Today Tinder Australia has received an open letter signed by over 7,000 Australians calling on the company to immediately stop their unethical use of data to set different prices for different people. 

"Over 7,000 Australians have made it clear that they want Tinder to immediately stop using personal data to discriminate against people. We all know how important honesty and fairness are when it comes to relationships, so this Valentine's Day we're asking Tinder to commit to these values themselves," says CHOICE senior policy advisor, Amy Pereira. 

"CHOICE decided to launch the "love letter" following new research from Consumers International and Mozilla which found that Tinder Plus users in several countries across the world are being unknowingly charged more based on their personal data." 

The results of Consumers International's investigation built on CHOICE's mystery shop of Tinder Plus in 2020, which discovered that the dating app was charging Australians vastly different prices without informing customers that this was happening. 

"In 2020 CHOICE found that one Tinder subscriber could be charged up to five times as much as another, with older people charged more. Worst of all - Tinder doesn't tell its customers about its sneaky pricing practices," says Pereira.

Sign the love letter here: www.choice.com.au/tinderletter

"CHOICE is calling on Tinder to come clean about how their pricing algorithm actually works, and make sure that they aren't forcing people to pay more for factors beyond their control," says Pereira. 

A spokesperson from Tinder Australia told CHOICE that the company had already discontinued aged-based pricing in Australia. However, a quick check by a number of CHOICE staff of different ages and other demographics revealed that prices for premium options such as Tinder Plus continue to vary, ranging from $9.99 to $28.99 per month for Tinder Plus. 

"Tinder continues to charge different customers different prices with no explanation about what data they're using to make these decisions. Australians deserve better," says Pereira. 

Read the full story here: www.choice.com.au/tinder

Sign the petition here: www.choice.com.au/tinderletter

Media contact: Katelyn Cameron, 0430 172 669, [email protected]