EHarmony

Last updated

eharmony.com
Eharmony Logo 2024.svg
Type of business Private
FoundedAugust 22, 2000;24 years ago (2000-08-22)
Pasadena, California, U.S.
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Key people Neil Clark Warren (Founder)
Greg Forgatch (Founder)
Parent ParshipMeet Group (ProSiebenSat.1 Media 55% and General Atlantic 45%)
URL www.eharmony.com
LaunchedAugust 22, 2000;24 years ago (2000-08-22)
Previous eHarmony headquarters in the OneWest Bank building in downtown Pasadena, California Onewestbankheadquarters.jpg
Previous eHarmony headquarters in the OneWest Bank building in downtown Pasadena, California

eHarmony is an online dating website launched in 2000. eHarmony is based in Los Angeles, California, and owned by ParshipMeet Group, a joint venture of German mass media company ProSiebenSat.1 Media and American private equity firm General Atlantic.

Contents

History

eHarmony's original logo, used until August 20, 2017 EHarmonyLogo.png
eHarmony's original logo, used until August 20, 2017
eHarmony logo, used from 2017 to 2023 Eharmony new logo.jpg
eHarmony logo, used from 2017 to 2023

eHarmony was founded by Neil Clark Warren, a clinical psychologist, with his son-in-law, Greg Forgatch. [1] [2] Warren and Forgatch created Neil Clark Warren & Associates, a seminar company, in 1995. [2] The company eventually became the dating website eHarmony. [2] During its initial four years, the website was developed by TechEmpower. [3]

The service was financed with a $3 million investment from Fayez Sarofim & Co. and individual investors. [4] eHarmony was launched in 2000, making it the first algorithm-based dating site. [4] [5] Between 2000 and 2010, about 33 million members used the service. [6] As of 2008, about 15,000 people were taking the eHarmony questionnaire each day. [7] Harris Interactive said in 2010 that after finding a match on eHarmony, an average of 542 eHarmony members in the United States marry every day. [8]

eHarmony has been profitable since 2004. [9] In 2009, eHarmony's cumulative revenue exceeded $1.0 billion while their annual revenue was about $250 million. [10] [9] As of 2012, eHarmony had 14 percent of the U.S. dating-services market. [11]

In July 2012, Neil Clark Warren came out of retirement to become chief executive officer. Warren closed unprofitable international operations, switched advertisers, made changes to the board, [12] and bought back stock from Sequoia Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures. [11] eHarmony featured in the 2013 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty , where the namesake protagonist speaks to a personal counselor at the company. [13] In 2017, it was reported that eHarmony had about 750,000 paid subscribers and 10 million active users, which was about the same as it had been in 2012. [14] Warren left the company again in July 2016. [2]

In 2016, eHarmony announced their questionnaire would now be optional for users. [15] By 2017, the questionnaire consisted of 150 questions, down from 450 questions. [16]

In 2018, German mass media company ProSiebenSat.1 Media purchased eHarmony via their Nucom ecommerce division (a joint venture of ProSiebenSat and private equity firm General Atlantic). [17]

In 2020, the parent company ParshipMeet Group was formed to manage eHarmony, Parship and The Meet Group, after the acquisition of The Meet Group by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. [18] [19]

Methodology

Prospective members complete a proprietary questionnaire about their characteristics, beliefs, values, emotional health and skills. Matching algorithms, which the company believes match people's core traits and values to replicate the traits of happy couples, use these answers to match members with users the company believes will be compatible. [20] The software technology also evaluates users' behavioral data such as average time spent on the site. [21]

Buckwalter says that the compatibility system rests a lot on commonality, for their belief is that "Opposites attract, then they attack." [22]

Starting in January 2017, eHarmony users could see why they are considered compatible with a feature called "The Two Of You Together". They will be able to see the matches who score at an advanced level of compatibility and also why. [23]

Reception and analysis

Applicant rejection

It is estimated that about 20% of eHarmony applicants are rejected. [24] In 2007, eHarmony stated since the site's launch, they had rejected about a million people who applied to use the service. They reported that about 30% of those applicants were denied because they were already married, 27% were younger than the minimum application age of 21, and 9% provided inconsistent answers on the application. eHarmony also stated they reject anyone under the age of 60 who has been married more than four times, or who fails their "dysthymia scale", testing as having a depressed disposition. [25]

