Match Group has settled a U.S. Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging it shared personal data from nearly three million OkCupid users with facial recognition company Clarifai without proper disclosure. The consent decree permanently bars Match Group and its subsidiary OkCupid from misrepresenting their data practices and requires ten years of compliance reporting.
The data sharing occurred in 2014, when Clarifai’s founder asked OkCupid for the dataset in September of that year. The connection was personal rather than commercial: OkCupid’s founders were financial investors in Clarifai, and the firm requested the data on that basis. One of OkCupid’s founders allegedly supplied the photos via his personal email account. OkCupid provided access to nearly three million user photos along with location and demographic data, without placing any formal or contractual restrictions on how the information could be used.
Users were never informed. OkCupid’s privacy policy at the time stated it would not share personal information with third parties except as described in that policy or when users were given the chance to opt out. Neither condition was met.
When The New York Times reported in 2019 that Clarifai’s founder said the company had built a face database using OkCupid images, OkCupid told the paper that Clarifai had contacted the dating site about a possible collaboration and that no commercial agreement had been entered into. The FTC alleged that OkCupid did not address whether Clarifai had gained access to photos without consent, and characterized the response as part of extensive efforts to obscure and deny the data sharing, including obstructing the agency’s Civil Investigative Demand, which the FTC ultimately had to enforce in federal court.
“The FTC enforces the privacy promises that companies make,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We will investigate, and where appropriate, take action against companies that promise to safeguard your data but fail to follow through.”
The settlement, filed March 30, 2026 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, permanently prohibits misrepresenting data collection, use, and disclosure practices. It specifies no monetary fine but requires compliance reports for ten years and allows penalties for future violations. Match Group did not admit wrongdoing. The Commission vote authorizing the action was 2-0.
OkCupid is operated by Dallas-based Humor Rainbow Inc. The settlement is separate from Match Group’s August 2025 $14 million settlement over deceptive subscription and advertising practices.
Sources: Federal Trade Commission, MediaPost, Reuters
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
