OkCupid
OkCupid is a dating app and website that uses extensive questionnaires and a compatibility algorithm to match users based on shared values and interests. Once a pioneering free dating platform with user-created quizzes, open messaging, and a data-driven blog, it was acquired by Match Group in 2011 and has been progressively stripped of its distinctive features while shifting toward paywall-driven monetization.
Score generated by AI agents based on publicly cited evidence and reviewed by the project maintainer. Not independently validated. Last assessed 2026-09-26. Score revised 2026-09-26: 62 → 57.
Score History
Timeline events are AI-curated from public reporting. Score trajectory is derived from documented events.
The founders of SparkNotes launch OkCupid as a free, ad-supported dating site built on user-written quizzes and thousands of match questions that produce transparent match percentages. Messaging and search are free, and the optional A-List subscription added in 2009 sells extras such as ad-free and invisible browsing. The OkTrends blog publishes candid analyses of user data.
IAC's Match.com buys OkCupid for $50 million, and the OkTrends blog goes quiet within two months. The product stays largely intact, but paid 'Promote me' boosts appear, OkCupid admits in 2014 to experimentally misreporting match percentages, and the FTC later alleged that in September 2014 it quietly gave Clarifai nearly 3 million user photos. Match buys PlentyOfFish and goes public in 2015.
A Valentine's Day 2017 redesign replaces Quickmatch with the swipe-style DoubleTake, and the year brings removal of the visitors list, a real-name policy that sank app ratings, and the end of open messaging in favor of a like-first inbox. Match buys Hinge and sues Bumble. In 2019 the FTC sues Match over Match.com practices and the New York Times reports OkCupid photos in face-recognition datasets; by early 2020 a consumer watchdog finds OkCupid sharing sensitive answers and the FTC opens a data investigation.
User-run search is gone for all users by July 2020, leaving only algorithmic feeds, as Match Group separates from IAC. A 2021 switch to Basic and Premium tiers ends free Intros, researchers find serious security flaws in the app, and Match keeps buying (Hyperconnect, The League). Match resists the FTC's demand for documents on OkCupid's data sharing, prompting a 2022 court petition.
With payers falling across the portfolio, Match cuts 8% of staff in February 2023 and 6% in July 2024 while buybacks absorb most free cash flow ($753 million in 2024). Revenue per payer rises as payer counts fall. A 2024 class action over addictive design is pushed into individual arbitration, and EU authorities make sister app Tinder disclose personalized pricing. OkCupid's product changes little.
At its first investor day Match launches a dividend, a $1.5 billion buyback authorization and a pledge to return at least 100% of free cash flow, while lowering revenue guidance. New CEO Spencer Rascoff cuts 13% of staff in 2025 as the E&E unit containing OkCupid loses 14% of its payers. The FTC settles its Match.com case in 2025 and its OkCupid data-sharing case in March 2026, and E&E is moved onto a shared platform and renamed 'Everyone Everywhere' in 2026.
Alternatives
Relationship-focused app outside Match Group's portfolio, founded by three sisters as an alternative to casual swiping; it says over 91% of its users want a committed relationship. The catch: it is a much smaller app, so viability depends on your city and demographics.
Prompt-and-comment based matching focused on relationships rather than casual swiping, with stronger growth than OkCupid. Meaningfully less enshittified. However, Hinge is also owned by Match Group, so switching keeps revenue with the same parent company. Easy switch if you want a better product within the same corporate portfolio.
The main independent competitor to Match Group's dating app portfolio. Women-first messaging model (though relaxed in 2024 with Opening Moves). It has similar problems, but it is independently owned — switching means actually leaving Match Group's ecosystem. Moderate switch: recreate your profile, but no data transfers.
Dimensional Breakdown
Summaries below were written by AI agents based on the cited evidence. They are editorial interpretations, not independent research findings.
Dimension History
Timeline (53 events)
OkCupid Launches as Free Dating Pioneer
Harvard graduates Chris Coyne, Sam Yagan, Max Krohn, and Christian Rudder launch OkCupid as a completely free dating platform supported by advertising revenue. The founders previously created SparkNotes, which they sold to Barnes & Noble. OkCupid differentiates itself through user-created quizzes, a transparent match percentage algorithm based on question answers, and open messaging.
