back to article Tinder Plus charges oldies MORE to ogle young hotties' pics

Hookup app Tinder has launched a premium service charging older users more dosh to mingle with potential mates still in their prime. The new Tinder Plus app will allow users new features including looking up previously-rejected matches and checking out potential partners in other cities. Dubbed "Passport", the location …

  1. the spectacularly refined chap

    Obvious question

    How does this stand up to anti age discrimination legislation, e.g. the Equality Acts here in the UK?

    1. TRT Silver badge

      Re: Obvious question

      It doesn't. The parallel with student discounts is laughable. This outfit should be taken to the cleaners.

      Do you still get young person's railcard, btw?

    2. Really Anonymous Coward

      Re: Obvious question

      UK age discrimination legislation only applies to employment, not to the provision of goods/services.

      1. Chicken Marengo

        @Really Anonymous Coward - Re: Obvious question

        In the UK, under the Age Discrimination Act of 2010 I believe it is illegal to discriminate on grounds of age in the provision of goods and services. I do not know of any test cases however.

        Similar legislation forbidding discrimination on grounds of religion or sexuality has been successfully tested so it would be likely that Tinder is on very shaky legal ground here. It probably won't matter though as the real hit on Tinder will come when their users bugger off to pastures new.

      2. Dave Parry

        Re: Obvious question

        Not true since October 2012 - although the legislation is fairly toothless and the particular instance here is allowable - as long as they phrase it in the form of an age-based concession, rather than a surcharge on the elders. See para 4 of The Equality Act 2010 (Age Exceptions) Order 2012.

    3. big_D Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Re: Obvious question

      My first thought too, on reading the headline.

      And older people have more cash to splash? Hmm, young and free versus divorced, 2 kids and having to pay maintenance, yeah, that works. /sarcasm.

      I expect the swinger app pusher to get a bit of a backlash in the next couple of days. Ooh, er Matron!

    4. sisk

      Re: Obvious question

      That was my first thought, but then I realized how many places offer a senior discount. If it's legal to charge you less because you're old then it must also be legal to charge you more for being middle age as opposed to young, dumb, and full of....you get the idea.

      1. phil dude
        Pint

        Re: Obvious question

        No one in my class qualifies for a YPRC, but we all have "student cards".

        Age discrimination is not permitted, in the same way as charging men to enter a club is not permitted (in the UK), although we know it goes on. Playing tacky music scares most drinkers away...

        Senior discounts are provided because they will often have "bus pass" or similar. Here in the USA there is often discounts in restaurants or grocery stores.

        We live in a society of labels so that the general population can be bigoted from a distance.

        How is Tinder anything other than a voyeur app?

        P.

        1. Eddy Ito
          Devil

          Re: Obvious question

          I don't mind if they charge the kids less for it. I can always have a good chuckle when they complain about their auto insurance premiums.

    5. Tapeador

      Re: Obvious question

      Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union:

      Non-discrimination

      1. Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.

      ...........

      This doesn't actually creates freestanding duties or powers for Member States, but a) applies when Member States are applying EU law, and b) reflects existing EU caselaw: non-discrimination between private parties in economic relationships is at the core of such EU law caselaw, have a look at e.g. Defrenne v Sabena or Kukukdeveci or Stauder. I think the Commission would be the ones who would take it forward because it involves transnational issues, which consumers can't afford to litigate (and anyway there's no money in consumer law). Although anyone who's done conflict of laws may correct me here.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    u can grind on me

    This is why I use Regr.

    1. TRT Silver badge

      Re: u can grind on me

      I'm too old for that. I use Postgre.

      1. David Pollard

        Re: u can grind on me

        Is that pronounced Postgrey?

        1. TRT Silver badge

          Re: u can grind on me

          0x32 shades of.

          1. Simon Harris

            Re: u can grind on me

            Or 062 shades for the older generation brought up on octal.

            1. TRT Silver badge

              Re: u can grind on me

              I prefer sexydecimal.

          2. pompurin

            Re: u can grind on me

            0x32 shades of RAL 7035.

            1. TRT Silver badge

              Re: u can grind on me

              Surely that should be RAL 7xxx?

              Actually, that's a jolly good name for a Sci-Fi slash fic of it. Hmm...

    2. Freonpsandoz

      Re: u can grind on me

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMGVMtnxXEw

  3. Cliff

    You are the commodity

    You are being bought, sold, traded AND paying for the privilege. Congrats to Tinder for the most fucked up business model yet.

    1. Zog_but_not_the_first
      Trollface

      Re: You are the commodity

      Me'thinks Tinder's business model might be more like this.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: You are the commodity

      So, it's like a relationship then.

    3. chivo243 Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: You are the commodity

      @Cliff

      Glad I used a free service 6 years ago, and found my match. No paying through some orifice for me... I feel bad for people that have to pay for this hit and miss type of service.

      1. Preston Munchensonton
        Paris Hilton

        Re: You are the commodity

        "No paying through some orifice for me..."

        We all pay through some orifice, one way or the other. $19.99/month would save me a lot over my current marital outlays.

  4. Cosmo

    Dating apps really hate the over 30s

    There was a website called FaceParty (remember them?) who did a similar thing years ago, by deleting the accounts of everyone aged over 35.

    I can't imagine any self-respecting over-30 to want to pay hundreds of pounds a year for a hot-or-not swipe app...

    1. theblackhand

      Re: Dating apps really hate the over 30s

      "I can't imagine any self-respecting over-30 to want to pay hundreds of pounds a year for a hot-or-not swipe app..."

      You may find that over-30's with no self respect IS the target market....

