Matrimonial websites or marriage websites or matrimonial apps or marriage apps are websites that allow users to meet individuals to establish a relationship that leads to marriage. [1] [2] Matrimonial websites contrast with dating websites in that matrimonial websites have marriage as the goal of the meeting of two persons, rather than short-term or casual relationships. [3]
Matrimonial sites register users, after which they are able to upload their profiles onto a searchable database maintained by the website. Those users looking to find suitors search the database with customized searches that typically include nationality, age, gender, religion, and geographic location, as well as the availability of photographs. [4]
In addition to being popular in Eastern Europe (particularly Russia and Ukraine), matrimonial sites are popular in South Asia (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and among South Asians settled overseas. [5] [6] [7] According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India, the online matrimony business is expected to be a $250 Million business by 2017. [8] According to The New York Times , there are over 1500 matrimonial websites in India. [9] Matrimonial websites have been used often by men in the West for the purposes of marriage tourism, and by people in Eastern Europe and South Asia for the purpose of finding a spouse overseas. [7]
There have been reports of abuse of information obtained from matrimonial websites. [10] [11] [12] Indian matrimonial websites have been plagued by fraudulent activities, with several high-profile cases highlighting the risks involved. In Mumbai, a 31-year-old woman was defrauded of ₹4.24 lakh by a man she met on a matrimonial site, who fabricated stories to extract money over time. In Pune, a 45-year-old manager lost ₹3.16 crore to a scammer posing as a U.S.-based NRI, making multiple transactions before realizing the deceit. A controversy arose when a married woman discovered that her photograph was used without permission in a fake profile on BharatMatrimony's elite subscription service, raising concerns about the platform's verification processes. In Chhattisgarh, a man was arrested for operating six fake matrimonial websites, deceiving approximately 500 individuals by falsely promising marriage arrangements and extorting money. Another case in Pune involved a man from Jammu and Kashmir who was arrested for allegedly cheating a woman out of ₹45 lakh after connecting with her through a matrimonial site. These incidents underscore the prevalence of matrimonial fraud in India. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
All cover the basic fields such as age, religion, and area of residence.