Same-sex couples

When it began, eHarmony did not offer same-sex matches; however from 2009 through 2019 the company provided service through a separate platform, Compatible Partners. [26] Warren said that he had done extensive research on heterosexual marriage but did not know enough about homosexual relationships to do same-sex match-making, which he said "calls for some very careful thinking. Very careful research." [26] He also said that eHarmony promotes heterosexual marriage, adding that (at the time) same-sex marriage was illegal in most places, saying "We don't really want to participate in something that's illegal." [26] In another interview, Warren went into more detail on his own views, noting that "cities like San Francisco, Chicago or New York... they could shut [eHarmony] down so fast. We don't want to make enemies out of them. But at the same time, I take a real strong stand against same-sex marriage, anywhere that I can comment on it." [27]

eHarmony's lack of same-sex matching options prompted lawsuits claiming that eHarmony violated laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. [28] As part of the settlement of a New Jersey case, [29] eHarmony launched a partner website called Compatible Partners providing match-making "for men and women looking for a serious same-sex relationship". [30] Theodore B. Olson, an attorney for eHarmony, said that even though the company believed the complaint was "an unfair characterization of our business", it chose to settle because of the unpredictable nature of litigation. [31] In 2010, eHarmony settled a separate class-action lawsuit filed in California that alleged illegal discrimination based on sexual orientation. The company agreed to allow access to both its gay and straight dating sites with a single subscription, to display its gay dating services more prominently and to establish a settlement fund to pay people who can show they were harmed by the company's policies. [32] [33]

As of 2013, about 200,000 people had registered with Compatible Partners. [34] Michelle Garcia, writing in the LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate , also said that, like eHarmony, Compatible Partners attracts high-quality customers. According to Garcia, "Because of the price tag and the emphasis on long-term relationships... Compatible Partners' users are seen as quite desirable." [34]

In 2021, eHarmony released an advertisement that included a same-sex couple, emphasizing the platform's diverse user base. [35] Certain conservative groups expressed criticism that the platform deviated from its Christian roots. [36]

Matching paying members with non-paying members

After approval by the questionnaire, eHarmony begins to match members regardless of their subscription status. A member's list of matches does not indicate which members are paying or non-paying, so users may not be able to communicate with all of their matches. [37]

Explaining success

A 2010 article published by the Harvard Business Review attributed the success of eHarmony's system to their large membership base, their efforts to exclude people who are not serious about dating, and their membership fees being more expensive than the fees for other dating websites. The author hypothesizes that, since eHarmony's questionnaire and high cost of membership deter people who are interested in casual dating, eHarmony's members are more likely to be interested in a long-term relationship. [38]

Criticism over claims

A 2012 analysis of dating websites by Scientific American stated that eHarmony, along with other algorithm-based dating sites, had not yet provided members of the scientific community with information about their matching algorithm which could be used to vet their claims about their algorithms being scientifically based. [5]

In 2014, eHarmony was criticized by the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau over claims the company had made about their rates of success. This occurred after Match.com challenged claims made by eHarmony about the two companies' relative success. [39]

In 2018, the Advertising Standards Authority stated that an eHarmony ad which included the lines, "It's time science had a go at love", and "Imagine being able to stack the odds of finding lasting love entirely in your favor", was misleading. When the ASA asked for evidence supporting eHarmony's claims that their scientifically proven matching system increases the odds of finding love, eHarmony was not able to provide any. [40] The ASA subsequently banned advertisements that claimed the use of a scientifically proven matching system. eHarmony publicly disagreed with the ASA but said it would work with them to clarify its advertising. [41]

Complaints over subscription practices

In September 2023, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched court action against eHarmony over allegations of misleading content and hundreds of customer complaints about the company's auto-subscription practices. Customers who have signed up to the service have had their accounts debited without their consent as part of a default auto-renewable subscription that is difficult to cancel. The ACCC referred to this as a "subscription trap" that it alleges has been in place since at least 2019. [42] [43]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online dating</span> Internet service providing potential relationship contacts

Online dating, also known as internet dating, virtual dating, or mobile app dating, is a method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An online dating service is a company that promotes and provides specific mechanisms for the practice of online dating, generally in the form of dedicated websites or software applications accessible on personal computers or mobile devices connected to the internet. A wide variety of unmoderated matchmaking services, most of which are profile-based with various communication functionalities, is offered by such companies.

Neil Clark Warren is an American clinical psychologist, Christian theologian, seminary professor and co-founder of the online relationship sites eHarmony and Compatible Partners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OkCupid</span> American online dating service

OkCupid is a U.S.-based, internationally operating online dating, friendship, and formerly also a social networking website and application. It features multiple-choice questions to match members. Registration is free. OkCupid is owned by Match Group, which also owns Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, and many other popular dating apps and sites.

Match is an online dating service with headquarters are in Dallas, Texas. The company has offices in Dallas, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Beijing. Match is owned by Match Group, which owns several online dating services.

ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE is a German mass media and digital company that is based in Unterföhring, Munich. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Ventures. The company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals regularly engage in activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the category of courtship, consisting of social events carried out by the couple either alone or with others.

perfectmatch.com Online dating service in Washington

Perfectmatch.com was an online dating and relationship service based in Seattle, Washington. The company offered what it calls the "Duet Total Compatibility System (Duet)". Perfectmatch.com was co-developed by Dr. Pepper Schwartz. Duet is modeled after the Myers-Briggs test.

Chemistry.com is an online dating service. It is the sister site of Match.com and was established by the same team that worked for that company. The site's policies involve specifically pairing members for long-term relationships using methods it refers to as "compatibility" and "chemistry".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Atlantic</span> American growth equity firm

General Atlantic, legal main entity General Atlantic Service Company, L.P., is an American growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for global growth companies, headquartered in New York, United States. The firm was founded in 1980 as the captive investment team for Atlantic Philanthropies, a philanthropic organization founded by Charles F. Feeney, the billionaire co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers Ltd.

The Meet Group, Inc. owns several dating app networking services including MeetMe, hi5, LOVOO, Growlr, Skout, and Tagged. The company has offices in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dresden, and Berlin.

Meetic is a French online dating service founded in November 2001. It is recognized for its intuitive interface and matching algorithms that suggest potential partners to users based on profile attributes. Meetic became a part of the Match Group in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parship</span> Online dating agency based in Hamburg, Germany

Parship is an online dating agency based in Hamburg, Germany. It was part of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. Its stated goal is to encourage and forge long-term partnerships.

Gleeden is a French online dating community and social networking service primarily marketed to women, specifically those who are already in a relationship. In 2009, the site was launched in France. More than 65% of users reside in the European Union. The company serves as a secure dating service open to all genders and to practitioners of all lifestyles.

Yandex Search is a search engine owned by the company Yandex, based in Russia. In January 2015, Yandex Search generated 51.2% of all of the search traffic in Russia according to LiveInternet.

Tawkify is a dating company founded in 2012 by E. Jean Carroll and Kenneth Shaw. Based in the United States, the company is a personalized matchmaking service that utilizes human matchmakers and algorithms to help clients find their right match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tinder (app)</span> American online dating app

Tinder is an online dating and geosocial networking application launched in 2012. On Tinder, users "swipe right" to like or "swipe left" to dislike other users' profiles, which include their photos, a short bio, and some of their interests. Tinder uses a "double opt-in" system, also called "matching", where two users must like each other before they can exchange messages.

Grouper was an online, invite-only social club that uses data gathered from Facebook profiles to organize group outings. Matches for the outings were gathered and analyzed first by a computer and then by a human to ensure strong matches. The excursions were planned in venues throughout 25 cities for six people. Groupers consisted of two groups of three friends and can consist of three males and three females, six males, six females, or any other possible combination.

An online dating application, commonly known as a dating app, is an online dating service presented through a mobile phone application. These apps often take advantage of a smartphone's GPS location capabilities, always on-hand presence, and access to mobile wallets. These apps aim to speed up the online dating process of sifting through potential dating partners, chatting, flirting, and potentially meeting or becoming romantically involved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Readgeek</span> Online book recommendations engine and social cataloging service

Readgeek is an online book recommendations engine and social cataloging service launched in December 2010. The website allows users to search for books matching their individual taste making use of several algorithms. Taking ratings and metadata of prior read books into account, those algorithms help the site to learn about a users preferences. The service suggests books other users with similar tastes have enjoyed, rather than offering up books similar to the ones a user already ranked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinge (app)</span> American online dating app

Hinge is an online dating application. The app displays potential matches one at a time and allows the user to dismiss or attempt to match by responding to a specific piece of content on their profile. The service emphasizes uploading user-generated content in a variety of formats, such as photos, videos, voice recordings, and "prompts" as a way to express personality and appearance. The app is fully owned by Match Group as of February 2019.