OkCupid Named Time Top 10 Dating Website
Time magazine lists OkCupid among its top 10 dating websites, validating the free model. The site stands out for its algorithmic matching built on multiple-choice questions, user-created tests and quizzes, and the Dating Persona Test.
OkCupid Introduces A-List Paid Subscription
OkCupid launches its first paid tier, A-List, offering ad-free browsing, advanced search filters, invisible browsing mode, and the ability to see who has read your messages. Core functionality including messaging, profile search, and question-based matching remains fully free. A-List is positioned as optional enhancement rather than a gateway to basic features.
Match.com Acquires OkCupid for $50 Million
IAC's Match.com division acquires OkCupid for $50 million in cash with performance-based additional payments. OkCupid becomes the first free, advertising-based product in the Match portfolio. Co-founder Sam Yagan continues as CEO and later becomes CEO of Match Group itself, overseeing the internal development of Tinder in 2012.
OkTrends Blog Goes Silent After Acquisition
The beloved OkTrends data blog, which published analyses of dating behavior based on OkCupid's user data and attracted millions of readers, stops publishing just two months after the Match.com acquisition. Co-founder Christian Rudder denies Match forced the shutdown, but the blog would not publish again for over three years, fueling user suspicion about corporate interference.
OkCupid Adds Paid 'Promote Me' Boost Alongside A-List
By 2013 OkCupid's A-List subscription costs $4.95 a month and offers extra match-search filters, storage for up to 5,000 messages, ad-free browsing and invisible browsing. OkCupid has also added 'Promote me', a newer paid feature that charges $2 to push a profile in front of more users for a short period. Core messaging, search and question-based matching remain free.
OkCupid Reveals A/B Testing on Users Without Consent
Co-founder Christian Rudder publishes a blog post titled 'We Experiment on Human Beings!' revealing that OkCupid manipulated match percentages to test the power of suggestion, telling users with 30% compatibility that they were 90% matches. The revelation comes weeks after Facebook's similar emotional manipulation study. The post draws sharp criticism for its dismissive tone; Rudder responds that 'that's how websites work.'
OkCupid Gives Clarifai Access to Nearly 3 Million User Photos
According to a 2026 FTC complaint, in September 2014 Clarifai's CEO emailed an OkCupid founder asking for large datasets of user photos, and OkCupid's operator, Humor Rainbow, gave the company, in which OkCupid's founders had invested, access to nearly three million photos plus users' demographic and location information. Clarifai had no business relationship with OkCupid, users were not told, and they got no chance to opt out, as OkCupid's 2014 privacy policy required.
Match Group Acquires PlentyOfFish for $575 Million
Match Group acquires dating platform PlentyOfFish in an all-cash deal worth $575 million, further consolidating the online dating market alongside OkCupid, Match.com and Tinder.
Match Group IPO Raises $400 Million on Nasdaq
Match Group goes public on Nasdaq at $12 per share, raising about $400 million. Shares close the first day at $14.74, up nearly 23%. The IPO creates public market pressure for revenue growth and margin expansion across the portfolio, including OkCupid.
OkCupid Major Redesign Replaces Quickmatch with DoubleTake
OkCupid launches a comprehensive visual and functional redesign on Valentine's Day 2017. The classic Quickmatch feature is replaced with DoubleTake, a swipe-style profile card interface showing photos and profile highlights. While OkCupid claims the redesign distinguishes it from Tinder by showing more profile content, the underlying interaction shifts toward the Tinder-style swipe model and away from search-and-browse.
OkCupid Removes Profile Visitors Feature
OkCupid eliminates the visitors feature that allowed users to see who viewed their profile and which profiles they had visited. The company frames removal as making OkCupid 'better for everyone,' but critics note it pushes users toward the paid A-List tier, which includes the ability to see who liked their profile. The change removes a core engagement signal that users relied on to gauge mutual interest.
