Guidance

Online dating services: complying with consumer law

How to ensure your terms and practices are compliant with consumer law.

Documents

Details

This guidance was published prior to the unfair commercial practices provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) coming into force on 6 April 2025. These provisions contain broadly similar prohibitions against unfair and misleading commercial practices as under the previous legislation, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs).

More detail on the legislative differences between the DMCC Act and the CPRs is available in the technical note.

For further guidance, read Unfair commercial practices.

This guide explains what online dating sites need to do to comply with consumer protection law.

It includes guidance on:

  • holding and sharing personal information
  • renewing subscriptions
  • cancelling contracts
  • giving customers notice about changes to prices and terms of service

Find out more about the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into unfair terms and conditions on online dating sites.

Updates to this page

Published 13 June 2018

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