A travel app that raised hundreds of millions promising smarter, cheaper flights put an $85.6 million pre-selected toggle on its checkout screen, and the design choice that federal regulators finally named in court had been confirmed by the company’s own internal tests

The app millions of travelers downloaded to outsmart airline pricingHopper is the travel app known for its AI-driven flight and hotel price predictions. The app said right there: no hidden fees. A total price appeared. A $35 million federal settlement and the total that regulators added upOn July 2, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced a $35 million settlement with travel booking app Hopper Inc. over allegedly deceptive hidden fees. Although Hopper billed itself as “the travel app with no hidden fees,” the FTC alleged that the popular travel booking app unlawfully charged consumers tens of millions of dollars in hidden, frequently preselected fees.