OkCupid Eliminates Open Messaging, Requires Mutual Likes
OkCupid ends its open messaging model, the feature that most defined it since 2004. Users can still send messages to anyone, but a message only reaches the recipient's inbox if the recipient likes the sender. Head of product Nick Saretzky says the change was nearly two years in development, driven in part by women tired of harassment and unwanted messages. It moves OkCupid's search-and-message identity toward the mutual-like model of competing apps.
Real Name Policy Sparks Massive User Backlash
OkCupid eliminates usernames and requires users to display a real first name. The announcement blog post is titled 'An Open Letter on Why We're Removing Usernames, Addressed to the Worst Ones We've Ever Seen.' App store ratings plummet: 56.3% of December reviews are one-star, up from roughly a third in November. Users criticize the policy for exposing them to stalking risks, as a real name combined with age, photo, and city makes identification trivial. OkCupid partially backtracks, clarifying that nicknames and initials are acceptable.
Match Group Sues Rival Bumble Over Swipe Patents
Match Group, through Tinder, sues Bumble for patent infringement and misuse of intellectual property, alleging it copied Tinder's card-swipe, mutual opt-in design. TechCrunch notes that Match had been trying to buy Bumble and that the suit may be meant to force a deal.
Match Group Acquires Majority Stake in Hinge
Match Group acquires a 51% ownership stake in Hinge, the relationship-focused dating app. The acquisition further consolidates Match Group's hold on the dating market. Match fully bought out Hinge in the fourth quarter of 2018, confirmed in February 2019, and says it will increase its investment in Hinge to grow its user base, positioning it as the serious-relationship alternative to Tinder. Hinge grows into Match Group's fastest-growing brand.
New York Times Reports OkCupid Photos Feeding Facial Recognition Datasets
A New York Times investigation reports that databases of faces used to train facial recognition systems are being compiled from sources including dating services like OkCupid. The FTC later alleged that Match and OkCupid executives prepared a statement for the Times that obscured OkCupid's relationship with the data recipient, Clarifai.
FTC Sues Match Group for Deceptive Practices Using Fraud Accounts
The Federal Trade Commission sues Match Group, alleging that Match.com sent non-subscribers notifications about messages from accounts it had already flagged as likely fraudulent to lure them into buying subscriptions. Between June 2016 and May 2018, consumers bought 499,691 subscriptions within 24 hours of receiving such notifications. The FTC also alleges deceptive 'six-month guarantee' offers, a cumbersome cancellation process and unfair billing practices at Match.com.
Norwegian Consumer Council Finds OkCupid Sharing Sensitive Answers with Third Parties
The Norwegian Consumer Council's 'Out of Control' report finds that 10 popular apps, including OkCupid, Tinder and Grindr, send personal data to at least 135 third-party advertising and profiling companies. OkCupid shared details about users' sexuality, drug use and political views with analytics firm Braze. The Council files GDPR complaints against Grindr and several adtech firms, and U.S. consumer groups ask regulators to investigate. Match Group says privacy is 'at the core of its business.'
Cybernews Reveals OkCupid User Location Tracking Vulnerability
Cybernews researchers discover that OkCupid's location data can be exploited to track any user's physical location to within 10-20 meters using man-in-the-middle proxy interception. By triangulating distance measurements, attackers could follow users from home to work to social gatherings. The vulnerability poses particular risks for women and LGBTQ+ users in countries with human rights violations. OkCupid patches the issue after disclosure.
FTC Opens Investigation Into OkCupid's 2014 Data Sharing
The FTC issues a Civil Investigative Demand to Match Group seeking documents about OkCupid's allegedly wrongful conduct in 2014 and the company's 2019 public statements about it, and whether both were unfair or deceptive under the FTC Act, according to Match's 10-K.
OkCupid Removes Match Search Function
OkCupid removes the match search function, first for some users including all those in Australia and A-List subscribers, then for all users in July 2020. Users can no longer run their own searches; instead the app surfaces algorithmically selected profiles through its DoubleTake and Stacks feeds, completing OkCupid's transformation from a search-and-browse dating site to a swipe-driven app.
