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

46% Single Indians Looking for Committed, Serious Relationship: Bumble Survey

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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Investors See Big Potential in Smaller Online Dating Companies

WALL STREET JOURNAL - Since Jan '19, App Annie data show U.S. users have spent 7.4M hours on dating apps a month on Android phones alone. Match Group and Bumble collectively boast ~$50B in fully diluted market value, but plenty of businesses are trying. Coffee Meets Bagel, which hits users with algorithmically curated matches every day at noon, has made ~130M matches since its launch in 2012. Hily, which works to make it easier to start conversations, has 22M users. Snack, which is focused on video-first dating, was the 10th most-downloaded dating app in the U.S. last month, according to App Annie. Some just need a larger platform to help them take off. Hinge, in which Match took a majority stake in 2018 before acquiring it in 2019, saw ~100K U.S. downloads in Jan '18. By Mar '21, it was closer to 600K. Berlin-based Spark Networks did $233M in revenue last year. And then there is eHarmony owner ParshipMeet, which is preparing for a 2022 IPO. In the Q2 it had €139M ($164.2M) in revenue.

by Laura Forman
See full article at Wall Street Journal

Match and Bumble Should Benefit From Apple Decision

THE STREET - Match Group and Bumble should benefit from the court ruling last week that Apple can no longer prevent apps from offering direct payment options, says Cowen analyst John Blackledge. Match spent ~$500M in app store payments in 2020, or just under 80% of cost of revenue, he said. He estimates that 75% of these fees went to Apple. "If we assume that 50% of Match's iOS customers will opt to pay via credit card on the Match website (with a 3% take for payment processing), Match could generate an additional $295M in 2022 Ebitda, a 19% increase vs. our current estimate of $1.58B," he wrote. Bumble would see 2022 Ebitda rise by $88M.

by Dan Weil
See full article at The Street

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Bumble Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd: "We Need to Stop Giving People Responsibilities Based on Gender"

VOGUE -

Q: Ms. Wolfe Herd, this year you were the youngest woman to ever list a company on the stock exchange. What does this label mean to you?
Whitney Wolfe Herd: When you consider that there have been hundreds of IPOs led by men my age, this seems rather daunting. There are so many incredible women out there who are much more talented than me. And the fact that I have that title just goes to show how difficult it is to do it.

Q: In your opinion, what are the crucial things that need to change?
A: I think we need to stop giving people responsibilities based on gender.

Q: How can family and career be reconciled in your company?
A: We allow our employees to work within schedules that suit their families - not just women, but men too, after all, feminism is about us all.

Q: And what has to be done so that more women get into the tech industry?
A: We have to start with education. We need to encourage more women to get into STEM subjects.

Q: Which of your professional successes are you particularly proud of?
A: Every day it has been my drive to ensure that we create a safer, more equitable online experience that will hopefully also steer offline behavior in a positive direction. We achieved that. We even helped pass a law!

Q: Is there anything that you are dying to learn?
A: Loads of things! I want to learn more languages. I want to learn how to write code. I want to learn meditation. I think the moment you have nothing more to learn, life is over.

by Maria Hunstig
See full article at Vogue

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Bumble Shares Dip After Hours on Secondary Stock Offering

MARKETWATCH - Bumble's shares fell 3.4% after hours to $55.78 after the dating app company said that an affiliate of Blackstone will offer the public 15M shares of the company. Bumble doesn't intend to sell any of its shares and won't receive proceeds from the sale. However, it will incur some costs associated with the sale, the company said.

by Kimberly Chin
See full article at Marketwatch

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Match CEO and Bumble Create Relief Funds for Employees Affected by Texas Abortion Law

CNBC - Sep 1 - Companies behind the U.S.'s largest dating apps are reacting to Texas' restrictive abortion law. Bumble said it was creating a relief fund supporting people seeking abortions in the state. Match Group CEO Shar Dubey also announced in a memo to employees that she would personally create a fund to support Texas-based employees and dependents impacted by the legislation.

by Jessica Bursztynsky
See full article at CNBC

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Dating Apps Are Turning to Video and Audio to Link People up

