Manipulative Matchmaking - A Legal and Ethical Assessment of Addictive AI Design in Dating Apps

Abstract

This paper examines the deployment of manipulative and addictive design patterns in AI-driven dating applications, with particular attention to their legal treatment under the EU Artificial Intelligence Act and the European Convention on Human Rights. It argues that platforms such as Tinder and Hinge utilise emotionally persuasive interface features, ranging from gamified reward systems to algorithmic opacity, that condition user behaviour and compromise decisional autonomy. Drawing on behavioural science, affective computing, and platform governance literature, this article evaluates how manipulative design features in dating apps interfere with rights protected by Article 8 of the ECHR, particularly in relation to informational self-determination and psychological integrity. In parallel, it examines whether such systems could fall within the scope of prohibited manipulative AI under Article 5(1)(a) of the EU AI Act. Through the case study of the 2024 Match Group litigation and an analysis of cumulative design harms, the article contends that dating apps are not merely high-risk AI systems but may, under certain conditions, constitute prohibited AI. It concludes by calling for an intimacy-sensitive framework of algorithmic accountability, capable of addressing structural behavioural manipulation in emotionally charged digital contexts.