Tinder Hit with Biometric Data Privacy Class Action in Illinois Over User Facial Scans

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A proposed class action claims Tinder’s photo verification features illegally collect and store Illinois consumers’ biometric facial data without consent.

The 19-page case alleges Match Group, the owner of popular online dating services such as Tinder, OKCupid, Hinge, Match.com, Meetic and PlentyOfFish, among others, has violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to obtain express written permission before retaining Tinder users’ facial scans in the state. 

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The complaint relays that the dating app introduced in 2020 a two-step “photo verification” process for which users take a video selfie to confirm that their face matches their profile photos. Tinder’s “liveness check” then scans the user’s face to determine if a “real, live person took the video, and that it was not digitally altered or manipulated,” the suit explains. Then, the case continues, Tinder’s “3D face authentication” tool uses facial recognition technology to extract a user’s facial geometry.

Profiles that pass both steps receive a “photo verified” status along with a blue checkmark, the filing relays. These features allow Tinder to capture and stores consumers’ biometric facial scans, which the app does without informing consumers or obtaining their written permission, the lawsuit alleges.

The BIPA stipulates that companies like Tinder, in order to lawfully obtain and retain consumers’ biometric data, must disclose the “specific purpose and length of term for which such biometric identifiers or information are being collected, stored, and used,” the case explains. The complaint relays that, under the BIPA, private entities must also publish written retention schedules for permanently destroying biometric data.

“[The] BIPA provides individuals with a private right of action, protecting their right to privacy regarding their biometrics as well as protecting their rights to know the precise nature for which their biometrics are used and how they are being stored and ultimately destroyed,” the case expands.

However, Tinder neither informs users of the purpose for its biometric data retention or reveals how long it stores the sensitive, unchangeable data, the suit alleges  

The lawsuit looks to cover all Illinois residents who directly or indirectly used Tinder’s biometric authentication products and subsequently had his or her biometric facial scan captured, collected, stored, or otherwise obtained by the dating app during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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