OkCupid

Watch out Stage 2

OkCupid built its name on matching questions and a usable free tier. Its record is mixed: in 2026 it settled an FTC case over giving 3 million user photos to a facial-recognition company, though the sharing happened in 2014, outside the evidence window. The 2025 Match Group settlement over cancellations targeted Match.com’s conduct. No criteria met for current conduct. Stage 2.

Since
2004
Category
Dating
VC-backed
No
Public
No
Acquired by
Match Group (2011)
Website
okcupid.com
X
@okcupid

The promise

Its first promise, and how much is kept · Scoring

100% kept

“Free online dating”
OkCupid homepage, 2005 No extraction or decline criteria met.

Why it’s rated 2

The criteria it meets, with sources · Method

Alignment 0 of 3
None
Lock-in 0 of 4
None
Extraction 0 of 7
None
Decline 0 of 3
None

Result No extraction that meets the stage 3 test, and either some lock-in or no alignment criterion, so stage 2.

News signals

Sourced reporting, tagged by strategy

Mar 30, 2026
OkCupid settles FTC case over handing 3 million user photos to a facial-recognition firm in 2014
Data enclosureRegulatory risk
Aug 12, 2025
Match Group pays $14 million to settle FTC case over guarantees and cancellation; order covers OkCupid
Dark patternsRegulatory risk