CNBC - Aug 28 - The pandemic has caused a level of disruption that's allowed companies to consider what the future of dating apps without mindless swiping might look like. Bumble's "Night In" trivia feature lets users set up a virtual trivia date if they match with someone. It also allows users to send voice memos. Tinder has "Swipe Night," a live, interactive dating feature where singles follow a storyline together. The addition of videos and audio will let people interact in a way that hasn't been done yet with online dating, with the hopes they'll spend more time on the apps. 40% of Tinder users plan to continue using video even when the pandemic is over. Earlier this summer, Match Group closed its $1.7B acquisition of Hyperconnect, a social networking company. That will allow the company to focus on its research & development, adding more live chat features and video experiences to its apps. Match COO Gary Swidler said Match Group expects at least two of its brands to use Hyperconnect tech before the end of the year, while a number of other brands will implement its tech by the end of 2022.

by Jessica Bursztynsky
See full article at CNBC

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Bumble Leaked Users' Exact Location

ITNEWS - Aug 26 - A software engineer at payments processor Stripe found a vulnerability in Bumble. By learning how Bumble's application programming interface (API) works, Robert Heaton found a way to pinpoint users' exact location, bypassing the safeguards in the app designed to prevent this. Heaton reported the vulnerability to Bumble via bug bounty site HackerOne. A fix was deployed within 72 hours, and Heaton was awarded $2K, which he donated to charity.

by Juha Saarinen
See full article at ITNews

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Bumble CEO Optimistic on Growth and Monetization of Friend-finding Service Bumble BFF

CNBC TV - Aug 13 - Whitney Wolfe Herd appeared Thursday on "Mad Money" with Jim Cramer, where she discussed the growth potential of the company's Bumble BFF offering.

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Bumble and Match Have Love Left to Give

WALL STREET JOURNAL - Aug 12 - After a solid Q1, Match Group and Bumble reported Q2 earnings that topped Wall Street's expectations. But after significant gains earlier this year for both stocks, even big numbers have done little to keep the fire alive. As of Wednesday's close, Match's shares were down 7% this year, including a 12% selloff this month. And while Bumble's shares soared on their first day of trading in February, closing 63% above their offering price, they have lost 32% of their value since. Chances are, some of those losses will linger. In part because of Covid-19's impact, Match's Q3 revenue guidance last week came in slightly below analysts' forecast, excluding Hyperconnect. Bumble's guidance looked solid for the Q3. Full-year guidance shows both companies expect the period to end on a high note.

by Laura Forman
See full article at Wall Street Journal

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Bumble's Q2 Results - Revenue up 38%, $11M Loss

GLOBE NEWSWIRE - Aug 13 - Total revenue increased 38% to $186M. Bumble App Revenue grew 55% to $127M. Badoo App and other revenue grew 11% to $59M. Total paying users increased 20% to 2.9M. Net loss was $11M and, compared to net loss of $5.5M last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $52M, or 27.9% of revenue, compared to $32.5M, or 24.1% of revenue in Q2 2020.

See full article at Bumble website

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Bumble Survey Says Covid Has Made Online Dating Better

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.

by Shubhangi Misra
See full article at The Print

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Bumble to Offer Trauma Support to Victims of Sexual Assault

IRISH NEWS - Aug 4 - Bumble is partnering with Bloom, an online service run by UK-based Chayn. When a survivor reports sexual assault or relationship abuse to Bumble's feedback team, they will be provided with a code to access up to six therapy sessions as well as one-to-one chat support. The service is due to begin later this year, with plans to expand to Badoo in 2022.

See full article at Irish News

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A Record Number of Americans Used Dating Apps in July

BLOOMBERG - Aug 4 - The lifting of health restrictions in many parts of the U.S. this summer created a big moment for online dating. Engagement on dating apps in the U.S. reached a record high in July. Daily active users on the most popular dating apps, including Tinder and Bumble topped 15M users, according to Apptopia, which began collecting data in 2015. But renewed concerns about Covid-19, driven by the spread of the delta variant, could pose another setback to people's dating lives -- and the businesses that profit from them. Investors will get a peek inside that dynamic when Match reports quarterly results after the close of trading Tuesday. Bumble reports next week.

by Akayla Gardner
See full article at Bloomberg

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Bumble to Give Employees a Collective Week-long Holiday Twice a Year

CNBC - July 29 - In June, Bumble gave all its workers the same week off in an effort to combat burnout. Bumble said it was making the company-wide week-long vacation a permanent benefit to its 700 employees twice a year. In addition, its employees would now have unlimited paid vacation days with uniform minimums. But critics say it can backfire, with staff actually taking less holiday as a result.

by Vicky McKeever
See full article at CNBC

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