Match Group Separates from IAC as $30B Independent Company
Match Group completes its separation from IAC, becoming a fully independent publicly traded company with a $30 billion market cap. The separation eliminates the dual-class voting structure but creates a standalone entity with pure shareholder-return pressure. As the largest business IAC has ever separated, Match Group now faces direct market expectations for revenue growth and margin expansion.
Check Point Discovers Critical OkCupid Security Vulnerabilities
Security researchers at Check Point discover multiple vulnerabilities in OkCupid's website and mobile app that could allow attackers to steal authentication tokens, user IDs, email addresses, sexual orientation, and other intimate data through a single malicious link exploiting cross-site scripting (XSS) flaws. OkCupid patches the vulnerabilities within 48 hours after disclosure and claims no users were affected.
OkCupid Replaces A-List with Basic and Premium Tiers
OkCupid phases out its longstanding A-List subscription in favor of Basic and Premium paid tiers. Basic removes ads and the reset limit on daily Likes; Premium adds the 'Who Likes You' list. OkCupid also drops its Intros feature, so non-paying members can no longer message someone until both have liked each other, and adds weekly SuperLikes.
Blogger Estimates OkCupid Withholds Most Likes from Free Users
A post on WeMissOkCupid.com argues that after Match Group removed search in 2020, OkCupid shows users one profile at a time and only surfaces some of the people who liked them in Discover, keeping the rest behind the paid 'Who Likes You' list. The author estimates that only 25-33% of received likes ever appear in Discover, while acknowledging this is unverified pending an experiment, and concludes that matching has become subordinate to monetization.
Match Group Acquires Hyperconnect for $1.73 Billion
Match Group completes its largest acquisition ever, purchasing South Korean social discovery company Hyperconnect for $1.725 billion (50% cash, 50% stock). The acquisition is aimed at expanding beyond traditional dating into 'social discovery' through Hyperconnect's video chat app Azar and live streaming platform Hakuna Live. The deal would later face scrutiny as Match Group struggles to integrate and monetize the acquisition.
Court Dismisses FTC's Fraud-Notification Claims Against Match on Section 230 Grounds
A federal court in Texas dismisses the FTC's claims that Match.com used notifications from accounts it had flagged as likely fraudulent to sell subscriptions, holding Match immune under Section 230, and bars equitable monetary relief on four counts. Other claims about guarantees, billing-dispute lockouts and cancellation proceed.
FTC Goes to Court to Force Match to Answer OkCupid Data Probe
Two years after issuing its Civil Investigative Demand over OkCupid's 2014 data sharing, the FTC files a petition in federal court in Washington, D.C., to enforce it against Match Group (FTC v. Match Group, No. 1:22-mc-00054).
Match Group Acquires Members-Only Dating App The League
Match Group acquires The League, a members-only dating app for career-focused singles that screens applicants through their social media profiles. Terms were not disclosed at the time; Match's year-end SEC filing later put the price at $29.9 million. The acquisition adds another brand to Match Group's portfolio, further reducing the pool of independently owned dating platforms.
Match Group Lays Off 8% of Global Workforce
Match Group announces the elimination of 8% of its global workforce, about 200 employees. The layoffs follow weaker-than-expected results and first-quarter revenue guidance of $790-800 million versus analyst expectations of about $817 million. Match Group expects about $6 million in charges but projects improved margins in the second half of the year.
Match Cuts Evergreen Brand Costs, Including OkCupid's, to Fund Tinder and Hinge
Match Group's Q2 2023 shareholder letter reports $13 million in year-over-year cost reductions at its Evergreen brands (Match, Meetic, Plenty of Fish and OkCupid), which it says are 'facilitating investment in our growth brands, particularly Tinder and Hinge'. The letter also describes an ongoing focus on marketing spend and operating costs within the Evergreen & Emerging segment and a plan to consolidate the Evergreen brands onto a single shared technology platform by 2025. In its Q3 2023 letter Match lists, among its 2024 goals, keeping marketing spend at Tinder and Hinge while 'applying cost reductions among the Evergreen brands to help offset'.
