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

There's Still no Good Dating App for Non-monogamous People

MASHABLE - Feb 5 - One in five Americans have engaged in consensual non-monogamy. And yet, there are no good dating apps for non-monogamous people. Many of the apps used by the non-monogamous community are "trash" or solely for sex, said Steve Dean, online dating consultant at Dateworking.com, a dating coaching and consulting business. Dean, whose been non-monogamous for the past nine years, referred to one called Pure, as "Uber for sex." Feeld is another one that falls into the hooking up category. Then there is #open, an app that claims to be an inclusive community for any type of user. 94% of the app's 40K users report they prefer some form of open relationship, according to #open's cofounder Amanda Wilson. The most "mainstream" app that provides a tailored experience to non-monogamous people is OkCupid. In 2016, OkCupid added a feature for polyamorous couples. It subsequently replaced its "open relationship" status option with the term "non-monogamous." Dean said OKC is the best app for non-monogamous people right now, but technical changes have made it "virtually useless." This is because a 2017 change that filtered out unwanted messages had an adverse effect.

by Anna Iovine
See full article at Mashable

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Dating Apps Need to Offer Something More Than Swiping

FORBES - Jan 23 - ~25M people use dating apps, and the online dating sector will be worth $12B by the end of 2020. Worldwide, however, dating app downloads for the 15 most-popular apps decreased to 247M in 2018, from 256M in 2017. The swiping format that once felt fresh and exciting has proved fruitless for many. esearch suggests that compulsive swiping makes people feel lonelier. "People are looking for deeper connections, a deeper way of getting to know someone beyond a photo level," says Adam Cohen-Aslatei, the founder and CEO of S'More. S'More bills itself as a "relationship app", and directs users to interact with each others' profiles before sending messages or even seeing pictures. Apps that target a certain age bracket, ethnicity or religious community, also have a chance to do well. Other companies are trying to bridge the gap between online and real life connections. Last year Feeld, an app aimed at non-monogamous singles and couples, launched the Feeld Social - events with interactive talks and performances.

by Franki Cookney
See full article at Forbes

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Feeld: A Dating App for Three, Plus

NEW YORK TIMES - Mar 20 - Feeld app was released in 2014 by Dimo Trifonov and Ana Kirova, two graphic designers living in London, as 3nder. They hoped to appeal to individuals and partners looking to join or have threesomes. But after Tinder filed a lawsuit and the company rebranded as Feeld , the founders said they welcomed the opportunity to expand the mission of the app. "Feeld is a platform for alternative dating, for people who are beyond labels," said Ms. Kirova. ~35% of users are on the app with a partner, and 45% identify as something other than heterosexual. The company struggled to find funding at first. Many investors considered the app "adult entertainment," which venture capitalists tend to avoid. Eventually an angel investor swooped in to save Feeld, but the fact that the business is sex-related has presented other challenges. The money transfer app TransferWise temporarily blocked Feeld's ability to collect money for paid memberships. Mr. Trifonov also claims he was refused an office rental because the landlord didn't approve of the nature of their business. Now, the company is up and running more or less smoothly, with 20 people employed.

by Haley Mlotek
See full article at New York Times

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Feeld, The Ex Threesome App Relaunches

BUSINESSMOLE - Dec 7 - Feeld, the first dating service for both singles and couples, has recently been re-released with a completely new design that is targeted to mobile users. Feeld was first launched back in 2014. It was designed for couples who were looking to meet up with other singles and/or couples that wanted to open up and try a different type of relationship. Feeld now allows a pairing option that can link accounts, and it also has a redesigned interface and navigation system. It also has a location changing feature.

by Beth Haven
See full article at BusinessMole

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Work-Chat Platform Slack Rejected Feeld Dating Bot

THE ATLANTIC - May 10 - Slack, the work-chat platform has shut down a dating bot from dating app Feeld designed for the office. Feeld released the bot recently to alert users who mutually expressed romantic interest that they liked each other. Slack has decided not to list Feeld's bot in its app directory.

