Tinder is threatening Apple's revenue with the lawsuit it filed.

New Delhi – Match Group, the owner of the dating app Tinder, reported that Apple's in-app fees, which can go up to 30%, will threaten its revenues over time. This statement was made in response to a submission to the competition authority in India, emphasizing that heavy penalties are necessary to protect its business model.

Tinder is one of the largest players in the Indian dating app market. According to the related consulting firm MarketNtel, this market is expected to reach a value of 1.42 billion dollars by 2030.

Since 2022, Match Group has been engaged in an antitrust battle with Apple in the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Last year, the CCI's investigation team published a report stating that Apple exhibited "exploitative behaviors" in the app market on its iPhone operating system.

Apple denied the legal issues, stating that it is a small player in India and that most phones use Google's Android operating system. It did not respond to a comment request received on Friday.

Match and CCI did not respond to Reuters' unusual requests.

In response to the CCI's findings on October 13, Match requested the regulator to issue final orders for Apple to cease its anti-competitive practices. Match stated in its submission that Apple's policies negatively impacted the capital yields and revenue streams of its brand portfolio.

Match emphasized that the restrictions and excessive fees imposed by Apple hinder the growth and scaling of its brand portfolio, but did not measure the impact.

Facing antitrust scrutiny globally, Apple was ruled by a court in London on Thursday to have abused its dominant position by demanding unfair commissions from app developers.

Apple's smartphone base has quadrupled in India over the past five years. According to Counterpoint Research, iOS powers only 4.5% of the 735 million smartphones in India by mid-2025.

CCI has the authority to impose a penalty of up to 10% of Apple's global average revenue for the last three fiscal years. Match noted that such a penalty applied to global revenue could serve as "a significant deterrent to avoid recurrence."

The CCI investigation team found last year that Apple did not allow third-party payment processors for in-app purchase services, leading to fees of up to 30%. In its latest submission, Match expressed concern about discriminatory treatment, stating that Uber's ride-hailing app is classified by Apple as providing physical goods and is charged a lower commission than Tinder.

Match said, "Tinder and Uber essentially offer matching services." In April, the European Union regulator stated that Apple must lift restrictions preventing app developers from directing users to lower prices outside the App Store and fined the company 500 million euros (583 million dollars). Apple changed its app rules in June to comply with the EU directive.