Match Group Settles Google Play Store Antitrust Case
Match Group settles its antitrust lawsuit against Google over Play Store billing practices. Google returns the $40 million Match had placed in escrow, and Match's apps will adopt Google's User Choice Billing, paying reduced commissions of 11% and 26% instead of 15% and 30%. TechCrunch later estimated the deal was worth more than $300 million to Match. The settlement reduces Match Group's platform dependency but also shows its leverage in negotiating favorable terms.
Class Action Alleges Match Group Apps Designed to Be Addictive
Six plaintiffs file a federal class action lawsuit in San Francisco against Match Group on Valentine's Day 2024, alleging that Tinder, Hinge, The League, and other apps are intentionally designed with addictive, gamified features that lock users into a 'perpetual pay-to-play loop.' The complaint alleges Match uses push notifications and other features 'intended to erode users' ability to disengage.' In December 2024 a federal magistrate judge sends the claims to individual arbitration under Match Group's terms of service.
EU Forces Tinder to Disclose Personalized Pricing Algorithm
After nearly two years of discussions, the EU's Consumer Protection Cooperation Network secures commitments from Tinder to tell users that discounts on its premium services are personalized by automated means, after finding it offered algorithmic discounts to users who showed little interest in paying full price. Tinder will also explain why users receive personalized discounts.
Match Group Cuts 6% of Staff, Shuts Down Livestreaming
Match Group eliminates 6% of its workforce and discontinues livestreaming services across its dating apps, giving up about $60 million in annual revenue for about $13 million in annual cost savings. The move ends Plenty of Fish and BLK's 'Live!' features and shuts the Hakuna app. Match Group redeploys some Hyperconnect AI employees to Tinder and Hinge.
Match Group Launches Dividend Program While Cutting Revenue Guidance
Match Group announces its first-ever cash dividend program ($0.19 per share quarterly) alongside a new $1.5 billion share buyback authorization at its inaugural investor day. The company pledges to return at least 100% of free cash flow to shareholders over three years. Simultaneously, Match Group lowers its revenue forecast, signaling that capital return to shareholders takes priority over investment in declining brands like OkCupid.
Spencer Rascoff Named Match Group CEO, Replaces Bernard Kim
Spencer Rascoff, co-founder and former CEO of Zillow and a Match Group board member since March 2024, is appointed Match Group CEO, replacing Bernard Kim. The appointment continues a run of CEO turnover at Match Group as the dating app market matures and user growth stalls.
Investigation Reveals Match Group Apps Failed to Remove Reported Rapists
A joint investigation by The Markup and the Pulitzer Center reveals that Match Group has tracked users reported for sexual assault across its apps since at least 2016 through an internal database called Sentinel, collecting hundreds of reports weekly by 2022. Despite this knowledge, the company failed to consistently remove reported users. Testing shows Plenty of Fish allowed banned users to create new accounts with the same information. Match Group had promised but never released a transparency report on harm.
Match Joins Meta and Spotify in Lobby Group Targeting Apple and Google
Meta, Spotify and Match Group launch the Coalition for a Competitive Mobile Experience to lobby lawmakers and regulators, arguing that Apple and Google should bear legal responsibility for verifying users' ages and supporting antitrust enforcement against their app store commissions and payment rules.
Evergreen & Emerging Segment Payers Drop 16%
Match Group's Evergreen & Emerging segment, which houses OkCupid and Match.com, reports a 12% revenue decline in Q1 2025 to $149.2 million, with paying users falling 16% year over year. Meanwhile, Hinge revenue grows 23%.
Match Group Lays Off 13% of Workforce Under New CEO
New CEO Spencer Rascoff announces the elimination of 13% of Match Group's workforce, approximately 325 jobs, as paid users fall 5% year over year to 14.2 million. The restructuring is projected to save $100 million a year.
Match Group Acquires HER, Queer Women's Dating App
Match Group acquires HER, a dating and community app for queer women and nonbinary people, for undisclosed terms. CEO Spencer Rascoff writes that Match's role is 'not to change what makes Her special, but to protect it.'
