Google removed the Iranian matchmaking app Adam and Eve from its Google Play store on 9 October, after a rights group raised concerns about child marriage.
Google told HRANA, the news agency of the group Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), that the app "was removed from Google Play on October 9 for violating our policies". The company did not give further detail on its reasons.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Threads, said it investigated information provided by HRANA and found external links to underage marriage services. It said it had removed "these entities" from its platforms. Meta did not name the accounts concerned.
HRA said the removals followed its report and a joint letter. On 8 October, it and 23 other organisations, 24 signatories in total, sent the letter to Google and Meta. It was timed before the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October.
The letter asked for the app and its Instagram and Threads promotional accounts to be removed. Google's stated reason for the removal was only that the app had violated its policies, so the link to the campaign is HRA's account.
According to an HRA investigation published by HRANA, the app's terms say female users must be over 15 and male users over 18. HRA said the system accepted a birth year corresponding to an age as low as 12, with no age-specific warning.
HRANA reported that parents can create profiles for their children. HRA's letter said users can also create profiles for first-degree relatives.
HRA's report said the app had more than 100,000 downloads on Google Play. HRANA reported that it was rated "Everyone", or PEGI 3, on the store.
The Jerusalem Post said it carried out its own checks of the app's website and profiles. It said it found profiles of girls aged 13 advertised for marriage, with a green notice showing parental approval.
On the website, the newspaper said, it found profiles listing girls as young as 15. One appeared to belong to an eighth-grader, which suggests an age of 13 or 14.
There is a difference in the youngest age reported. HRANA's report gave 12, while HRA's letter and summary gave 13. The Jerusalem Post attributed the age-12 finding to the organisation's announcements.
HRA also said that in September the platform promoted the marriage of a 16-year-old girl to a 23-year-old man as a success story. This was set out in the group's letter.
No response from the app's operators or from Iranian authorities had been reported. HRANA is a US-based advocacy outlet, and the findings it reported come from its parent organisation, HRA.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Iranian digital rights group Filterbaan warned in July of the previous year that the app and several Telegram channels facilitated child marriage. Filterbaan found nearly 17% of profiles posted in the preceding six months belonged to people under 18.
HRA calls on Iran to set 18 as the absolute minimum age of marriage, with no exceptions, according to HRANA.
The letter to the companies said Google Play requires apps whose core function is matchmaking to block minors. It added that Google also bans content that facilitates child exploitation or abuse.
The letter also pointed to a Meta precedent. In 2024, it said, Meta's Oversight Board upheld the removal of a video advertising beauty services for a 14-year-old bride.
The letter asked both companies to take measures to stop the app returning under other accounts and to protect children's data. No next steps had been reported. It was not confirmed whether the app would return to the store, and the Jerusalem Post said its website was still accessible.
Photo: Stanley Scott Collection / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
