Match Group & Apple
Match Group, parent of Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge, has been engaged in a multi-year dispute with Apple over the 30% App Store fee applied to in-app subscription purchases. Tinder Gold and Tinder Platinum subscriptions purchased through iOS are subject to Apple's commission, which Match argues prevents competitive pricing. Match has experimented with directing users to pay outside the App Store to reduce Apple's cut.
Why it matters: Match Group's App Store commission payments to Apple are estimated at $500M or more annually, representing one of the largest single App Store revenue relationships in the non-gaming category. The dispute reflects a broader tension between Apple's platform gatekeeping and subscription app businesses whose pricing is directly constrained by the 30% fee.