      1. JDX Gold badge

        Re: Dating apps really hate the over 30s

        Don't over 30s form a massive part of the online dating market since they typically aren't mingling in big friendship groups as much?

        1. phil dude
          Thumb Up

          Re: Dating apps really hate the over 30s

          One would modify that statement to "compelled to mingle"...as that is what school is.

          Biology is predicated on reproduction at any cost.

          Too much society is predicated on the concept of the "best ever deal".

          What can go wrong?

          P.

          1. Preston Munchensonton

            Re: Dating apps really hate the over 30s

            "Biology is predicated on reproduction at any cost.

            Too much society is predicated on the concept of the "best ever deal".

            What can go wrong?"

            www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

          2. JDX Gold badge

            @phil

            I wasn't talking about school. Children shouldn't be using online dating.

            But university and your twenties is the time when people are not yet married and tied down by children, so are able to socialise far more easily. Once you get to 30, your peers start staying in with the spouse and kid even if you don't. If you exit a serious relationship, you may know barely anybody who isn't part of your "smug marrieds" friendship group.

            I actually thought the bulk of the online dating market WAS 30 and over, but I don't know where I got that idea from!

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: @phil

              > I wasn't talking about school. Children shouldn't be using online dating.

              School is (from memory) 12 to 18 or 19, depending on the country. Age of consent in Europe varies between 13 and 16 (perhaps 17 even?), and in practise sexual activity starts around 14-16.

              With this in mind, and it is not clear what you mean by "children", but why should people of dating age not be using online dating specifically?

  5. BinkyTheMagicPaperclip Silver badge

    This is not new

    OKCupid, also owned by match.com (as tinder are too), runs age based pricing for premium membership. Fortunately you can reduce your age, buy the membership more cheaply, then raise your age again..

    Tinder is a waste of time, anyway. Even if you're within standard cookie cutter dating parameters (young, single, monogamous, straight and want to have children eventually) its insistence on not having a home location for each person and instead matching on where someone was five days ago makes it utterly useless. Gave up on it very quickly as a total waste of time.

  6. Elmer Phud

    In my prime?

    So, should I wish to use Tinder to locate someone for potential rumpuy-pumpy I'll have to pay top whack.

    That's me fucked --or not.

  7. Wilseus

    The only dating website/app I would consider is Plenty of Fish, not to be confused with Plenty More Fish.

    It's completely free, although there is a small optional monthly fee which gives you some extra goodies, you don't need to pay it. It has the look and feel of NOT being run by some big corporation.

    Having said that, I know someone close to my own (middle) age who has met a very nice lady on Tinder, so it can work.

    1. Simon Harris

      I'll second that - PoF worked for me and SWMBO.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Plus one for Tinder here as my daughter has met someone on that app and it looks like wedding bells...

  8. viscount

    Old Age Facebookers

    An interesting element of this move is what it says about Tinder's target userbase. To use Tinder you have to be on Facebook (that is where it gets your login, profile and pictures and some semblance of an idea that you might be real). As Facebook becomes more for the slightly older (non-yoof) population then Tinder's available target audience starts to decline. So maybe they will have to move away from Facebook.

  9. squigbobble

    User base engineering

    They're just trying to skew their userbase a bit more towards teh yoof.

  10. Lusty

    NSFW

    ANOTHER NSFW picture on the front page. Please grow up Reg team.

    1. Juan Inamillion

      Re: NSFW

      NSFW?

      Have you been down your local newsagents recently?

      Or travel agents?

      Or are you based in Saudi Arabia?

      1. Lusty

        Re: NSFW

        Yes, I have been to the news agent. If I left a copy of a newspaper open to a picture of someone's arse on a work desk in any normal office I would also consider it NSFW. I am not personally offended by the picture, but that's not what makes something unsafe for work, it's the impression it gives to colleagues and coworkers. I would prefer my colleagues don't get the impression that I'm browsing pictures of arses during working hours if that's OK with you Juan?

        1. Lusty

          Re: NSFW

          For the record, the Reg has been doing this a lot recently and many, many people have complained on various threads about it.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: NSFW

          I immediately thumbed back to the appropriate page and was frankly disappointed. Barely an arse in sight.

          1. auburnman
            Joke

            Re: NSFW

            Perhaps el Reg are choosing the photos based on Lusty's browsing profile...

          2. Lusty

            Re: NSFW

            @AC the picture appears to have been changed.

            1. phil dude
              Coat

              Re: NSFW

              they fed the monkey?

              P.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: NSFW

                Spanked it, more probably.

                1. JDX Gold badge

                  Re: NSFW

                  Is El Reg supposed to be SFW? Shouldn't you be using your work time to... work?

                  1. Swarthy
                    WTF?

                    Re: NSFW

                    BLASPHEMY! Expecting us to be working at work.. I say.

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: NSFW

          > I would prefer my colleagues don't get the impression that I'm browsing pictures of arses during working hours if that's OK with you Juan?

          How about not reading El Reg during work hours then? Perhaps your colleagues would appreciate more that you be doing some actual work? Just an idea.

          1. Lusty

            Re: NSFW

            Reading tech news is part of my job, dumbass!

  11. Simon Harris

    Here's an idea...

    Instead of basing the subscription purely on age, weight subscription renewals based on the age differential between the user and the average age of the person they swipe right.

    Depending on the age of the user, it could be called the pervy-old-git or the gold-digger tax.

  12. stupormundi

    A more complete version of this can easily be imagined. You could take really a lot from the really old ones. Make it quite cheap for the youngens, but actually PAY the REALLY young ones for signing up to the site. Oh wait, now it starts sounding kinda illegal ...

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