One of the best complements that can be paid to an online dating platform is no longer requiring its services (because that likely means you’ve found a mate). Indeed, if you find yourself in such a situation, the logical step is to shut down your account and move on with life but as some former Match.com users are finding out, the Internet is a very permanent place.
According to a report from The Verge, Match Group – the parent company of Match.com and several other dating services including Tinder, OKCupid and PlentyOfFish – recently reactivated a “limited number” of old accounts by mistake. Suddenly, some users were receiving e-mail notifications for a dating service they hadn’t used in years… and in some cases, decades.
Aside from the obvious turmoil that could be caused by old – and purportedly deleted – accounts resurfacing (imagine having to explain those e-mails to your significant other or even friends and family that happen to come across your old account), the matter calls into question Match’s need to retain user profiles for years after a person has “deleted” an account.
this is so weird - I got so many emails this morning I finally was like I guess ill try to log in and see whats up? and I did and my profile from 10 YEARS AGO was fully up - and I haven't paid https://t.co/c3WFxPlT7f a cent since I canceled! WTFFFFF https://t.co/SRcjwJJto4
— jelly donuts (@jennalisetwts) April 14, 2018
It is unclear how many dormant accounts resurfaced as part of the recent glitch.
One user told The Verge they reached out to customer support but reps seemingly skirted around the issue, saying the account in question was now “inaccessible” or “unviewable” rather than deleted.
A spokesperson told the site it was planning to roll out a new privacy policy in the coming months to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
