Hopper

Is Hopper safe to book with?

The bookings are real and the app is fairly light on tracking. The catch was the checkout. In July 2026 the US Federal Trade Commission charged Hopper with adding a preselected tip and a VIP Support fee that many people never noticed, and Hopper agreed to pay $35 million in refunds. A federal court in Massachusetts entered the order on 20 August 2026. We score Hopper 53/100.

What the FTC found at checkout

Hopper started in 2015 as a flight price predictor and now sells hotels, cars and vacation homes, plus products of its own: Price Freeze, which holds a fare for a fee, and VIP Support, sold since 2020 as a faster line to customer service.

According to the FTC's complaint, from 2020 to late 2023 a flight booking showed a "Total" and a "Swipe to Book" button, while a tip and a VIP Support fee, both already switched on, sat further down the screen. In one example the agency reproduced, the visible total was $997.85, and the consumer was also paying a $3.00 "optional" tip and $25.00 for VIP Support. VIP Support cost $10 to $42 on flights and $9 to $25 on hotels.

The complaint quotes Hopper's own tests. In a 2018 experiment, 75% of users paid a hidden, preselected tip, but only 15% chose to pay one that was shown and left unticked. It also cites employees who worried internally that the company was "tricking users", and puts the money involved at about $85.6 million in tip and VIP Support fees across 2021 to 2023. The FTC also said Price Freeze limits were not clearly explained, and that many VIP Support buyers could not reach an agent quickly.

These are the FTC's allegations, which Hopper settled rather than fought in court. The order bars Hopper from misrepresenting fees and requires it to show the total price and the final amount you will pay clearly before purchase.

What the app collects

Hopper's privacy label is one of the shorter ones in travel. Apple's listing names only the device ID as data used to track you across other companies' apps and websites. Linked to your identity for Hopper's own marketing, analytics and personalisation are purchase history, search history, your user ID and how you use the app. Payment details, name, email and phone are listed for app functions.

That is far less than Expedia, whose label lists contact, payment and location data for tracking. The privacy policy, in force since 13 July 2026, says Hopper does not sell personal data. It does share your advertising ID and actions in the app with third parties to measure marketing, if your phone allows it, and those partners may combine it with other data about you. Hopper says it treats a disabled ad ID as your opt-out and does not keep your location after filling in a search. It also uses outside device-fingerprinting services to catch fraud.

Security and support

We found no reported breach of Hopper accounts. Beyond that, there is little to judge. Google Play says data is encrypted in transit, but we found no bug bounty and no published way for researchers to report flaws, and the policy describes its protection only as "industry standard procedures". That puts Hopper behind KAYAK, which pays researchers and describes its encryption and testing.

Hopper sells other companies' flights, rooms and cars, so their rules decide refunds and changes. Its terms also allow combining one-way tickets on different airlines into one trip, which means separate contracts if one flight changes.

How to book on Hopper more safely

1. On the final screen, look for any tip, VIP Support or protection add-on and switch off what you did not choose.
2. Compare the amount on the payment screen with the price you saw in search before you swipe.
3. Read the limits of Price Freeze before paying for it: it covers a price rise only up to a set amount.
4. Turn off "Allow Apps to Request to Track" on an iPhone, or delete the ad ID on Android, to stop marketing sharing.
5. Check your card statement after booking, and dispute any add-on you did not agree to.

How we scored it

Regulatory record (46) is the weakest factor, because a $35 million FTC order over fees is a large consumer penalty. Transparency and control (48) carries the same finding, since preselected add-ons are a default that worked against users. Privacy (52) is better than most travel apps thanks to a short tracking list, and security (56) reflects a clean record but no bug bounty. Expedia scores 54 and KAYAK 60.