There's an old adage about if you're not paying, you're the product, implying that anything that doesn't cost you money generates its money from your actions.

There's an old adage about if you're not paying, you're the product, implying that anything that doesn't cost you money generates its money from your actions. The idea was that if you use sites that you pay for, you will be the priority and your desires are more likely to be granted. Looks like dating websites took a look at that idea and said, "What if we made them pay to be the product?" and it worked. I bet they also sell your data to marketers and spammers. So you pay to participate, your presence increases the potential value of the site to other potential payees, and then the site gets money from selling your profiles, actions, location, and answers to any questions or quizzes to whomever will pay for it. I should have made a dating website.