Match Group promised a free subscription if you didn't find love — with hidden conditions

Match.com's marketing offered new subscribers a guarantee: pay for six months and if they did not 'meet someone special,' the next six months were free. The FTC alleged the guarantee came with onerous, poorly disclosed conditions users had to meet to qualify, so many who paid and didn't find a match never got the promised free period.

The FTC's complaint also covered subscription mechanics beyond the guarantee: Match allegedly suspended the accounts of users who disputed charges with their card issuer, cutting off service they had already paid for, and made cancellation deliberately difficult. Separately, the agency said Match sent marketing emails touting new messages from senders the company had already identified internally as likely bots or scammers, pushing recipients toward paid subscriptions to read messages Match knew weren't genuine.

Match Group settled on 12 August 2025 for $14 million, to be used for consumer redress, admitting no liability but agreeing to permanently stop the challenged advertising, cancellation and billing practices. The company said it was prepared to take the case to trial but chose to resolve it instead.