TECH CRUNCH - Heart to Heart has raised the pre-seed round of $750K. "The main thing we are trying to accomplish with the $750K is to focus on building our iOS app, and making LA our first launch market," says CEO Joshua Ogundu. "Dating is such a local experience, and it makes sense to us to build and improve locally, then scaling it up from there."
by Haje Jan Kamps
See full article at Tech Crunch
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
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ABC MONEY - By the end of 2021, Statista estimates that mobile apps will generate ~$693B in revenue through paid downloads and in-app advertising, up 17.6% YOY. This amount is expected to continue increasing to $935B by 2023. The Apple App Store generated $21.5B in consumer spending in the Q3 of 2021, compared to just $12.1B on the Google Play Store, a 55% difference. In August 2021, the Apple store launched ~32,500 unique apps, with a total of 2.22M estimated to be available for download on the store. The vast majority of apps on the top 50 list fall into the entertainment, gaming, or dating genres. Two of the top ten spots on the Apple Store's top-grossing list belong to Tinder (2nd) and Bumble (8th), with an honorable mention of Hinge occupying number 28 on the top chart.
by Claire James
See full article at ABC Money
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EIN NEWS - According to a survey carried out by casual dating app HUD, 45% of people say their dating lives are already back to normal. A further 32% of people say they're getting back into the dating scene now, while 14% say they'll start dating in the next month or two. Only 5% say they don't have any plans to get back to dating as yet. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, Hud is a casual dating app with ~10M users.
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PR NEWSWIRE - Match has released initial findings from two key themes of its forthcoming 11th annual Singles in America study. The data reveals that vaccination status has become of paramount importance to a vast majority of singles today, with 58% reporting it's the most important issue when it comes to dating a potential partner, more so even than traditional deal breakers like political affiliation (53%) or religion (43%). 73% of singles report they are vaccinated (compared to 64% of the general U.S. population) and 2 in 3 singles say they want their dating partners to be vaxxed.
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METRO.CO.UK - Over half of Gen Z (51%) are looking for a relationship, while just 9% want to be single. The rest preferred casual dating or making friends and seeing where things go.
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TECH CRUNCH - A new forecast on the state of the app economy indicates the Q3 will see record-breaking revenues spent on apps and games. According to App Annie, consumers worldwide will spend $34B on apps and games in Q3, a 20% YOY increase on spending. Downloads in Q3 will reach a record high of 36B, up 10% YOY, driven by Google Play and particularly downloads in emerging markets like India and Brazil.
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EVERYTHING EXPERIENTIAL - Bumble has revealed that one in two (46%) single Indians are looking for a committed, serious relationship in 2021, post the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. "One in five people are looking to get married. More than one in three (33%) are feeling hopeful about dating right now as lockdown restrictions lift across India. Meanwhile, 33% of single Indians are using video dates to really get to know each other better before meeting IRL," the survey said.
by Abhishek Sharma
See full article at Everything Experiential
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9TO5MAC - Aug 31 - A new study by Finbold reveals that consumers globally spent $41.5B (up 22% YOY) on the Apple App Store in the H1of 2021, which is almost double that of the Google Play Store. Cumulatively, spending on the two platforms recorded a growth of 24.8%, YOY hitting a total of $64.9B.
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VENTURE BEAT - 90% of Gen Z is now using apps with interactive live video according to a new study by Agora, which polled 1K Gen Z U.S. consumers on their use of "real-time engagement" - commonly referred to as RTE - technology over the last year. RTE refers to digital experiences that are interactive, collaborative and shared, through live video, live audio and extended reality (AR or VR).
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SOCIAL NEWS - Aug 18 - Tinder's Future of Dating report, based on a survey of 2K singles in India, offers insights into the next decade of dating based on behavioural shifts observed during the pandemic. The report reveals 62% of singles aren't looking for a committed relationship and prefer friendship with romantic potential or casual dating. During the pandemic, the app saw 11% more swipes and 42% more matches per Tinder member. The top reasons to swipe were 'making new connections', 'finding friends in their communities', and 'looking for fun hangout buddies'.
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IANS - Aug 14 - OkCupid asked its users what they find most liberating, and data collected based on users' responses to in-app questions suggests that 39% of users find financial freedom to be the most liberating, closely followed by 'Travel' (30%), 'Sexuality' (22%) and 'Art' (9 %). When posed with a choice between 'Freedom' and 'Money', 65% of users opted for more freedom.
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THE PRINT - Aug 11 - 48% of people in a Bumble survey in India say there's an increased attention to a prospect's personality rather than looks. (Sample size 2,000 single Indians, conducted in June 2021). 74% of respondents said they have seen a decline in negative behaviour such as ghosting, breadcrumbing, and catfishing. One in three people said they feel less pressured while dating amid the pandemic. 45% of Indians believe online dating is a "norm" and the most usual way of going on dates. 72% were confident they could fall in love with a person they meet via dating apps.
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TELEGRAPH.CO.UK - Aug 10 - The average age of women who tied the knot in England and Wales in 2008 was 33.8 and 36.5 for men, which rose to 35.8 and 38.1 in 2018, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is partly due to the surge of so-called "silver splitters", those who divorce then remarry in later life. The number of brides and grooms aged 65 and over has increased more than any other age bracket in the past decade. Between 2004 and 2014, there was a rise of 46% from 7,468 to 10,937. The numbers have been steadily rising from 2009 onwards. Access to dating websites and financial independence are among the reasons suggested for this surge in later life marriage. Fewer young people getting married, the overall number of marriages in England and Wales is currently at its lowest level since 2009.
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WEBWIRE - Aug 2 - According to a Kaspersky survey, 40% of respondents in the U.S. said they are afraid to use dating apps, due to fear of being deceived by fraudsters. 34% said they generally do not trust people in dating apps. 22% of respondents in the U.S. were targeted by cybercriminals (compared to 15% globally). Lack of privacy is also a serious issue for dating apps. The full report is available here.
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FREE MALAYSIA TODAY - July 26 - According to the latest study "Love in an algorithmic age" from cybersecurity company Kaspersky, 44% of people using a dating app said they would trust the selections and matches of AI. Other findings: 41% of respondents believe that dating apps have led to an increase in casual relationships.
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