Court Orders Match to Comply With FTC Demand Over OkCupid Data
A federal court grants in part the FTC's 2022 petition to enforce its Civil Investigative Demand about OkCupid's 2014 data sharing, after Match had resisted producing the information. The FTC later cited this enforcement success when announcing its OkCupid case.
FTC Orders Match Group to Pay $14 Million for Deceptive Practices
Match Group, owner of Match.com, OkCupid, PlentyOfFish and The League, agrees to pay $14 million to settle the FTC's 2019 case. The settlement resolves charges that Match.com used misleading 'six-month guarantee' promotions with hidden requirements, locked users who filed unsuccessful billing disputes out of their paid accounts, and made cancellation difficult. The order requires clear disclosure of guarantee terms, bans retaliation over billing disputes and requires simple cancellation mechanisms. Match did not admit wrongdoing; the FTC's fraud-notification claims had been dismissed in 2022 under Section 230.
Match CEO Details 'Monetization Hooks' and Cross-Selling on E&E Platform
At the Goldman Sachs Communicopia conference, CEO Spencer Rascoff says acquired apps moved onto Match's Evergreen & Emerging platform get the company's 'monetization hooks', naming weekly subscriptions, billing reminders and in-app paywall upsells, while their original product and engineering teams typically do not continue. He says Match cross-sells users between apps with one-tap profile creation and reiterates plans to return 100% of free cash flow.
ShinyHunters Breach Exposes 10 Million Match Group Records
Hacking group ShinyHunters claims to have stolen 10 million records from Hinge, Match and OkCupid, leaking 1.7GB of compressed files, after a voice-phishing attack that compromised an employee's Okta single sign-on account. The attackers said the data was mostly tracking information with some personal data, plus internal documents. Match Group confirms a security incident affecting 'a limited amount of user data' and says there is no indication that log-in credentials, financial information or private communications were accessed.
E&E Unit Containing OkCupid Loses 14% of Payers in 2025
Match Group's annual report shows Evergreen & Emerging direct revenue fell 8% in 2025, driven by a 14% decline in payers partly offset by 8% higher revenue per payer. Match ended 2025 with about 2,200 full-time employees, roughly 12% fewer than a year earlier.
Match Eliminates COO Role Held by E&E Brands Chief
Match Group eliminates its chief operating officer role, ending the 18-year tenure of Hesam Hosseini, who had also remained CEO of the Evergreen & Emerging brands that include OkCupid.
FTC Settles With OkCupid and Match Over Deceptive Data Sharing
The FTC files a complaint and stipulated order against OkCupid operator Humor Rainbow and Match Group Americas, alleging OkCupid gave an unrelated third party access to nearly three million user photos and location data contrary to its privacy promises, and that since 2014 Match and OkCupid tried to conceal it, including by obstructing the FTC's investigation. The order permanently bars them from misrepresenting their data practices and privacy controls; it includes no fine, and the companies did not admit the allegations.
Clarifai Deletes 3 Million OkCupid Photos and Models Trained on Them
Following the FTC settlement, Clarifai says it deleted the roughly 3 million photos it obtained from OkCupid to train facial recognition AI, along with models trained on that data.
Match CEO Paid 224 Times Median Employee
Match Group's proxy statement reports CEO Spencer Rascoff's 2025 total compensation at $47,125,022, a ratio of 224 to 1 against median employee pay of about $210,537, in a year the company cut 13% of its workforce.
Match Renames E&E 'Everyone Everywhere' as Unit Revenue Slides
Match Group folds its Asia brands Azar and Pairs into the Evergreen & Emerging unit, renames it 'Everyone Everywhere' and says it has completed all major platform migrations so its brands share trust and safety, recommendation and cross-sell systems. The unit's direct revenue fell 17% year over year in the second quarter, including a $19 million drop at Azar.
