AXIOS - June 22 - Match Group has issued a statement criticizing Apple's 30% take on App Store purchases. The move comes the same day that the European Union announced an antitrust investigation into Apple's practices. Match Group has been in touch with regulators about its concerns, a source told Axios.
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Match Group Criticizes Apple Over App Store
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Inside RealMe's New Service - IDEA Webinar Tomorrow - June 24th
OPW - June 23 - It's my pleasure to bring you an IDEA webinar with RealMe and Spectrum Labs to explain three use-cases for how their new combined service, CheckPlus, improves service.
PRESENTERS
~ Neil Davis, CBO, RealMe
~ Lee Davis, VP, Spectrum Labs
HOST
~ Mark Brooks, President IDEA.gp & CEO Courtland Brooks
30 mins presenting will be followed by 15 mins Q&A.
RealMe are a client of Courtland Brooks and kindly supports OPW and IDEA.
Register here for the June 24th webinar which will be at 1pm EST.
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The Way We Like to Do Things at OPW.news - All Credit to Journalists
OPW - June 22 - We believe it's not ok to re-write content from journalists. They deserve full credit. This is why we merely illuminate content, and do short culling executive summaries and then point you to their bio and content.
We link to the journalists profile, along with other articles on the company featured in the article, and we drive you, our executive readers, to the original article. It doesn't matter if you're finding the summary in your email, or social media, we're not trying to land you back at our website so you can view ads. We're sending you to the originating article so you can view their ads, or better, subscribe to their outlet.
We illuminate the top news. The news you can use to make smarter and more informed decisions...and we make sure we give full credit and recognition to the amazing journalists that work so hard (on ever-tighter deadlines and budgets) to research and write the news.
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Say Allo: Smart Dating App Powered by AI
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - June 22 - 'Coronavirus slowed down the physical aspects of meeting someone, and people have learned to talk again,' said Say Allo Founder and CEO Zackary Lewis. Say Allo is a smart dating app for more mature singles who are less interested in a casual relationship and more interested in long term compatibility. The app is powered by AI and a compatibility index co-developed by an original developer of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dr. Brian Shaw, PhD. When signing onto the app, new users answer 10 questions about themselves. Like competing apps, users swipe left or right, but Say Allo's algorithm and compatibility index only provide them with compatible matches, so they don't waste time looking at people they are not compatible with. Once a match has been made, a video call is offered to both parties. Say Allo is free to swipe, match and message. Premium features are available that range from $1.99 to $19.99 per month that include detailed compatibility reports, video chat, icebreakers and more.
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Courtland Brooks CCPA Review
OPW - June 22 - We took a look over where CCPA stands. Here's our review, along with a handy PDF overview, as at June-July 2020.
What's the status of CCPA?
On June 1, 2020, the California Attorney General submitted the final regulation package for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). CCPA, which went into effect on January 1, 2020, will become fully enforceable once the OAL approves the package.
What is it?
CCPA was designed to protect the privacy of California consumers and provide greater control over the use of personal data. The law mandates several rights, including the right to know, the right to delete, and the right to opt-out of the sale of personal information.
Who does it apply to?
CCPA applies to for-profit businesses which operate in the state of California and collect, share, or sell the personal data of California consumers. Businesses become subject to CCPA if they have annual gross revenues exceeding $25 million, possess the personal information of 50,000 or more consumers, or earn more than half their annual revenue from selling consumers' personal data.
How should you comply?
To comply with CCPA, businesses must take the following actions:
- inform consumers if their data will be sold or shared,
- add a "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" option to their website or application,
- provide a toll-free number to facilitate consumer requests related to personal data,
- affirmatively collect consent to sell data from any consumer under 16,
- affirmatively collect consent from a parent or guardian for any consumer under 13,
- do not discriminate against users who exercise protections under CCPA.
What happens if you don't comply?
The penalties for violating CCPA regulations are severe. Each infraction is subject to a $750 fine, which may be increased if actual damages are higher. A class-action lawsuit can be filed under CCPA if a data breach is due to a business failing to follow reasonable practices and procedures. A qualifying data breach involving the personal information of 100,000 California consumers would result in $75 million in statutory damages. For complete information on the CCPA legislation, please visit the California Legislature website.
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Bharat Matrimony Launches Video Chat
TIMES OF INDIA - June 18 - Bharat Matrimony has launched a new online video chat feature. Woman can only receive video calls from premium members they contacted or responded to earlier. On the other hand, men can get video calls from any premium female member and will be able to call only women who responded to their earlier enquiry.
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Bumble's Priti Joshi on Dating Trends During Covid-19
VOGUE - June 18 - Priti Joshi, the VP of strategy at Bumble, has kicked off Vogue Codes 2020 with a timely Q&A with Vogue Australia's deputy editor, Jessica Montague on virtual dating and networking. Joshi joined Bumble in 2018 and her role includes leading the data and analytics team to focus on growth and improving user experience. Covid-19 has totally changed the dating game. "We were seeing and are continuing to see more meaningful chats and longer conversations." Bumble saw 76% increase in voice call and video call usage between week ending March 13 to week ending May 1, 2020. According to Joshi, AI plays a really important part in a lot of Bumble's product experience. For example, AI feature - Private Detector - will blur lewd photos.
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Virtual Dating on the Rise, Says Match CEO
FINANCIAL TIMES - June 18 - According to Sharmistha Dubey, the new CEO of Match Group, online dating has exploded, with the average number of daily messages sent across all of Match's platforms increasing ~30% in April, compared with the end of February. In particular, users are taking advantage of new video chat features in many of Match's flagship apps that allow them to go on virtual dates without leaving their houses. After taking an initial dive earlier this year due to the pandemic, Match Group shares have now fully recovered and are currently nearing all-time highs at around $92.
