Quick links to today's dating news headlines
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Tinder Is Bringing Back Desk Mode
CNET - Tinder said it surveyed 1K US online daters between the ages of 18 and 30, and 30% said they'd swiped during a meeting, and 47% said they'd rather match and chat on company time. Tinder said with the rise of hybrid work and a return to the office, Desk Mode could ease the transition.
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Russian Court Fines Tinder for Data Law Violation
REUTERS - A Russian court fined Match Group 2M roubles ($33K) for an alleged failure to store user data within Russian territory. The fine follows similar steps against WhatsApp and Snapchat.
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Jigsaw Dating App Focuses on Personality
CULTURE MAP DALLAS - Dubbed the "anti-superficial" dating app, Jigsaw's mission is to provide an alternative to the usual dating app experience. Photos are covered by a digital jigsaw puzzle, which falls away as users message their matches. "Jigsaw was born out of frustration with regular dating apps, where it's all about looks," says Jigsaw's CEO and co-founder Alex Durrant. The company raised $3.7M in 2021 to help it expand into the U.S.
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Zoosk User Waived Right to Class Action in Data Breach Lawsuit
BLOOMBERG LAW - Zoosk customers lost their bid for class certification in their data breach suit when a federal judge in San Francisco found that the lead plaintiff agreed to terms of use that waived her right to represent a class. Juan Flores-Mendez and Tracy Greenamyer sued Zooks following a massive breach in January 2020 in which a group called the "ShinyHunters" stole data from 30M Zoosk users. Zoosk waited 22 days to notify its users of the breach, according to the complaint.
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This Philly Startup Founder Set out to Create an Anti-ghosting Dating App
TECHNICAL.LY - Earl Knight is launching Not Another Dating App (NADA), where users can swipe on each others' planned dates. The goal is to get people together in person more quickly. Earl Knight met his fiancé on a dating app. He'd written on his profile that he had tickets to an awards show and asked if someone wanted to go with him. Users can access some aspects of the app for free, but a subscription at $12.99 per month includes access to super likes, access to view all of the users who like your dates, and the ability to message old dates.
by Sarah Huffman
See full article at Technical.ly
Mark Brooks: What does your dating app do to fight ghosting?
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How Garbo Performs Background Checks
YAHOO MONEY - Garbo.io Founder and CEO Kathryn Kosmides discusses how the tech company works with dating apps to help users run background checks on matches and potential partners, in addition to talking about the relationship between guns and domestic violence. See the video interview here.
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:-( Meta Closes Tuned, Its Social App for Couples
TECH CRUNCH - Tuned (downloaded 909k times) is winding down 2 years after it launched. On Sep 19th the app will cease to work. Tuned was a project under Meta's New Product Experimentation (NPE) Team, which was formed to build consumer apps to test features. Tuned is a way for couples to engage; with messaging, quizzes (sharing feelings), and a Spotify integration. [Other social couple apps are Between and Couply]. The NPE team pivoted to making seed investments. NPE debuted speed dating app Sparked, meme creator Whale, personal project app Hobbi, conversational app Bump, music app Aux, audio calling app CatchUp, collaborative music app Collab, live event companion Venue, and predictions app Forecast. The only apps still available in the U.S. on iOS are Move and BARS.
by Kyle Wiggers
See full article at Tech Crunch
Mark Brooks: What sticks. Nothing? A failed experiment for them? Hardly, they will learn enough to know what to include and not include in other Meta apps, and in VR.
This post also appears on VerySocialNetwork
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Tinder: Women's Safety Now at the Heart of the App
BBC - Tinder is launching a partnership with campaign group No More, aiming to end domestic violence. "Our safety work is never done," says Tinder's CEO. But charity End Violence Against Women says it is only a "small step" in addressing the disproportionate amount of abuse women experienced online. Ms Nyborg says one of the ways she is addressing those concerns is hiring more women. "There is a difference between knowing something is important and feeling it," she says. Tinder's partnership with No More will educate Tinder members and also the staff.
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Dating News Headlines: The Right Stuff, Happn, Wayvs, OkCupid
Quick links to today's dating news headlines
- Can There Be a 'Conservative' Dating App? - The American Conservative
- Metaverse: Dating App Happn Investigates Interest Among Singles - Thatsgaming.nl (in Dutch)
- Founder Takes off With Dating App - CIO
- OkCupid Taps Debby Group for PR Support in Israel - Provoke Media
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New US Identity and Background Legislation
OPW - In May 2022, Neil Davis, CBO of RealMe, spoke during the LTR summit about certain data protection legislation that's looming over online dating apps.
Utah HB352
- Taking effect in January 2023
- If you do business in Utah, you are either required to conduct background criminal checks on all your users whether they are in Utah or not. Or, say "We don't do background checks on our users, your safety may be at risk."
- Build Online Dating Safety Hub with safety guidelines.
- Fine - the number of your users in Utah x $250.
Connecticut Act Concerning Online Dating Operators
- Taking effect in October 2022.
- By Oct 1st you have to verify the identity of everyone on your app. Then you either do background checks and kick off people with criminal convictions or you have to say that you don't do background checks and that their safety may be at risk.
- Build Online Dating Safety Hub
- Keep data of every Connecticut for 2 years.
- Fine - $25K per instance
RealMe can verify the identity of your users using phone numbers and do background checks and reputation checks.
Florida and California are now drafting the same legislation, both to be effective in January. Read the full version here. Sound file for download here.
Mark Brooks: Neil will cover the upcoming New Jersey law which is similar to the CT law in the next Trust & Safety Connect online panel discussion on Aug 17th. Email me at mark@courtlandbrooks.com for a free seat.
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Soaring Prices Are Changing the Dating Game
BLOOMBERG - Surging prices are making it more expensive to wine and dine a love interest, causing daters to reassess their priorities. The consumer price index category for food away from home rose 7.7% YOY, while full-service restaurants climbed 8.9%. Among 3K users on Hinge, 41% said they were more concerned with the cost of dates now versus a year ago, with Gen Z respondents more likely to feel the pressure. "As a result, people are on the hunt for less expensive options," said Logan Ury, director of relationship science at Hinge.
Finding a person who is financially savvy is an increasingly attractive quality. OkCupid daters who said they keep a budget have received 16% more matches and 7% more likes over the past three months than those who said they don't.
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The RealMe and UrSafe Partner to Expand SOS Button Technology to Dating Platforms
EIN NEWS - The RealMe SOS button powered by the UrSafe app is the world's first hands-free, voice-activated personal safety tool. Features of the SOS Button include:
- It can be triggered anytime by a designated safe word.
- It provides an easy to use, handsfree lifeline in situations where users may feel unsafe using their phone.
- Using various safe words will trigger various responses, including calls to law enforcement, friends and family.
- Friends and family can view user's location in real time including a live video stream
- Security provided in over 195 countries
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