Match.com is an online dating service based in Dallas, Texas. The company has offices in several cities, including Dallas, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Beijing. Match.com is owned by Match Group, which owns several online dating services.
History
In 1993, Match.com was started by Gary Kremen and Peng T. Ong in San Francisco. At first, the website was called Match.com, while the company that ran it was officially named Electric Classifieds Inc. Early on, Kremen was helped by Ong, who helped design the first system, and Simon Glinsky, who co-wrote the business plan, created matching criteria, developed services for LGBTQ communities, designed business models, planned marketing strategies, and made early hiring decisions. Fran Maier later joined the company as director of marketing. According to a review from The Atlantic, Maier helped shape Match.com's business strategy, which included a subscription model and the inclusion of diverse communities, such as technology professionals and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities. Match.com became a free beta version website in early 1995 and was first written about in Wired magazine that same year.
Founder Kremen left the company in March 1996 after disagreements with investors. In 1997, Match.com was bought by CUC International. After CUC merged with HFS to form Cendant, the company was sold to IAC in 1999.
In September 2001, Match.com partnered with AOL and MSN to allow more people to access Match.com through Love@AOL and MSN Dating and Personals.
In 2002 and early 2003, Match.com's then-CEO, Tim Sullivan, expanded the company into local dating with a service called MatchLive, where people met in public places for social events and speed dating.
In September 2004, Jim Safka replaced Sullivan as CEO. Safka was replaced by Thomas Enraght-Moony in 2007.
On November 10, 2005, a lawsuit was filed by Matthew Evans against Match.com in a federal court in Los Angeles, claiming that Match.com used fake members to send emails and go on dates with paying members. IAC said the lawsuit had no basis and was later dismissed by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on April 25, 2007. Similar lawsuits were filed in June 2009 and December 2010, with judges ruling that Match.com did not break user agreements.
In January 2006, Match.com hired Dr. Phil McGraw as a celebrity spokesperson.
In February 2009, IAC created Match Group as a company that included Match.com and other dating sites it owned. At the same time, it was announced that Match.com's European operations would be sold to Meetic for 5 million Euros and a reported 27 percent interest in the company. Thomas Enraght-Moony, the current CEO, stepped down, and Greg Blatt, IAC's Executive VP and General Counsel, became CEO.
In July 2009, Match.com bought People Media, which ran AOL Personals and operated BlackPeopleMeet.com and OurTime.com, from American Capital for $80 million. The following year, Match.com acquired SinglesNet, another dating site. In December 2010, Match.com’s CEO Greg Blatt became CEO of parent company IAC.
In 2012, Match.com bought OkCupid, and Sam Yagan, OkCupid's co-founder and CEO, became CEO of Match Group. That same year, Match.com launched Stir, an events service offering monthly events for members.
In April 2014, Match.com launched an updated mobile app with a feature called "Stream," which used location to match people based on photographs, similar to the app Tinder. The platform's membership auto-billing method was criticized by customers for being unclear.
In 2017, Yagan was replaced by Mandy Ginsberg as CEO of Match Group.
In 2020, Ginsberg was succeeded by Shar Dubey as CEO of Match Group.
In 2022, Match Group released a new service called Stir, a dating app for single parents.
In April 2022, The Match Group announced that Shar Dubey was stepping down as CEO but would remain on the board of directors. Bernard Kim, former president of Zynga, became CEO effective May 31, 2022.
Use by sexual predators
In 2011, a woman said she was raped by a person she met on Match.com. She and her lawyer asked Match.com to begin checking the backgrounds of its users to stop registered sex offenders from joining the site. Match.com said this would cause many problems because it would be difficult to get background information from all users. Soon after the lawsuit was filed, Match.com announced it would start screening new members.
Between 2011 and 2014, Jason Lawrance, a man called a “sexual predator” by British police, contacted thousands of women through the website. He raped five of them. In March 2016, Derby Crown Court heard that four victims told Match.com about the man. One woman was informed that administrators said they could not take action because he had not sent harmful messages through the site.