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Chispa Dating App: 75% Of Latina Users Are Open To Dating A Single Dad
LATIN TIMES - June 17 - Chispa is a dating app made for single Latinx millennials in the U.S. that helps them connect with people who share culture and similar values. The app noticed a 33% increase in messaging and a 25% increase in matches made during the pandemic. As Father's Day approaches, Chispa wanted to know a little bit more about their female users and what they think about dating single dads. The survey shows that single Latinas are very much attracted to single dads. 75% of Chispa users say they are open to matching with a single Latino dad.
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You Are Invited Inside RealMe - IDEA Webinar - June 24th
OPW - June 17 - The assurance of safety is super-key to the value expectation on dating apps, of course, and so it's my pleasure to bring you an IDEA webinar with RealMe and Spectrum Labs to directly show you three use cases for how their new combined service, CheckPlus, improves user safety.
PRESENTERS
~ Neil Davis, CBO, RealMe
~ Lee Davis, VP, Spectrum Labs
HOST
~ Mark Brooks, President IDEA.gp & CEO Courtland Brooks
30 mins presenting will be followed by 15 mins Q&A.
RealMe are a client of Courtland Brooks and kindly supports OPW and IDEA.
Register here for the June 24th webinar which will be at 1pm EST.
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Blued Gay Dating App Plans Nasdaq IPO
REUTERS - June 16 - BlueCity Holdings, owner of China's biggest dating app for gay men, aims to raise $50M from an IPO of American depositary shares (ADSs). The offer price for each ADS is yet to be finalised, and it will be traded on the Nasdaq global market under the symbol "BLCT". Founded in 2011, BlueCity says it has 49M registered users in ~210 countries. It added that it has 6M monthly active users, 49% of them from outside China.
by Colin Qian & Meg Shen
See full article at Reuters
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments
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Happn, and Other Brands Accused of Misusing Data to Advertise on Facebook
VICE - June 16 - An investigation by Privacy International (PI) showed that some companies are advertising on Facebook using the data of people they have never interacted with. In October of 2019, PI began an investigation - published today - into advertisers that upload their customers' personal data to Facebook, using the site's "Download Your Information" (DYI) tool. Brands, found to have uploaded user data to Facebook without individuals' consent or knowledge, included the dating app Happn and artists associated with the Universal Music Group. In response, Happn admitted that one PI staff member's information was still in a database shared with Facebook, when it should have been removed. Otherwise, they said that if Privacy International "requesters have seen Happn promoted content on Facebook while they were in the restriction list, it was not under any particular instructions from Happn". Facebook also blamed outside parties. The PI report also claims Facebook makes it difficult for users to seek information about companies using and profiting from their personal data.
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IllicitEncounters.com Is Booming as Relationships Break Down During Pandemic
SW LONDONER - June 16 - Illicit Encounters.com sex and relationship expert Jessica Leoni said: "It's clear that affair seekers are searching for connection right now more than ever, I believe this is due to couples feeling trapped at home with their partners and frustration of married life is amplified. Many of our members report feeling lonely and unappreciated, and they are desperate to speak to like-minded people that are in the same boat." ~70% of the site's male members seeking affairs during lockdown say they do so out of boredom. For the 60% of the site's female members initiating affairs during lockdown had exposed the flaws of their main relationships and made them want to find someone new.
by Izzie Deibe
See full article at SW Londoner
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Grindr's New Owners Want to Create a 'Positive Place for Everyone'
ADVOCATE - June 15 - Grindr officially has new owners. The popular LGBTQ+ dating app has announced Jeff Bonforte, Rick Marini, and Gary Hsueh as its new CEO, COO, and CFO, respectively. The trio is part of a group of investors that purchased a 98.59% stake in Grindr through San Vicente Acquisition Partners for $608.5M from Beijing Kunlun Tech, a Chinese company that acquired it in 2016. As background, both Bonforte and Marini identify as straight and boast robust résumés in Silicon Valley. A former member of the executive team at Yahoo!, Bonforte helmed Yahoo! Mail, Messenger, and Flickr, among other key areas of the company. He also founded and ran five startups. Marini is the former head of Digital Innovation at Hearst Corporation and was the founder & CEO of BranchOut, the Facebook professional networking app. He was also named one of 2018's Top 50 Angel Investors by Forbes; as an angel investor, he has helped grow Snapchat, Reddit, Opendoor, Poshmark, PAX, and OutReach. "I don't think you have to be gay to want to have a strong, healthy, safe LGBTQ community," Bonforte said. "And so I think we see Grindr's role in that, and we hope we can further it." "It won't be a perfectly smooth road, there will be challenges in the future," Bonforte predicted. Priority on "day one," they said, is user safety and security. In this area, the company has already conducted a partial audit, and a full audit of these features is now under way. However, don't expect any sweeping redesign. "You have to be careful not to dabble with the core product," Bonforte said, adding, "We don't want to hurt Grindr. It's so good."
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What Was the First Online Dating Site?
FOX BUSINESS - June 15 - Gary Kremen founded the Match.com as one of several online classified ad businesses he planned to develop. The idea for the revolutionary platform came to Gary Kremen while he was in the shower. "I thought it would be really interesting to use the Internet for relationships, and to do it right," he said. By 1994, he owned the domain Match.com. The website went live in April of 1995. In 1997 Match was sold for $7M to Cendant, a Connecticut consumer-services company. In 1999, IAC acquired Match.
by Daniella Genovese
See full article at Fox Business
Mark Brooks: Not quite true. Webpersonals was started by Andrew Conru in 1994, and sold to the company that would become Lavalife in Canada. Webpersonals was the first. Not Match.com. Dr Conru then went on to start FriendFinder in 1996.
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