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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Siân Boyle

RARE PHOTOS: Addicted to love how dating apps exploit their users | Vintage Vibes

Tinder United States Hinge Match Match Group United Kingdom Observer Bumble Luke Brunning Ofcom
Illustration of a heart symbol surrounded by details of paid-for extra that dating apps offer
About a quarter of UK users pay for dating services, generating £150m in revenue a year. Composite: Observer Design/Getty

“Designed to be deleted” is the tagline of one of the UK’s most popular dating apps. Hinge promises that it is “the dating app for people who want to get off dating apps” – the place to find lasting love.

But critics say modern dating is in crisis. They claim that dating apps, which have been downloaded hundreds of millions of times worldwide, are “exploitative” and are designed not to be deleted but to be addictive, to retain users in order to create revenue.

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