Match.com is a commercial online dating service owned by IAC. The company aims at connecting adults in search of relationship partners. This online service was developed more than 22 years ago (1995), and is active to date. To access their services, one needs to be over the legal age. Additionally, the site requires that you go through a registration process. Presently, the site offers its services to more than 25 countries translated into more than eight languages. With its headquarters in Dallas, Texas, Match.com has its offices in West Hollywood, Dallas, San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, and Tokyo.
Founded by Gary Kremen, Peng T. Ong and Fran Maier in 1993, the company started as a proof-of-concept aimed at providing a classified advert system for newspapers. Peng helped Gary in designing the initial system. Simon Glinsky enhanced the development of the first Internet business plan for Match.com, offering technical management and marketing expertise. The first business model developed by this team included an inclusion of diverse communities with massive first trial and market leaders’ status. This included technology professionals, women, as well as the lesbian and gay community. The subscription model, which is now very common among personal services, was also included.
In late 1994, Fran Maier joined the team to lead the business unit. She considerably strengthened the strategy to make Match.com accessible and friendly to women. Men would then follow these women. In 1995, Match.com went live as a free beta, initially profiled in the Wired magazine. In a bid to develop a user database for the other paying clients, the initial users of this service were offered free lifetime charter membership upon signing up. Match.com was purchased by Cendant in 1998 and later resold to IAC. IAC moved the service to Dallas, Texas, and merged it with One & Only networks that had been bought the same year by IAC (then called TicketMaster).
Match.com was brought to the public by joining it with Love@AOL and collaborating with MSN and AOL. By this time, membership at Love@AOL was no longer free but shifted all the names to allow a greater audience to access Match.com services. The monthly subscription cost was $24.95. Jim Safka served as the Chief Executive Officer of Match.com from September 2004 to April 2007. Thomas Enraght-Moony later succeeded him from April 2007 to February 2009. Upon his departure, Gregory R. Blatt joined Match.com and served as the CEO from February 2009 to December 2010.
Match.com launched a mobile app that used the same algorithms as Tinder. This app was named “Steam.” The app matched individuals upon photographs using geotags.
Matthew Evans filed a class action against Match.com on November 10, 2005. Matthew claimed that Match.com secretly employed people to send fake emails and go for up to three dates a day, and more than a hundred dates a month in a bid to increase their clientele. IAC repudiated the suit as baseless and later dismissed by the Courts. Match.com subsequently received various lawsuits that challenged the quality of services they offered. These suits were however turned down on merit that Match.com had not violated any of its user agreements. In 2011, a woman claimed someone she met on Match.com raped her. Her lawyer demanded that the company conducted background checks on every user to prevent sex offenders from using this platform.
The company has however made an assurance that all their registered subscribers are legitimate and any form of misbehavior is intolerable.