References

  1. ↑ "eHarmony's new inclusive ads are enraging some on the right". NBC News. February 10, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Utermohlen, Karl (July 26, 2016). "eHarmony Founder Neil Clark Warren Steps Down as CEO". InvestorPlace. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  3. ↑ "TechEmpower". www.techempower.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "History of eHarmony". Online Dating Magazine. September 16, 2008.
  5. 1 2 Eli J. Finkel, Susan Sprecher (May 8, 2012). "The Scientific Flaws of Online Dating Sites". Scientific American. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  6. ↑ Vega, Tanzina (August 15, 2010). "Dating Site Marks 10 Years With Ad Campaign". The New York Times . Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ Kirkpatrick, David (September 14, 2007). "eHarmony does what tech ought to do". CNN. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  8. ↑ "eHarmony Celebrates 10 Years of Online Relationships | Fox Business Video". Video.foxbusiness.com. August 30, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Clark, Andrew (August 24, 2010). "Dating site eHarmony aims to dominate British market". The Guardian. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  10. ↑ Geron, Tomio (July 12, 2010). "The $100M Revenue Club: EHarmony Captures the Hearts of VCs". The Wall Street Journal's Venture Capital Dispatch.
  11. 1 2 "eHarmony founder breaks up with investors in company reboot". Delawareonline.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  12. ↑ "EHarmony founder has his heart set on reviving the dating site". Los Angeles Times . December 13, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  13. ↑ "EHarmony Launches Service Modeled After 'Walter Mitty' Plotline". The Hollywood Reporter. December 11, 2013. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  14. ↑ Weller, Chris (February 18, 2017). "eHarmony is gearing up for a battle to win back millennials from Tinder and Bumble". Business Insider. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  15. ↑ Crook, Jordan (December 15, 2016). "eHarmony makes its questionnaire optional to get hip with the times". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  16. ↑ Marinova, Polina (February 14, 2017). "How Dating Site eHarmony Uses Machine Learning to Help You Find Love" . Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Germany's ProSieben buys U.S. online dating site eharmony". Reuters Business News . October 29, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  18. ↑ Nicola, Stefan (March 5, 2020). "ProSieben to Buy Dating Firm Meet Group in Tough TV Market". Bloomberg News .
  19. ↑ "The Meet Group Announces Closing of Acquisition by eharmony Parent Company Parship Group" (Press release). Business Wire. September 4, 2020.
  20. ↑ Georgina Prodhan (October 7, 2008). "Brits value sex and in-laws, Web dating company finds". Reuters. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  21. ↑ Jessica Shambora (September 23, 2010). "eHarmony's algorithm of love". Fortune. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  22. ↑ Canning, Andrea (February 13, 2008). "A Look Inside the eHarmony Love Lab". ABC News. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  23. ↑ "eHarmony's New CEO Grant Langston Shares His New Vision". OnlinePersonalsWatch.com. December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  24. ↑ Miller, Lisa (April 26, 2008). "Belief Watch: eHarmony's Algorithm for Mr. Right". Newsweek. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  25. ↑ Farhi, Paul (May 13, 2007). "They Met Online, but Definitely Didn't Click". The Washington Post. pp. D01. Retrieved May 13, 2007.
  26. 1 2 3 Kornblum, Janet. "eHarmony: Heart and soul", USA Today , May 18, 2005
  27. ↑ "Interview with Neil Clark Warren". Focus on the Family. Archived from the original on February 25, 2004. Retrieved March 3, 2004.
  28. ↑ Egelko, Bob (June 1, 2007). "EHarmony sued for excluding same-sex matches". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  29. ↑ Miller, Joshua Rhett. "eHarmony to Provide Gay Dating Service after Lawsuit", Fox News, November 20, 2008
  30. ↑ "How to surf the Web for a mate: eHarmony founder". CNBC. May 9, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  31. ↑ "eHarmony agrees to provide same-sex matches". NBC News. November 20, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  32. ↑ Rachel Gordon (January 27, 2010). "EHarmony settles lawsuit over gay matchmaking". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  33. ↑ "eHarmony Settles Gay Discrimination Suit". CBS News. Associated Press. January 27, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  34. 1 2 Garcia, Michelle (March 31, 2010). "The Online Dating Game". Advocate.com. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  35. ↑ Avery, Dan (February 10, 2021). "eHarmony's new inclusive ads are enraging some on the right". NBC News. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  36. ↑ "eHarmony Receives Applause and Backlash for More Inclusive Ad Campaign - Dating Sites Reviews". www.datingsitesreviews.com. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  37. ↑ eHarmony? More like tone deaf 08.11.04 Joel Keller blacktable.com
  38. ↑ Halaburda, Hanna (October 15, 2010). "Fewer Customers, but the Right Ones". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  39. ↑ Gelles, Jeff (August 17, 2014). "Dating site dinged for exaggerating claims of success". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  40. ↑ Wakefield, Jane (January 3, 2018). "Dating website eHarmony's 'scientific' match ad banned". BBC News. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  41. ↑ Siddique, Haroon. (January 3, 2018). "Watchdog bans advert's claim eHarmony is 'scientifically proven'", The Guardian , Guardian Media Group, London, UK. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  42. ↑ "ACCC court action against eHarmony for alleged misleading online dating membership statements". Australian Competition & Consumer Commission . September 7, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  43. ↑ Dating site eHarmony sued over alleged subscription trap and other 'misleading' statements ABC News September 7, 2023
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.