Facts

Kirilose Mansour decided to download the Bumble app onto his phone. Bumble is an online dating app which employs a user's location using the cellphone's built-in GPS, and uses their Facebook information to create a profile. A Bumble profile consists of a user's first name, location, age, photos and other information the user chooses to share about themselves in an "About" section. The app then finds potential matches for the user, suggesting matches within a nearby geographical radius. The user then has the option to like or pass. One of Bumble's primary draw for consumers is a feature known as a "swipe"--the act of swiping one's finger on their smart phone's touch screen within the Bumble app either right or left to approve or pass, respectively, on a suggested potential match. If both users "swipe right" and "match" with one another, Bumble will create a private line of communication between the individuals.

Sometime in 2018, Bumble introduced its "Bumble Boost" services, a paid service provided only to its male users which promised to give male consumers the ability to "take control of your dating experience," "double your matches," and to "start increasing your matches right away." With this service, only women had the ability to message men first. If 24 hours passed after the "match" without the female sending the male a message, then the "match" disappeared and the male was never given an opportunity to send the female a message. This service was provided for $8.99 per week, or alternatively, the user could make an increased payment for additional time with the service. Mansour purchased a subscription to Bumble Boost in order to increase his likelihood of meeting someone through the Bumble app. In November 2020, Mansour brought a class action complaint against defendant Bumble Trading Inc., the company behind the Bumble dating app.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff Mansour contended that male users who paid for Bumble Boost were denied equal access to the features of the Bumble dating app based on their gender since only females were given the ability to send a message first after a match was made. According to Mansour, this, "women message first," system was unfair and discriminatory, as men were charged and paid to preserve their ability to chat with women they matched with whereas the same was not true conversely with women. Men, paying for the services, were discriminated against by offering benefits to females that were not provided to the males using the same product for the same purposes. Specifically, Mansour brought claims against Bumble for violations of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and Unfair Business Practices Act.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied all contentions and strongly denied any wrongdoings, alleging that the practice was not unlawful or discriminatory but it agreed to settle the lawsuit in order to avoid the costs and burdens of litigation.

Result

The case settled for $3,000,000 and defendant Bumble is required to deposit 20 free Super Swipes (totaling $31.98 in benefit) into the Bumble account of every settlement class member unless the member elects to receive an additional portion of the pro rata share. Also, Bumble is required to implement a "reactions" feature that will allow all users--both male and female, of the Bumble app in California--to "react" to specific sections of the profiles of other users by selecting from a predetermined set of emojis to send to other users as part of the swiping process. This "reactions" feature will be available to California users for one year regardless of gender or stated sexual preference. The settlement only covered California Bumble mobile app users who used the app between March 29, 2016 to July 1, 2021.