Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

TikTok's New Developer Tools Allow Apps Logins With TikTok, Sound Sharing, and More

TECH CRUNCH - May 8 - TikTok is expanding its integrations with third-party apps. The company introduced TikTok Login Kit and Sound Kit, that will allow apps on mobile, web and consoles to authenticate users via their TikTok credentials, build experiences that leverage users' TikTok videos and share music and sounds back to TikTok from their own apps. Once signed in, users can access their TikTok videos in the third-party app, potentially fueling entire new app ecosystems with TikTok content. Early adopters of the Login Kit include gaming clips app Allstar, anti-anxiety app Breathwrk, social app IRL, as well as dating and friend-making apps Snack, Lolly, MeetMe, Monet, Swipehouse and EME Hive.

by Sarah Perez
See full article at Tech Crunch

This post also appears on VerySocialNetwork

BLK Celebrates Black Single Mothers for Mothers' Day With Digital Cards Series

STUPIDDOPE - May 8 - BLK, the dating app for Black singles with ~5M downloads to-date, is partnering with outstanding up-and-coming Black artists to celebrate Black single mothers with a series of digital cards. The cards are available now through Mother's Day (May 9, 2021), and everyone can share the cards via text message, email, or across Facebook and Instagram. Additionally, BLK is featuring single moms who use the app on the brand's Instagram throughout the month of May.

See full article at StupidDope

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ParshipMeet Group Partners With TikTok

BUSINESSWIRE - May 6 - ParshipMeet Group, a leading provider of interactive dating solutions, has partnered with TikTok. Using TikTok's new Login Kit, members of ParshipMeet Group's MeetMe app will be able to add their most recent TikTok videos to their profiles in a new TikTok Carousel, showcasing their personalities in a richer way than a profile picture. ParshipMeet Group expects to add additional integrations with TikTok in the future.

See full article at Businesswire

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This post also appears on VerySocialNetwork

Tinder Launches Season Two of Branded Content Series "Love Songs"

B&T MAGAZINE - May 6 - Tinder is looking to give Australia's Gen Z community some inspiration and motivation to get out there and date again with Love Songs Season Two, a popular Australian narrative series produced for TikTok across 20 episodes. Produced by creator economy agency Amplify, the series gives up a glimpse into what Tinder's version of Future of Dating looks like and how it's being redefined. Dropping on Monday, 10th of May on TikTok, the second season will follow 19 year-old Mia's journey as she discovers the new world of dating through Tinder. The first season saw huge success with 550K likes on TikTok within the first 48 hours, 2.5M likes and 12.9M views in total.

See full article at B&T Magazine

See the top news on Tinder

Police Say Gay Men Targeted for Robbery Using Grindr

OUT - May 6 - Police in Atlanta issued a warning about one and possibly up to three men using Grindr to lure gay men to a remote location where they are robbed. In the last four months at least eight gay men have been robbed, sometimes violently, after the conclusion of a first date with a man they met on Grindr.

by Donald Padgett
See full article at Out

See the top news on Grindr

Comedy Duo 'Jake and Amir' Started a New Dating App

FORBES - May 6 - Created in collaboration with programmer Jeff Carbine (web designer for Headgum's Not Another D&D Podcast) and designers Craig Silva and Don Naylor of 16thirty Design, Orion has been in the works for the last 5-6 years. What sets the app apart from Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, etc. is a "personality-forward" interface. Users build their profiles, not just with personal photos, but also with general images that give a better snapshot of who they are. Each photo is preceded by a specific prompt, which encourages the individual to put more thought and meaning into their collage. Once two people match, the app helps facilitate a more natural conversation with different prompts. The app launched in early April and quickly attracted 3K users (many of them established Jake and Amir fans).

by Josh Weiss
See full article at Forbes

Many Influencers in India Shy Away From Associating With a Brand Focusing on LGBTQ

BUZZ IN CONTENT - May 7 - BuzzInContent caught with Sanyam Sharma, Marketing Director, Blued India, the world's largest gay dating social media app, to discuss how content is helping the brand break stereotypes and normalise conversations around the LGBTQ community in India. Launched in 2012, Blued, the world's largest gay dating social media app. Sharma said it becomes quite challenging to associate with key opinion leaders and influencers for various campaigns as they shy away collaborating with brands that primarily focus on the LGBTQ space. The app believes radio has a huge potential to reach out to deeper pockets in India. Marketing budget is no bar for the brand. "If it is reaching out to a newer audience, creating more brand awareness and generating goodwill, we at Blued are always happy to spend more," concluded Sharma.

by Akansha Srivastava
See full article Buzz In Content

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Match Group Q1 Results - Revenue up 23%

MATCH GROUP - May 4 - Total revenue grew 23% YOY to $668M. Operating income was $189M, up 38% YOY. Adjusted EBITDA was $230M, an increase of 32% YOY. Average Subscribers increased 12% to 11.1M, up from 9.9M in the Q1 202. Tinder Direct Revenue grew 18% YOY, driven by 15% Average Subscriber growth, and ARPU growth of 4%. Non-Tinder brands collectively grew Direct Revenue 30% YOY, driven by ARPU growth of 18%. For Q2, the group expects total revenue of $680 - $690M, representing 22%-24% YOY growth.

