Shocked Tennessee woman sees herself in new hookup app ad, and sues the app maker: ‘It was horrible’

A University of Tennessee student is suing a foreign app maker that she alleges stole a TikTok from her high school graduation party to promote its hookup dating app, Meete.

According to the plaintiff in the case, Kaelyn Lunglhofer, a boy in her dorm Snapchatted the ad to her. He then inquired if it was Lunglhofer in the video. Lunglehofer, 19, a Tennessee nursing student, had a sizable following and some TikTok brand deals in high school. She never pursued an influencer career.

Lunglhofer told Knoxville news outlet WATE she opened the video and saw a “nasty” hookup app advertisement using video footage from her graduation party post.

According to court documents, the ad’s female voiceover said,

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.”

via WATE

What is Meete?

Meete is marketed as a platform for chatting and meeting new people, offering features like messaging and profile matching. With an estimated 17 million users worldwide, Quantum Communications Development Limited, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, is listed as its developer. Reports note a complex ownership structure involving multiple firms.

Meete fits a broader category of monetized chat apps, often linked to developer networks with ties to China. Users may pay to message others, raising questions about transparency, safety, and authenticity.

Meete reportedly uses geo-located ads to target men in certain areas, including male students in Lunglhofer’s dorm. This suggests a deliberate attempt to make the “hookup” offer feel local and authentic to men in her immediate vicinity.

Lunglhofer’s lawyer told WATE,

For what this app is selling to sort of enlist a teenager as an involuntary spokesperson for their product without consent, without permission, and then to target people around her with that ad to try to deceive them is about as bad as it gets in terms of this type of conduct.”

Lunglhofer is asking for $750,000 in damages

Lunglhofer’s suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, seeks at least $750,000 in damages and names developer Quantum Communications Development Limited and affiliated companies, Starpool Technology Limited, and Guangzhou Yuedong Interconnection Technology Co., Ltd. Chinese entities involved in the app’s operation, accusing them of violating publicity, trademark, and defamation laws.

Lunglhofer’s lawsuit breaks new legal ground by citing the Lanham Act, the federal statute governing trademark and false advertising.

The filing also leverages Tennessee’s recently enacted ELVIS Act (Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act), a landmark law designed to combat the unauthorized digital misappropriation of an individual’s likeness and voice. As one of the first statutes of its kind, the act serves as a vital shield against predatory digital marketing and AI-driven exploitation.

Referring to the experience, Lunglhofer said, “I get sent a video where they’re making me look like a prostitute, and that was horrible. I felt so embarrassed and mortified.” Reports say Quantum Communications has not yet commented on the case.