The popular dating app Tinder will leave Russia on June 30, more than a year into a mass foreign business exodus set off by the invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Explaining the decision in an annual impact report published Monday, Tinder’s owner Match Group said it was “committed to protecting human rights.”
Tinder and other Match Group brands “will complete their withdrawal from the Russian market by June 30, 2023,” the impact report said, according to Reuters.
By tying its Russia exit to the human rights violations faced by the Ukrainian people, Tinder aims to set an example for others, Match shareholder Friends Fiduciary Corp was cited as saying.
Additionally, “it’s not a good look for a trusted brand to be continuing operations in a nation where the head of state has been indicted by the International Criminal Court,” said Friends Fiduciary executive director Jeff Perkins.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner in March on accusations of war crimes involving the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Russia, which is not a signatory to the ICC’s statute, rejects the allegations.
Many other Western apps and digital services, including music and video streaming giants Spotify and Netflix, pulled out of Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Match, which also owns dating platforms Hinge and PlentyOfFish, had in March 2022 flagged negative impacts on its European business from continuing to operate in Russia.
Europe’s police body Europol said last fall that human traffickers have “hijacked” dating apps like Tinder during refugee crises such as the war in Ukraine.
Hundreds of mostly Western companies have either fully exited or scaled back operations in Russia following the launch of Russia’s full-scale offensive on Ukraine 14 months ago.
