BBC – Grindr has agreed to pay £26M to settle a lawsuit alleging it shared users’ sensitive data, including HIV status, sexual orientation and ethnicity, with third parties. The case has more than 11,000 claimants and relates to data practices before 2020, when Grindr was owned by Chinese company Kunlun. Grindr will pay £13M by the end of 2026 and another £13M by March 2027. Grindr says it stopped sharing HIV data with those companies and has overhauled its privacy practices since 2020.
OUT.COM – A new group of gay dating and hookup apps is putting privacy and community control at the center of their products. Meetmarket, founded by Calum Bowden, raised €161,456 through crowdfunding and is developing an ad-free app with end-to-end encrypted messaging and a decentralized identity system. Other newcomers include Goose, an “anti-algorithm” dating and sex app with human-screened applicants, and Hank Social, which is aimed at the kink and fetish community and emphasizes discretion and human moderation. The growth of these platforms comes amid wider concerns about how dating apps collect and manage sensitive user data.
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PRNEWSWIRE – EliteSingles has launched Elite Select, a one-month membership costing $499. It includes priority access, increased profile visibility and support from a human concierge. Members also receive a visible badge and a membership card that can be shared on social media. All profiles on EliteSingles are verified by video selfie.
SIMPLY WALL ST – Match Group is rolling out new AI-powered matchmaking tools tailored to Europe’s online dating market, along with features focused on safer user experiences. The company is adapting its AI systems and subscription to align with GDPR and growing privacy expectations.
THE NATIONAL LAW REVIEW – PositiveSingles held its first Atlanta meetup on Aug 29 as part of a trial of offline events. The company plans to use attendee feedback before considering meetups in other US cities.
TRADINGVIEW – Tinder says its engineering team is releasing products twice as fast as it was a year ago. More than 90% of new code is AI-generated, with every submission reviewed by two engineers. The company has also reduced bots and bad actors by more than 60%. Tinder is updating its recommendation system to respond to changes in user behaviour within seconds, instead of taking up to four hours.
GLOBE NEWSWIRE – According to a report from Research and Markets, Europe’s online dating market is expected to grow from $1.22 billion in 2026 to $1.63 billion by 2031, an annual growth rate of 5.99%. In 2025, subscriptions and other paid services generated 60.72% of total market revenue. Mobile apps generated 71.15% of revenue, compared with 28.85% from desktop and web platforms. Ofcom found that 18% of UK adults aged 18–24 and 17% of those aged 25–34 used dating services in May 2024. The report estimates that only 3% to 5% of free users become paying customers, although subscribers can generate up to 90% of a platform’s revenue.
HELLO GROUP – Hello Group reported Q2 revenue of $366M, down 5.1% YOY. Net profit was $35M, a 269% improvement. Momo had 3.9M paying users, up 11.4%, while Tantan had 500K paying users, down 28.6%.
GDI – Mark Brooks spoke with Christopher Alesich, founder and CEO of Sister Wives and Matchmakers. Sister Wives is a dating site for people looking for polyamorous or polygamous relationships. Christopher Alesich discussed why mainstream dating apps do not work well for this market. He talked about changes to the Sister Wives matching system and Matchmakers’ 200-question matchmaking process. He also plans to launch more dating brands.