TECNONUCLEOUS - Dec 30 - Telegram's first paid feature would be a service similar to Tinder thanks to a partnership between the two platforms. The feature will be called TinderGram. Users will have to use Telegram Passport to verify their identity. It will cost € 1 per month. Telegram is a freeware, cross-platform cloud-based instant messaging, video calling, and VoIP service. The service claims 500M users.
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TinderGram, Telegram's First Premium Feature, to Launch In 2021
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Finding Love Without Alcohol
NEW YORK TIMES - Dec 29 - According to a 2014 survey by Plenty of Fish, 48% of singles reported consuming two to three drinks on a first date and 36% percent have had a drink before a first date. Outside traditional dating apps, are online platforms like 12StepMatch, Love in Recovery and Single and Sober where it's understood that no one drinks. Loosid app, a sober social network that started in 2018, offers boozeless guides, chat groups and a sober dating platform.
by Hilary Sheinbaum
See full article at New York Times
See the top news on POF
See the top news on Loosid
See the top news on Single and Sober
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Matrimony.com's Shares Gave 280% Returns in 9 Months
BUSINESS TODAY - Dec 29 - In the last nine months, Matrimony.com shares grew by 280% from its 52-week low of Rs 251 on March 23 to Rs 953 today, despite business disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The stock has gained 34% so far in December. For July-September quarter, the company reported a jump of 31% YOY in net profit. On the quarter-on-quarter basis, the profit rose by 9.6%.
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OkCupid: 25M People to Find Their Perfect Match in January 2021
HINDUSTAN TIMES TECH - Dec 29 - The new year 2021 is coming and so is Dating Sunday. OkCupid says that ~15M people from around the world will initiate new conversations on and around Dating Sunday, which is the first Sunday of January. It is particularly known to have the highest number of singletons looking for love or a fresh start in their love-lives. Last year, OkCupid witnessed ~13M new conversations during the first week of January around the world. This year, the dating platform predicts that this number is expected to go up to 15M. The dating platform also expects 25M new matches to be made during January 2021.
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A Trip Inside the Lox Club, the "Jewish Raya"
VOGUE - Dec 28 - About a year ago, now 29-year-old product designer Austin Kevitch was going through a breakup. He tried getting on dating apps, but found them "superficial and cringe-y." And so, as a joke, he created his own platform, a website called The Lox Club, which he advertised as a "membership-based dating app for Jews with ridiculously high standards." Kevitch estimates that there are ~10K current members, with many more on the waitlist. He says there are no strict criteria for admittance, and Judaism is not a prerequisite. Annual memberships are available for $96, six months for $60, and quarterly for $36. Swipes are limited to between six and twelve every eight hours. The Lox Club's most unique feature is its matchmaker function. Users can ask a matchmaker to curate particular types of profiles for them.
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Bumble Won't Let Users Share Bikini and Bra Photos if Taken Indoors
ENGADGET - Dec 28 - Outside is perfectly acceptable, however. BuzzFeed News reports that Bumble took down photos of artist Cali Rockowitz wearing a bralette due to a policy banning swimsuit and underwear photos when indoors. Apparently, a bikini top or shirtless look is fine as long as the shots were "taken outside."
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HeyBaby - a Dating App for Those Who Want a Family
HOUSTONIA - Dec 25 - It all began with Chas McFeely and his attempt to find a wife. In 2011 he created a dating site solely for himself to search for a woman to date, eventually marry, and start a family with, offering $10K to the person who set them up. The site became a nationwide phenomenon, giving him news coverage, and, of course, thousands of women applying to his site. He didn't actually find a wife from the site but started Heybaby. The app is dedicated to single parents, or singles searching for a partner to, one day, start a family with.
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Tantan Evolves From Dating App to Social+
POJOK BANDUNG - Dec 25 - Tantan, the Chinese dating app, is planning to pivot from its dating app status to a social platform to reach a new generation of users. With the Social+ strategy, users will experience new features such as Social+ Live Streaming and Mobile Games.
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Homegrown Indian Dating Platforms
FORBES INDIA - Dec 23 - The online dating industry in India is worth $323M, and the country is the third-largest revenue generator, after the US and China. Although foreign dating apps were the first to create a significant mark in India, homegrown apps are now witnessing a slow and steady rise. These include Aisle, Truly Madly or HiHi. They are positioning themselves as means to look for longer-term relationships. But they still lag far behind older match-making platforms. Beginning with Bharat Matrimony (matrimony.com) in 1997, online platforms to look for life partners is now estimated to be worth $260M, with some of the big players being Matrimony.com, Jeevansathi.com and Shaadi.com. According to Statista, the number of registrations on Matrimony.com were 40M as of FY20, up from 18M in FY14. From having ~10% market share in 2010s, they now have 50% market share.
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S'More Survey - How COVID Is Changing the Way People Meet
S'MORE - Dec 23 - S'More, a new relationships app that's about getting to know a person before seeing a profile picture, surveyed its users about post Covid dating. Key findings:
- 27% of online daters are more active on the apps due to Covid
- 68% of women and 61% of men will date fewer people IRL post Covid
- 64% of women and 39% of men will go on 3 virtual dates before meeting IRL
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Meet Positives Partners With Express STD Testing
DIGITAL JOURNAL - Dec 23 - Meet Positives, will be partnering with Express STD Testing. Meet Positives is a social media platform which provides an opportunity for people living with lifelong infections to share their experiences while remaining anonymous. Express STD Testing provides fast, discreet, accurate and affordable STD testing.
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Bumble Files Trademark Opposition Against Stylized Beehive Design
LAW STREET MEDIA - Dec 22 - Bumble has filed a trademark opposition before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board against Bithive's application for the subject design. Bumble claimed that it would be harmed by the registration of this application because of the similarities between the marks and the likelihood of consumer confusion. Bithive is an online platform where individuals can create virtual communities based on interest.
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Taimi Live Streaming to Become Key Revenue Driver in 2021
GAY TIMES - Dec 22 - Taimi, a LGBTQ+ social network and dating app has incorporated live streaming into the core of its business model and expects the feature to become one of the key revenue channels in 2021. During Fall 2020, Taimi users have streamed for over 10 years, hosting 403k unique sessions and amassing 7.3M views. Taimi has also introduced Live Duet, which allows users to hop into other users' and co-host by interacting with the streamer directly instead of using the comments section. In 2021, the company expects live streaming to become a solid source of income and bring up to 30% of total revenue.
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10 Fastest Growing Emojis on Tinder in 2020
BUSINESS INSIDER - Dec 22 - Tinder revealed the top emojis that gained in popularity this year. The list reflected 2020, an election year when the COVID-19 pandemic changed most aspects of life, including dating. See the list here.
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