=TC Attorney}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.herpes-dating.com/law-suit-alleging-positive-singles-of-violating-privacy-norms-shows-the-dating-site-in-negative-light/|title=Law suit alleging Positive Singles of violating privacy norms shows the dating site in negative light|publisher=Herpes Dating}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aaronkellylaw.com/internet-law/class-action-john-doe-lawsuit-filed-against-internet-dating-network/|title=Class Action John Doe Lawsuit – Positive Singles – Internet law|publisher=Aaron Kelly law firm}}</ref> The jury found PositiveSingles guilty of fraud, malice, and oppression<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/11/03/PositiveSingles%20State.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 9, 2014 |archive-date=November 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109040121/http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/11/03/PositiveSingles%20State.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> as the plaintiffs' race, sexual orientation, HIV status, and religion were misrepresented by exporting each dating profile to niche sites associated with each trait.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xbiz.com/news/187220|title=Jury Finds STD-Positive Dating Site Liable for $16.5M in Damages|author=XBIZ|work=XBIZ|date=November 4, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailydot.com/business/dating-website-data-privacy/|title=Dating site for people with STIs must pay millions for violating privacy|work=The Daily Dot|date=2014-11-05}}</ref>

In 2013, a former employee sued adultery website [[Ashley Madison]] claiming repetitive strain injuries as creating 1000 fake profiles in one three week span "required an enormous amount of keyboarding" which caused the worker to develop severe pain in her wrists and forearms.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ashley-madison-adultery-website-sued-by-former-employee-1.2421819|title=Ashley Madison adultery website sued by former employee|date=10 November 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> AshleyMadison's parent company, Avid Life Media, [[countersue]]d in 2014, alleging the worker kept confidential documents, including copies of her "work product and training materials". The firm claimed the fake profiles were for "quality assurance testing" to test a new Brazilian version of the site for "consistency and reliability".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ashley-madison-adultery-website-countersues-ex-employee-1.2583359|title=Ashley Madison adultery website countersues ex-employee|date=23 March 2014|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>

In January 2014, an already-married [[Facebook]] user attempting to close a pop-up advertisement for Zoosk.com found that one click instead copied personal info from her Facebook profile to create an unwanted online profile seeking a mate, leading to a flood of unexpected responses from amorous single males.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/facebook-info-sharing-created-zoosk-com-dating-profile-for-married-woman-1.2844953|title=Facebook info sharing created Zoosk.com dating profile for married woman|date=24 November 2014|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC News]]|first=Rosa|last=Marchitelli}}</ref>

In 2014, It's Just Lunch International was the target of a New York class action alleging [[unjust enrichment]] as IJL staff relied on a uniform, misleading script which informed prospective customers during initial interviews that IJL already had at least two matches in mind for those customers' first dates regardless of whether or not that was true.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-itsjustlunch-lawsuit-idUSBREA4D0RF20140514|title=It's Just Lunch to face U.S. class-action lawsuit over matchmaking claims|work=Reuters | date=2014-05-14}}</ref>

In 2014, the US [[Federal Trade Commission]] fined UK-based JDI Dating (a group of 18 websites, including Cupidswand.com and FlirtCrowd.com)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/dating-site-fined-for-posting-fake-profiles/|title=Dating site fined for posting fake profiles|work=CNET}}</ref> over [[US dollar|US$]]600000, finding that "the defendants offered a free plan that allowed users to set up a profile with personal information and photos. As soon as a new user set up a free profile, he or she began to receive messages that appeared to be from other members living nearby, expressing romantic interest or a desire to meet. However, users were unable to respond to these messages without upgrading to a paid membership ... [t]he messages were almost always from fake, computer-generated profiles — 'Virtual Cupids' — created by the defendants, with photos and information designed to closely mimic the profiles of real people."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2014/10/online-dating-service-agrees-stop-deceptive-use-fake-profiles|title=Online Dating Service Agrees to Stop Deceptive Use of Fake Profiles|publisher=US Federal Trade Commission|date=2014-10-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/10/29/359901518/online-dating-site-used-fake-profiles-to-get-members-to-upgrade-service|title=Online Dating Site Used Fake Profiles To Get Members To Upgrade Service|date=29 October 2014|work=NPR}}</ref> The FTC also found that paid memberships were being renewed without client authorisation.

On June 30, 2014, co-founder and former marketing vice president of [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]], Whitney Wolfe, filed a [[sexual harassment]] and [[sexism|sex discrimination]] suit in [[Los Angeles County Superior Court]] against [[IAC (company)|IAC]]-owned [[Match Group]], the parent company of Tinder. The lawsuit alleged that her fellow executives and co-founders Rad and Mateen had engaged in discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation against her, while Tinder's corporate supervisor, IAC's Sam Yagan, did nothing.<ref>{{cite web|first=Nick|last=Summers|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-02/the-truth-about-tinder-and-women-is-even-worse-than-you-think|title=The Truth About Tinder and Women Is Even Worse Than You Think|work=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]|publisher=[[Bloomberg L.P.]]|date=July 3, 2014|access-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref> IAC suspended CMO Mateen from his position pending an ongoing investigation, and stated that it "acknowledges that Mateen sent private messages containing 'inappropriate content,' but it believes Mateen, Rad and the company are innocent of the allegations".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2014/07/01/iac-suspends-tinder-co-founder-after-sexism-lawsuit/|title=IAC Suspends Tinder Co-Founder After Sex Harassment Lawsuit|first=Jeff|last=Bercovici|date=July 1, 2014|work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> In December 2018, ''[[The Verge]]'' reported that Tinder had dismissed Rosette Pambakian, the company's vice president of marketing and communication who had accused Tinder's former CEO Greg Blatt of sexual assault, along with several other employees who were part of the group of Tinder employees who had previously sued the [[Match Group]] for $2 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/18/18146668/tinder-lawsuit-match-rosette-pambakian-fired|title=Tinder fires its head of comms, following her participation in a $2 billion lawsuit against Match|last=Carman|first=Ashley|date=December 18, 2018|website=[[The Verge]]|publisher=[[Vox Media]]|access-date=December 19, 2018}}</ref>

