Sapphic Dating App HER acquired by Match

Edited and sourced by Jude Goodwin

HER, a major dating and social platform for queer women and sapphic users, has been acquired by Match Group, the largest online dating company in the world. HER joins a growing list of dating apps under the Match Group umbrella, which includes Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, and others.

Founded in 2013 by Robyn Exton under the name Dattch, HER was launched to fill a gap in the dating app market for queer women and nonbinary users. The app now serves over 13 million users globally and has become known for its community-building focus in addition to dating features.

In a public statement received by What’s On Queer BC on May 21, 2025, Exton emphasized that HER’s leadership team will remain in place and that the platform will continue to be led by and for the sapphic community. She cited Match Group’s infrastructure and safety tools as key reasons for the move.

Match Group’s Expanding Influence

Match Group, which began with Match.com in the 1990s, has steadily acquired competing platforms and now controls a significant share of the global dating app market. It currently owns most of the top-ranking platforms in North America and Europe.

The company has positioned these acquisitions as a way to expand user options and improve safety, especially with the increasing sophistication of online scams and AI-generated fake profiles.

But critics argue that consolidation under one corporate structure creates serious concerns about market concentration and user autonomy.

Data, Safety, and Corporate Oversight

One of the primary motivations for the acquisition appears to be technological infrastructure. Match Group maintains large-scale systems for trust and safety, including automated moderation, scam detection, and fraud prevention — capabilities increasingly important in the age of AI-generated fake profiles.

However, consolidation under a single company also raises concerns. Many LGBTQ+ users are wary of platform changes, censorship, or loss of community identity when independent apps are absorbed by larger tech corporations.

Match became a publicly traded entity in 2015 which means the company’s ultimate responsibility is to its shareholders (read: profit) not the community of users nor even to the smaller companies they absorb.

Antitrust Concerns and Centralized Power

Although Match Group presents each app as serving a distinct audience, critics say this overlooks key structural concerns:

Infrastructure and moderation are controlled centrally, limiting independent oversight.
Pricing and features can be standardized or manipulated across platforms.
Algorithms used to recommend matches, set visibility, and moderate content shape user behavior and social norms in ways that are not transparent.

There is also growing concern over data consolidation. As more users across different demographics join apps owned by Match Group, the company gains access to large datasets about relationships, preferences, conversations, and locations. Privacy advocates warn that having this much personal and behavioral data housed under a single company increases risks of misuse or breach — especially in regions where queer identity is criminalized or targeted.

As conversations around monopoly power in tech continue — particularly regarding data privacy, algorithmic accountability, and digital platform regulation — Match Group’s acquisitions needs more scrutiny from regulators in the U.S. and abroad.

”We’re still going to be the same app. We’re just getting stronger, faster, and even gayer than before. We’re the same team, with the same vision and sense of community, now with the ability to do even more of what we hoped for.” ~ Robyn & Team HER

We believe in the good intentions of the team at HER, but we are saddened by the continuing encroachment of corporate interest and dominance over queer spaces.