New Gay Dating Apps Put Privacy and Community Control First

Posted on September 7, 2026
Hank Social

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.

See full article at Out.com

Get Online Personals Watch by Email

Posted on September 7, 2026
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OPW – We’re dedicated to providing you with quality daily executive summaries and intelligence. Subscribe here, and send to a friend. We find news and info that will help make you smarter and help you make better informed decisions. Online Personals Watch has been run by the Courtland Brooks team since 2004.

EliteSingles Launches $499 Monthly Membership

Posted on September 6, 2026
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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.

See full article at PRNewswire

Match Group Pushes AI Matchmaking Into Europe

Posted on September 6, 2026
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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.

See full article at Yahoo Finance

PositiveSingles Holds First In-Person Meetup in Atlanta

Posted on September 6, 2026
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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.

See full article at The National Law Review

Tinder Says AI Generates Over 90% of New Code

Posted on September 6, 2026
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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.

See full article at TradingView

European Online Dating Market to Reach $1.63B by 2031

Posted on September 6, 2026
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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.

See full article at Globe Newswire

Hello Group Revenue Falls 5.1% in Q2

Posted on September 4, 2026
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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%.

See full article at Hello Group website

GDI Podcast With Christopher Alesich, CEO of Sister Wives and Matchmakers

Posted on September 4, 2026

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.

Tinder Expands Face Checks to Existing Users

Posted on September 4, 2026
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WIRED – Tinder is rolling out Face Check to existing users in the US and UK after making it mandatory for new users in October 2025. The company said fake accounts, scams and spam made up 98% of its moderation actions last year. Tinder is also testing optional iris verification through World ID. Security experts say these checks still cannot confirm that someone is trustworthy.

See full article at Wired