College Student Sues Dating App Meete for Allegedly Using Her TikTok Video in Ads Targeted to Dorm Residents

A 19-year-old college student is suing the creators of the dating app Meete, alleging they took a video she posted on TikTok, repurposed it without her consent into an advertisement for the app, and then used geofencing to target that ad to people in her area—including men in her own dormitory.

The lawsuit, filed on April 28 in Tennessee, claims Meete used geotargeting to serve the ads on platforms like Snapchat to users near her. If proven, the allegations highlight how modern technology can enable bad actors to imitate, objectify, profit from, and harass individuals—often women. Recent laws such as the Take It Down Act have focused on AI-generated sexualized imagery, but this case involves simple video editing, a voiceover, and geofencing to achieve a similar deception.

How the Alleged Misuse of Kaelyn Lunglhofer’s Video Unfolded

On the day of her high school graduation, Kaelyn Lunglhofer posted a brief video to TikTok wearing an orange outfit and speaking to her followers over background music. By the fall, she had enrolled at the University of Tennessee and was building a following as a TikTok influencer.

The complaint alleges that Meete took Lunglhofer’s video without her consent, overlaid it with graphics advertising the app, and added a voiceover to make it appear she was saying:

“Are you looking for a friend with benefits? This app shows you women around you who are looking for some fun. You can video chat with them.”

Evidence Points to Targeted Advertising in Her Dormitory

Abe Pafford, Lunglhofer’s attorney, told CyberScoop that his client had no idea Meete was using her likeness until a male student in her dormitory told her he had repeatedly seen her in ads for the app on his Snapchat shortly after the two had met. Pafford called it “implausible” that this was a coincidence, citing Meete’s premise of connecting users with nearby women and the precision of geofencing technology.

Before filing the lawsuit, Pafford’s law firm hired an investigative firm to gather additional evidence. “I think the idea is they want[ed] viewers of these advertisements—and candidly, this is pretty clearly targeted at male viewers—to have their eye caught by someone they may know or recognize or think they may have seen around, and that’s part of what makes it so disturbing,” he said.

Potential for Widespread Misuse and Difficulty in Identifying Victims

Pafford believes Lunglhofer is far from the only person whose image Meete has misappropriated, and that most victims likely have no idea it’s happening. Lunglhofer herself only discovered the misuse because the student who told her had saved recordings and screenshots of the ads featuring her video.

“The bottom line is we think there are likely others that have been victimized in a similar way, but finding out who they are and landing on tangible proof of that can be challenging,” he said.