See full article at Match Group website

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Tinder Launches Vibes, A Compatibility Check Feature

MASHABLE - May 5 - Vibes is a new way to test compatibility. Tinder users will be informed when Vibes has kicked off in their area via push notification or when they open the app. They'll be asked to answer a series of questions on any number of topics like pop culture, personality traits to see whether they'll vibe with a possible match. Vibes will be rolling out globally in late May.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

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Dating Apps Revolutionize Romance in India

NIKKEI ASIA - May 5 - Dozens of apps -- other big names include Woo, TrulyMadly, OkCupid, Happn, Hinge, Tantan, QuackQuack and HiHi -- are helping singles to pair up with partners of their choice. According to Statista.com, the online dating segment's turnover in India is expected to reach $783M by 2024 from $454M in 2021, making the country the second-largest national revenue generator for dating apps after the U.S. Currently, dating apps reach 2.2% of India's total population, with projections of 3.6% by 2024, according to industry surveys. Aisle achieved 3M downloads worldwide last year despite competition from Tinder and Bumble. QuackQuack, an Indian dating app launched in 2010, boasts 12M. TrulyMadly, another Indian app, claims 5M users. "Indian society is in a churn," says Delhi-based sociologist Bhavna Kapoor. "Rising education and financial independence among the youth, especially women, are making online dating more popular.

by Neeta Lal
See full article at Nikkei Asia

See the top news on Aisle                  See the top news on Tinder 
See the top news on Bumble              See the top news on QuackQuack
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OkCupid Launches "Love, Your Way" Campaign in Singapore

MARKETING INTERACTIVE - May 5 - OkCupid, has launched "Love, Your Way" campaign to help Singaporean Millennials forge meaningful connections. According to OkCupid, the campaign was inspired by evolving user behaviour and dating patterns on the app where people are looking for quality matches over quantity, and are matching based on what truly matters to them.

by Darshan Shadrach
See full article at Marketing Interactive

See the top news on OkCupid

Match Group Rises 6% With Double-digit Growth in Revenues, Income, Subscribers

SEEKING ALPHA - May 4 - Match Group is up 5.6% after hours following its first-quarter earnings report, where it fairly easily beat expectations and logged double-digit subscriber gains. Revenues jumped 22.6% to $667.6M, operating income rose 38% to $189M, adjusted EBITDA gained 32% to $230M. "Exiting the first quarter, we are seeing improving trends across the portfolio," CEO Shar Dubey says, adding that the company will spend ~$100M on product, technology and moderation efforts related to trust and safety this year.

by Jason Aycock
See full article at Seeking Alpha

See the top news on Match Group

New Dating Site for Christians Slams Feminists

NY POST - May 5 - As the brand suggests, Dominion Dating caters to religious singles who seek to fulfill marriage traditions as defined by the Old Testament. Part of the membership agreement entails a pledge to commit to "male headship" of the family, church and government, "believing that God has endowed men with real, limited authority to govern well for the good of mankind," its website reads, as well as a vow for women to assume their "dominion in the home as homemaker and helpmate, in glad submission to a husband." Currently, the site is urging visitors to "back this project" with donations of $15 to $500, offering various membership packages.

by Hannah Sparks
See full article at NY Post

Podcast With Jessica Alderson, co-Founder of So Syncd

POD.CO - May 5 - In this episode, Jessica Alderson, co-founders of personality based dating app So Syncd, talks about her app. So Syncd is a dating app that connects compatible personality types.

Listen to the podcast at Pod.co

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Q.Digital Relaunches LGBTQ+ Into

DIGIDAY - May 4 - Q.Digital, publisher of digital media brands like Queerty and Gay Cities, has relaunched Into, the publication launched by Grindr which shuttered it in January 2019. The new owner says Into will fill a gap in the LGBTQ+ media market by speaking to both the Gen Z and BIPOC community. Q.Digital acquired Into in December 2020 for an undisclosed amount. Grindr had previously shut down Into after a 17-month run, following controversial comments made by Grindr president Scott Chen about same-sex marriage, which led to a few employees stepping down in protest.

by Sara Guaglione
See full article at Digiday

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