JNS.ORG - July 27 - Jewish dating site JWed launched a video date scheduler on its mobile app this week. The video chat and date scheduler are seamlessly integrated into the existing chat functionalities, allowing users to meet virtually and safely while in quarantine or under stay-at-home orders. The virtual date scheduler enables members to arrange dates in advance, without having to exchange any personal contact information.
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JWed Releases Video Date Scheduler
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Zoosk Faces California Privacy Law Claim After Hack
BLOOMBERG LAW - July 24 - Zoosk's users are accusing the dating app in a California federal court of violating a state privacy law by failing to protect their information from a hack earlier this year. The class action was filed July 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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Tinder User Uncovered New Tinder 'Platinum' Testing
MASHABLE - July 24 - An r/SwipeHelper subreddit user explained that they'd come across Tinder Platinum in an incognito Google Chrome tab on desktop. They saw the platinum choice on the sidebar. This isn't the first time users saw a glimpse of tests. In March, some received a pop-up for "Tinder Concierge," a $20 service that claims that a "team of experts" will help craft an enticing profile. As of now Tinder has two paid tiers: Plus and Gold.
Plus features include
- unlimited likes (as opposed to the free 100 per day)
- rewinding on profiles you may have accidentally disliked
- five Super Likes a day
- one Boost per month
- Passport - no ads
Gold has all those features, as well as
- the ability to see who likes you before you swipe
- Tinder's curated "top picks" for you.
Tinder Platinum includes all Gold features plus
- seeing who already likes you before you swipe
- messaging before matching
- being able to attach a message to a Super Like
- prioritized likes, meaning everyone you like will see you before non-Platinum members.
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Staying Safe in a New Era of Internet Dating: IDEA Webinar Video
OPW - July 23 - On 10th July we ran an IDEA Webinar with leaders of some tech-driven safety services. Here's the short summary video.
Online dating companies are in a unique position to adapt to social nuances, cultural changes and even global pandemics, through the effective application of advanced technologies. The overarching goal is to provide a safer and more fulfilling service to users, while combating fraud and romance scams. In the latest IDEA Webinar, Mark Brooks discusses the latest advances in technology-driven safety measures with Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group, Anthony Oyogoa, CEO of The UrSafe App, Jeff Tinsley, CEO of RealMe, and Justin Davis, CEO of Spectrum Labs.
Here's the transcript, and the full video.
Email me at [email protected] if you'd like connects with anyone on this webinar.
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Reminder: IDEA Webinar - Dare To Date: Dating in a Pandemic
OPW - July 22 - Join us Thursday 23rd July, at 11:30am EST.
How can dating app leaders sensibly and responsibly advise Internet daters to behave now? Can they date? Should we advise them to date? How, exactly? What is the best advice we can pass on, that is scientifically sound?
On this webinar, listen in as I ask some tough and timely questions of a panel of epidemiologists and infectious disease experts. You get to benefit from the advisory of the Safer Dating Advisory Board, that The Meet Group has kindly brought together for us.
PANELISTS
~ Dr. Anirrudha Hazra, an internal medicine and infectious diseases physician certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
~ Dr. Tali Elfassy, an epidemiologist and Research Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
~ Dr. Melissa Sharp, an epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland with expertise in meta-research and observational mixed-methods research.
~ Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group.
HOST
~ Mark Brooks, President IDEA.gp & CEO Courtland Brooks.
Register here to join us for this 45 minute panel, plus 15 minutes Q&A.
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After Numerous Rejections, Dating App Struck Hits the App Store
TECH CRUNCH - July 21 - Founded by former Apple engineers, a new app called Struck wants to be the astrology-based Tinder. But it took close to 10 attempts over several months for the startup to get its app approved by Apple. App reviewers flagged the app as "spam" either due to its use of astrology or simply because it was designed for online dating. Apple guideline states that developers should "avoid piling on to a category that is already saturated," and reminds developers that the App Store has "enough fart, burp, flashlight, fortune telling, dating, and Kama Sutra apps, etc. already." Apple will reject anything that "doesn't offer a high-quality experience."
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Matchmaking at Lisdoonvarna Cancelled Due to Covid-19
IRISHNEWS - July 20 - The globally famous event, which takes place in the Co Clare town every September, attracts thousands of people from around the world who hope to find their perfect match. The organisers said the cancellation "will also be felt deeply by many businesses in the area as it brings in more than €2.5M annually to the local economy".
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Is Video Dating Here to Stay?