== Government regulation ==
U.S. government regulation of dating services began with the [[International Marriage Broker Regulation Act]] (IMBRA)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/Static_Files_Memoranda/Archives%201998-2008/2006/imbra072106.pdf |title=International Marriage Broker Regulation Act Implementation Guidance – HQOPRD 70/6.2.11 |publisher=[[U.S. Department of Homeland Security]] |date=July 21, 2006 |author=Aytes, Michael |access-date=2012-11-11}}</ref> which took effect in March 2007 after a federal judge in Georgia upheld a challenge from the dating site European Connections. The law requires dating services meeting specific criteria—including having as their primary business to connect U.S. citizens/residents with foreign nationals—to conduct, among other procedures, sex offender checks on U.S. customers before contact details can be provided to the non-U.S. citizen. In 2008, the state of New Jersey passed a law which requires the sites to disclose whether they perform background checks.<ref name="MSNBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23117392|title=Background checks split online dating industry – Technology & science – Security – NBC News|date=2008-02-12|publisher=NBC News|access-date=2014-01-02}}</ref>

In the [[People's Republic of China]], using a transnational matchmaking agency involving a monetary transaction is illegal.<ref>{{cite web|author=马玉佳 |url=http://www.china.org.cn/china/2011-08/30/content_23312519.htm |title=Transnational matchmaking illegal in China |publisher=China.org.cn |date=2011-08-30 |access-date=2014-01-02}}</ref> The [[Philippines]] prohibits the business of organizing or facilitating marriages between Filipinas and foreign men under the [[Philippine Republic Act 6955|Republic Act 6955]] (the Anti-Mail-Order Bride Law) of June 13, 1990; this law is routinely circumvented by basing [[mail-order bride]] websites outside the country.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KzhEUE35pRcC&pg=PA103 |title=Trafficking And the Global Sex Industry |access-date=2013-04-16|isbn=9780739113134 |last1=Beeks |first1=Karen |last2=Amir |first2=Delila |year=2006 |publisher=Lexington Books }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=muPfQjYP-0IC&pg=PA55 |title=Romance on a Global Stage: Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and "Mail-Order Brides" |author=Nicole Constable |date=2003-08-19 |publisher=University of California Press |access-date=2013-04-16|isbn=9780520937222 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Mae Ryan |title=Imported Filipino brides share the ups and downs of settling in America |url=http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/2012/09/26/28576/imported-filipino-brides-settle-into-love-in-south/ |newspaper=SCPR |date=26 September 2012 |access-date=9 December 2014 }}</ref>

Singapore's [[Social Development Network]] is the governmental organization facilitating dating activities in the country. Singapore's government has actively acted as a matchmaker for singles for the past few decades, and thus only 4% of Singaporeans have ever used an online dating service, despite the country's high rate of internet penetration.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Singapore offers love vouchers to promote dating|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/singapore-offers-love-vouchers-promote-dating-article-1.1222047|website=New York Daily News|date=December 17, 2012 |access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>

In December 2010, a [[New York State]] Law called the "Internet Dating Safety Act" (S5180-A) went into effect that requires online dating sites with customers in New York State to warn users not to disclose personal information to people they do not know.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.internetdatingconference.com/new-york-senate-bill-S5180a-internet-dating-safety-act.php|title=S5180-A|publisher=Internetdatingconference.com|access-date=2014-01-02}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Internet|Human sexuality|Society}}
* [[Comparison of online dating websites]]
* [[Communications Decency Act#FOSTA-SESTA|FOSTA-SESTA]]
* [[List of social networking services]]
* [[Matrimonial website]]
* [[Mobile dating]]
* [[Online dating applications]]
* [[Online identity]]
* [[Timeline of online dating services]]
* [[Sexual selection in humans]]
* [[Dating agency]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
<!-- READ BEFORE EDITING THIS SECTION-->
* [http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2006/Online-Dating Pew Internet & American Life Project study of online dating in the United States]
*{{Cite journal|last1=Khan|first1=Khalid S.|last2=Chaudhry|first2=Sameer|date=March 17, 2017|title=An evidence-based approach to an ancient pursuit: systematic review on converting online contact into a first date|url=https://ebm.bmj.com/content/20/2/48.full|journal=BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine|volume=20|issue=2|pages=48–56|doi=10.1136/ebmed-2014-110101|pmid=25678447|doi-access=free}}
*{{Cite journal|last1=Bruch|first1=Elizabeth E.|last2=Newman|first2=M. E. J.|date=August 8, 2018|title=Aspirational pursuits of mates in online dating markets|department=Social Sciences|journal=Science Advances|volume=4|issue=8|pages=eaap9815|doi=10.1126/sciadv.aap9815|pmid=30101188|pmc=6082652|arxiv=1808.04840|bibcode=2018SciA....4.9815B}}
*{{YouTube|l0aJ1Y6_RuA|Speaking Frankly: Dating Apps}}, November 7, 2019 [[CBS News]]

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[[Category:Online dating|*]]
[[Category:Dating]]
[[Category:Intimate relationships]]
[[Category:Matchmaking]]
[[Category:Social media]]
[[Category:Social software|Dating service]]