Hopper, the travel application recognized for its AI-based predictions on flight and hotel pricing, has consented to a settlement amounting to $35 million following a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The lawsuit charged the company with misleading customers by incorporating hidden fees and inaccurately representing the overall costs associated with Hopper’s services. 

This case exemplifies regulators’ focus on “dark patterns,” which refer to interface designs that manipulate users into making decisions they might not have made otherwise, including hiding costs, pre-selecting optional add-ons, or complicating the understanding of the actual service price. It follows other similar settlements by the FTC with companies such as Match, StubHub, neobank Dave, Fortnite, and more.

The FTC claimed that Hopper misled customers regarding the advantages of its “VIP Support” and “Price Freeze” offerings. Many users were misinformed into thinking these features would enhance their booking experience, only to encounter extra fees and limited customer support availability. 

The FTC further discovered that users were charged for “Tip” and VIP Support fees that were labeled as optional, yet were frequently pre-selected and obscured within the app’s design. Consequently, users faced charges they believed they had not agreed to, since these fees were usually only visible when users scrolled down the app interface.

The accusations also relate to the “Price Freeze” or “Hold the Room” option, which Hopper claimed would allow users to lock in their travel booking price for a specified duration. However, the FTC highlighted that the app did not adequately communicate the limitations related to this service. For example, the Price Freeze secures the rate only to a certain limit and only if the booking is still available. 

The settlement funds are designated for “consumer redress,” with Hopper now barred from misrepresenting any pricing frameworks, as per today’s announcement. Hopper must disclose all fees transparently, ensuring users are completely informed of the total amounts involved in any transactions prior to finalizing their bookings.

“We chose to settle because the claims in question are outdated and do not impact our business,” a spokesperson for the company stated in a release to TechCrunch. “Engaging in prolonged litigation over outdated, trivial matters would divert our focus from our existing customers and partners… The settlement figure does not indicate the validity of the claims. It represents our choice to move ahead.”

The spokesperson further mentioned that, following a review of millions of company records dating back to 2021, the FTC’s claims centered on “mainly outdated display practices implemented during the pandemic, confined to the Hopper app, and eliminated by Hopper in mid-2023, before the FTC began its investigation.”

Prior to Hopper, the FTC’s latest effort against “junk fees” involved StubHub, which agreed to reimburse $10 million to customers and amend its ticket pricing displays. Booking Holdings reached a settlement of $9.5 million after a lawsuit initiated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which accused it of misleading customers by advertising low room rates while concealing significant fees until the checkout.

Hopper debuted its travel app in 2014, surpassing 120 million total downloads globally by 2024.

This article was amended to include a statement from Hopper.