BharatMatrimony founder and CEO Murugavel Janakiraman has responded after a married woman discovered her image on the matrimony platform without her permission. In a statement to NDTV, Mr Janakiraman clarified that the profile in question was mistakenly thought to be created on EliteMatrimony, BharatMatrimony’s exclusive matchmaking service, when in fact, it originated on a different online platform within the BharatMatrimony network. 

Mr Janakiraman explained that BharatMatrimony allows third-party account creations, such as parents or family members creating profiles on behalf of their loved ones, a common practice that constitutes about 25% of their user base. Unfortunately, this practice can lead to occasional misuse of public images in fake profiles-a challenge the entire matchmaking industry faces. “This is an industry-wide issue, as there isn’t a foolproof way to completely prevent it,” he noted.

Reassuring users, Mr Janakiraman emphasized BharatMatrimony’s commitment to safety, highlighting their robust verification processes amidst the six million new registrations they receive annually. He affirmed that only a minimal fraction of these accounts are found to be fraudulent. 

“Millions have found their life partners through us and consider our service a boon. We have always been a pioneer in the matchmaking industry, with immense trust and credibility, and we continue to evolve and make our platform more safe and secure,” Mr Janakiraman said. 

The video of the incident was posted on Instagram by Swati Mukund who called the platform a “BharatMatrimony Scam” and warned others to be cautious while using it. In the clip, she clarified that she had never used any matrimonial app to meet her husband, featuring him in her video to dissuade any claims that BharatMatrimony facilitated their match. “More acrimony than matrimony, I guess!” she added, highlighting her frustration.

The viral video begins Ms Mukund addressing the issue, saying, “So, this is a post on India’s number 1 and supposedly most trusted matrimonial app, BharatMatrimony.” A screenshot from the app appears in the video, showing her photo along with the overlay words “BharatMatrimony Scam.”

“As you can see, the picture used is of mine and for the record, this is my husband. No, I didn’t find him on any of these apps,” she clarified.

She was shocked after finding her picture was used in the app’s elite subscription service, a feature that promises to carefully curate profiles for users paying a premium for the service.

“What really appalled me is the fact that this is BharatMatrimony’s elite subscription service, where they are actually charging people pots of money and claim that they are screening and carefully curating profiles to make sure their users find the right life partner,” Ms Mukund said.

BharatMatrimony, one of India’s leading matrimonial platforms, has landed in a huge controversy after a married woman’s photo appeared on its elite subscription service under a fake profile. The woman, Swati Mukund, called out the platform on Instagram, labelling it “BharatMatrimony Scam.”

In a now-viral video shared on Instagram, Ms Mukund clarified she did not meet her husband through any matrimonial app and strongly warned others to be careful while using the platform. 

“More acrimony than matrimony, I guess!” she wrote alongside the video.

Ms Mukund, who has more than two lakh followers, pointed out that her husband was in the first part of the video to prevent the app from using their photo to falsely claim that they had met on BharatMatrimony.

The video begins with Ms Mukund addressing the issue, saying, “So, this is a post on India’s number 1 and supposedly most trusted matrimonial app, BharatMatrimony.” A screenshot from the app appears in the video, showing her photo along with the overlay words “BharatMatrimony Scam.”

“As you can see, the picture used is of mine and for the record, this is my husband. No, I didn’t find him on any of these apps,” she clarified.

She was shocked after finding her picture was used in the app’s elite subscription service, a feature that promises to carefully curate profiles for users paying a premium for the service.

“What really appalled me is the fact that this is BharatMatrimony’s elite subscription service, where they are actually charging people pots of money and claim that they are screening and carefully curating profiles to make sure their users find the right life partner,” Ms Mukund said.

Others have shared their own experiences with the matrimonial website.

A user commented, “I have used their elite matrimony paying 1.5 lakhs…it’s the biggest scam. They give you the same few options over and over for one year.”

Another asked to “Sue them big time.”

Someone claimed, “Most of the matrimonial sites use profiles of married people. Even i have reported many.”

“Thanks for raising awareness about this issue which is common across dating & matrimony apps,” a comment read.

Ms Mukund urged users of the platform to be wary of the profiles they find there. “This is an urge to all the users of this platform to make sure that you are exercising discretion before using any of these apps because obviously, what you see is not always what you get,” she warned.