Evidence (41 citations)
D1: User Value Erosion
D2: Business Customer Exploitation
D3: Shareholder Extraction
D4: Lock-in & Switching Costs
D5: Twiddling & Algorithmic Opacity
D6: Dark Patterns
D7: Advertising & Monetization Pressure
D8: Competitive Conduct
D9: Labor & Governance
D10: Regulatory & Legal Posture
Scoring Log (8 entries)
Checked 8 removed/trimmed claims: 0 restored, 2 partly restored, 6 confirmed removed, 0 already present. Partly restored: Hinge item regains Match's stated plan to increase investment in Hinge (TechCrunch 2019-02-07); the 'OkCupid disinvestment' claim cut from the 2024 livestreaming item is restored in narrowed, sourced form as a new 2023-08-01 timeline event (Match Q2 2023 8-K letter: $13M Evergreen cost cuts funding Tinder and Hinge) plus d1 evidence from the Q3 2023 letter (2024 plan to apply Evergreen cost reductions). Confirmed removed: 2013 A-List read receipts and Match cross-promotion (not in Vice; no dated source), Match controlling 'the majority' of Western dating platforms (not in Wikipedia or 2015 TechCrunch/CBC coverage), OkCupid personalized-pricing speculation (only review/blog sites), 2025 'minimal resources' and dating-coach claims, ROAST $110M revenue (page says no public OkCupid revenue figure), Terms.Law guide (does not mention Match or OkCupid).
Removed typed-in site scores from alternatives text (they go stale on re-score; the page shows live scores). No other changes.
Checked 82 items (37 timeline, 37 evidence, 5 milestones, 3 alternatives) + prose. 31 verified, 31 corrected (7 date-only), 14 re-sourced, 6 removed (1 duplicate, 5 junk/unsupporting sources). Invented: antitrust-expert quote ('John Benedict'/'2019 NYU Law Review') that Match became 'an unlawful monopoly through acquisitions'. Major fixes: FTC 2019/2025 actions concerned Match.com, not OkCupid, and the fraud-notification counts were dismissed in 2022; Norwegian 135-company figure covered 10 apps; Cybernews flaw was 2020 not 2023; Investing.com's $975M buyback figure was wrong ($789M); unsupported OkCupid revenue, pricing, Glassdoor and 401(k) claims removed.
62->57. Since Feb 2026 (window Sep 2025-Sep 2026): FTC settled OkCupid/Clarifai data-sharing case (Mar 2026, no fine; Clarifai deleted photos Apr 2026) after a court enforced its CID (Jun 2025); Match eliminated COO/E&E chief role, folded Asia brands into E&E ('Everyone Everywhere', platform migrations done), E&E revenue -8% 2025 and -17% Q2 2026; buybacks continue (81% of H1 2026 FCF); CEO pay ratio 224:1. D1 8->7 (recalibration: core Q&A matching survives; 8+ needs steep-survey decline and T1/T2 support), D2 4->2 (recalibration: single-sided freemium product, no documented business-customer conduct), D4 5->4 (recalibration: low dating-app switching costs; portfolio issue belongs to D8), D5 6->5 (recalibration: algorithmic feeds with limited transparency, visible match math), D6 7->6 (correction: 2025 FTC order concerned Match.com, not OkCupid), D8 8->7 (correction: invented antitrust quote removed; no antitrust action, ~25% share), D9 5->6 (event: 13% layoffs concurrent with ~$1B returns, 2025 pay ratio 224:1 disclosed Apr 2026), D10 5->6 (event: Mar 2026 FTC OkCupid order alleging concealment/obstruction, CID enforced Jun 2025). Trajectory worsening->stable. Eras: first era re-dated 2004-01-01->2004-01-19 (founding); 'Match Group Absorption' re-dated 2012-01-01->2011-02-02 (acquisition); 'Feature Stripping Begins' re-dated 2017-07-01->2017-02-14 (DoubleTake redesign); 'Tinder-ization Complete' kept (2020-07-01); 'Revenue Squeeze Era' re-dated 2023-06-01->2023-02-01 (8% layoffs) and relabeled 'Payer Decline Squeeze'; current 'Managed Decline' re-dated from assessment date 2026-02-18 to 2024-12-11 (investor day dividend and 100% FCF pledge). All eras re-scored. Alternatives: Coffee Meets Bagel unsupported monetization claim removed; ownership lead unconfirmed, description names no owner.
Triaged 2026-06-29; no rescore warranted (no material change since baseline, or changes sub-threshold).