by Julie Beck
See full article at The Atlantic

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Team Communication Platform Slack Is Now Also A Dating App

QUARTZ - Apr 28 - Slack, the team messaging platform, has partnered with Feeld, a dating app originally created for threesomes, to create "Feeld for Slack" - a bot that allows employees to share who they have a crush on. That might make many employees uncomfortable, even if they opt out. Slack has yet to release a statement on Feeld for Slack.

by Leah Fessler
See full article at Quartz

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Threesome App CEO: 'Swiping Is Dead'

YAHOO! FINANCE - Jan 14 - According to Dimo Trifonov, CEO of the threesome app Feeld, swiping is merely a "temporary solution to a problem of digital overconsumption and messy, unstructured databases of things." The 26-year-old entrepreneur launched Feeld in 2014 for people to explore the possibilities of threesomes. The app gained some notoriety for Tinder's attempt to sue the startup over its former name 3nder. 3nder changed its name to Feeld in August, a move Trifonov argues hasn't significantly affected its user base of 2M people. Feeld is abandoning the swiping model and "we are also getting rid of the 'judgment user interface' of liking and disliking people", he says. Feeld also plans on launching an entirely new, unnamed app in the spring focused on bringing people together for events.

by JP Mangalindan
See full article at Yahoo! Finance

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3nder Forced To Change It's Name To Feeld

NYPOST - Aug 2 - 3nder, the kinky app catering to threesomes, will change its name amid a trademark dispute. Dogged by a lawsuit from a Tinder filed this spring, British-based 3nder will change its name to "Feeld." Feeld has seen downloads grow 65% year-to-date compared with last year, to reach a total of 1.57M.

by James Covert
See full article at NYPost

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Tinder Sues Threesome App Rival 3nder

THE GUARDIAN - May 23 - 3nder fights back by asking users to tweet pictures of their socks with #TinderSuckMySocks. Tinder is alleging copyright infringement against 3nder, an app for non-monogamous couples and their potential partners. Founder Dimo Trifonov vowed to fight Tinder but said the financial muscle Match Group might be too much for it. 3nder grew 30% in 2015, sending its revenues soaring by ~980%.

by Rob Davies
See full article at The Guardian

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Money Transfer App TransferWise Refused 3nder Business

BUSINESS INSIDER - Mar 31 - The CEO of a polyamorous dating app 3nder is accusing TransferWise of 'double standards' for refusing him service. TransferWise is known for its provocative publicity stunts. In January 2015, the Estonian money transfer app sent a dozen nearly naked employees running through London to protest banks' "unfair exchange rates." TransferWise refused to let the company open a business account because of the "nature of the business".

by Rob Price
See full article at Business Insider

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3nder: Not Just For Threesomes

THEMEMO - Feb 10 - Dimo Trifonov founded 3nder back in 2014. The app was quickly dubbed the 'Tinder for threesomes'. But the app is for everyone looking for everything. "The threesome-side is just marketing," explained Trifinov. "We're for anyone who is looking for non judgemental people." Currently the app has ~500K users. It raised £300K in 2015. This allowed 3nder to launch a smart new version of its app in Sep 2015, and the company is now generating £60K a month.

by Kitty Knowles
The full article was originally published at The Memo, but is no longer available.

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Threesome App 3nder Raised 500K

REALBUSINESS.CO.UK - Oct 22 - 3nder, a threesome app, has just raised 500K from two tech angel investors. The app is for singles and people in open relationships. The app is close to reaching 1M downloads.

by Zen Terrelonge
See full article at RealBusiness.co.uk

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3nder: The Tinder For Threesomes

DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - Feb 24 - 3nder is geared towards swingers, newbies, curious and experienced. It is for singles looking to match with a couple, or for couples seeking a third person.

by Margot Peppers
See full article at DailyMail.co.uk