Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Dating Apps Are Changing - Swiping Is out

INEWS.CO.UK - Behavioural psychologist B.F Skinner found that pigeons in a Skinner Box will persistently press a lever that delivers an edible treat if the reward is uncertain, rather than guaranteed. This behavior is driven by a phenomenon known as intermittent reinforcement: the irregular delivery of a reward yields greater effort to obtain that reward. The dystopian reality is that swiping apps have created a human Skinner box. As we start to feel burnt out by toxic interactions, high-volume swiping, and the gamified experience of finding love, the dating industry is responding with innovation. One example is the dating site Swan. Users take a personality test and are set up with one date every four weeks. The dates are selected by a combination of AI and human matchmakers. Blindlee, another newcomer, works by hosting short calls between users who have matched to each other's criteria but not yet been allowed to see each other. The video call begins blurry and slowly unblures. Blindlee requires both users to be online at the same time to be able to message or match with each other. 

by Phoebe Arslanagić-Wakefield
See full article at Inews.co.uk

The Rise of Blind Dating Apps

THE GUARDIAN - More and more online daters are choosing to start conversations without vetting each other's profile pictures. Blindlee is a blind dating app that hosts three-minute blurred video calls between users who match each other's criteria. In-app popups offer ice-breaker prompts and, as time goes on, the option to gradually unblur the video image. After three minutes, the app asks participants if they want to continue the conversation - if they both say yes, only then will it create a match and conversation can continue. The app launched in 2019 but experienced a boom during the pandemic. S'More is another relative newcomer to the online dating market, where users' photos are obscured until 15 messages have been sent back and forth. "70% of the conversations continue after photos have been revealed," says S'More's CEO, Adam Cohen-Aslatei. The app launched in June 2020 in the US, where it has 400K users and is the country's fastest growing dating product. A UK launch is imminent. Tinder also added a "Fast Chat: Blind Date" feature this year.

by Leah Harper
See full article at The Guardian

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COVID-19 Quarantine Sees a Blur of Activity for Dating App Blindlee

FORBES - Apr 14 - Blindlee sets up users on blind dates thanks to three minute blurred video calls. Blindlee is the idea of two 20-something entrepreneurs, Sacha Nasan and Glenn Keller. They've seen an increase in app usage, even with people who don't necessarily want to find romance. Their data shows 22% of Blindlee users make calls to find friends for moral support during social distancing. "Comparing to February, we saw a 57% increase in March signups due to the outbreak," Nasan says. "This figure is now at 126%. Blurred video calls are up nearly three times and the average number of matches per user has increased by 180%. Users can only match after the call." Blindlee is popular in the U.K., but the app is gaining steam in America, too.

by John Scott Lewinski
See full article at Forbes

See the top news on Blindlee

The Top Dating Industry News for Apr 14th

OPW - Apr 14 - Hinge's "Date From Home" feature, Blindlee, Quarantine Together, Swivel, Bumble's Small Businesses Grant. Thanks to our sponsor RealMe. Helping dating apps improve trust and safety.

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Blindlee Is a New Video Dating App

MARIE CLAIRE - Apr 10 - On dating app Blindlee, users are randomly paired up with someone who matches their criteria before being put into a three minute video call with them. However, it will be blurred – so they won't get to see very much of their potential other half. Instead, they'll have to see if they get on before their face is revealed. The woman can control the blur so that she can reveal herself bit by bit if she wants.

by Jadie Troy-Pryde
See full article at Marie Claire

See the top news on Blindlee

Blindlee Is Chatroulette for Dating With a Safety Screen

TECH CRUNCH - Dec 18 - Blindlee is Chatroulette for dating but with female-friendly guardrails in the form of a user-controlled video blur effect. Singles are matched randomly with another user who meets some basic criteria (age, location) for a three minute 'ice breaker' video call. The app suggests chat topics to get the conversation flowing. After this, each caller chooses whether or not to match - and if both match they can continue to chat via text. The call starts "100% blurred". Female users have control of the level of blur during the call. They can elect to reduce it to 75%, 50%, 25% or nothing if they like what they're (partially) seeing and hearing. The app is a free download for now but the plan is to move to a freemium model (£3-4/month0 with a limit on the number of free video chats per day.

by Natasha Lomas
See full article at Tech Crunch