BBC - July 21 - Video dating surged during lockdowns, but how much will the trend stick around in the 'new normal'? A recent survey from Match showed that 69% of users in the US were open to video chatting, whereas just 6% had tried it before the pandemic. There was also a surge in interest in livestreaming dating games, with The Meet Group, a US market leader in the sector, reporting a 95% surge in usage of its products since March. These include video speed-dating events and blind-dating games for users who want to focus on personality rather than looks. Dr Helen Fisher, who works as an advisor to Match Group, says that lockdowns around the world followed a period in which many millennials were already experiencing swiping fatigue. Dating app growth slowed globally in 2019, and Fisher's own research before the pandemic suggested a growing appetite for closer emotional connections developed over a longer period, instead of casual hook-ups. With countries now easing lockdowns, most dating experts think people will quickly return to developing romantic relationships offline, rather than focusing on video-based dating. However, there is a consensus that the trend for video dating won't disappear completely, with many suggesting that video calls in the 'new normal' will form part of a screening process before a first real-life date.
by Maddy Savage
See full article at BBC
See the top news on Match Group
See the top news on The Meet Group
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Live Video Chat Apps Get in on Action
ECONOMIC TIMES - July 21 - A new ecosystem of 'Live video chat' apps has silently garnered millions of users. These apps allow users to video-call strangers. Four such apps - Chamet, LivU, WHO, and Azar - are among the top 10 grossing apps on the Play Store in India right now. According to Sensor Tower, leading apps in this category make between $200K and $300K a month in revenue from India via in-app purchases. A lot of user reviews for these apps on Google Play Store allege that they send racy messages through in-built chatbots or showcase fake profiles to lure users. Some even urge Google to look into these apps to check for malpractice.
by Sanghamitra Kar & Shephali Bhatt
See full article at Economic Times
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Bumble Launches "Love Will Find a Way" Campaign
EVERYTHING EXPERIENTIAL - July 15 - Research by Bumble affirms that single millennials and GenZ-ers in India are actively interested in dating virtually during these unprecedented times. Bumble launched an integrated digital campaign 'Love Will Find A Way' that celebrates the importance of love, hope and resilience as the lockdown begins to slowly ease in India. Bumble found that 83% of users are more interested in dating during these times, while 63% of users are anxious about the future. 70% of Bumble users in India claim that their personal online dating behaviour has changed compared to before the outbreak, with 80% of these users now accepting and trying virtual dating.
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Bumble's $22.5M Auto-Renewal Deal Gets Initial OK
LAW360 - July 16 - A California magistrate judge has preliminarily approved a $22.5M settlement proposal by Bumble to resolve allegations it violated New York and California consumer protection laws by auto-renewing Bumble Boost subscriptions without users' consent. In 2018, two separate lawsuits were filed against the two companies that operate Bumble dating app - a California class of Bumble Boost users who were charged auto-renewal fees and a nationwide class of users whose subscriptions were automatically renewed.
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The Varying American Fortunes of Grindr and Blued
ECONOMIST - July 15 - America's government viewed Grindr with Chinese ties as a national-security concern. Can Blued that has just listed in New York expect similar treatment? Blued launched in China in 2012, 11 years after homosexuality was removed from the country's list of mental disorders. An international edition of the app was released in 2015. Just over half of Blued's 6M active monthly users are in China. The rest are mainly in other parts of Asia. BlueCity's revenues reached 207M yuan ($30M) in the Q1, up by 43% YOY. On July 8th its parent company, BlueCity, listed on New York's Nasdaq exchange, at a market value of over $600m. Blued has so far avoided the sort of scrutiny from American regulators that befell Grindr. Unlike Grindr, which was popular in America before Kunlun bought it, Blued is a minnow outside Asia. Its relative obscurity may shield it from examination for a while. If it starts to gain a foothold in America, regulators are likely to take a closer look.
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More People Are Having Virtual Affairs as Covid-19 Pandemic Wears On
BUSINESS INSIDER - July 15 - Coronavirus pandemic-related stress is a risk factor that could drive people to cheat, according to two University of Tennessee Knoxville psychologists. Kristina Coop Gordon and Erica A. Mitchell said pandemic-related stress is straining relationships, driving people onto dating apps. According to data Gordon and Mitchell obtained from a dating site for married people (they didn't disclose which site), 17K new people have signed up for the services every day during the pandemic. This compares to the 1,500 daily new member sign-ups in 2019.
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Bumble Hits 100 Million Users
FAST COMPANY - July 16 - Bumble is also announcing a major reorganization and rebranding that will make the company the new overseer of its sibling dating app, Badoo. Until now, the two apps had been under the umbrella of the holding company MagicLab. But that company is being renamed Bumble. Bumble is bringing on a new president, Tariq Shaukat, previously president of industry products and solutions at Google Cloud. Bumble also announced a new board of directors. Led by chairwoman Ann Mather, the former CFO of Pixar Studios, the Bumble board also includes Pamela Thomas-Graham, the author and former CEO of CNBC; Elisa Steele, the chairwoman of Cornerstone; and Matthew Bromberg, COO of Zynga. Bumble and Badoo have a base of 600M users. CEO Wolfe Herd now oversees ~750 employees in Austin, London, and Moscow.
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