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

Hookup Apps Adding PrEP As New Filter Option

NEW NOW NEXT - Oct 9 - Marchant, co-founder and chief product officer of Scruff, revealed the app's next update will allow users to filter their searches by safer-sex practices, including condoms and PrEP. And while Scruff is the first to plug PrEP into its app, Grindr has partnered with Gilead on studies and education awareness, and the app Mister says it is adding hashtag functionality that will allow users to search for profiles with #prep.

by Dan Avery
See full article at New Now Next

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STD App Hula Partners With Dating Apps

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN - Nov 21 - Hula app stores sexually transmitted disease test results in one place and, if users like, can discretely notify sex partners of their health status. The app makes people more aware of the need to be tested for STDs and to share the outcome with sexual partners. Hula is also hoping that it can help to reduce the risk of sex with people who met through the location-based dating apps. Hula has partnered with a gay dating app Mister. Mister is encouraging users to find local testing centers, and making their test results available to online “friends" via Hula.

by Dina Fine Maron
The full article was originally published at Scientific American, but is no longer available.

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'Mister' Gay Dating App Gets A Revamp

WSJ - July 24 - Carl Sandler is the CEO of Mister, a newly relaunched mobile dating app for gay and bisexual men. Carl helped design Gay.com, and also writes an advice column for the Huffington Post. The relaunch of Mister comes with several new design elements, including “Mr. Right,” a feature which acts as a “digital wingman". Gay men were among the earliest adopters of mobile dating apps. Grindr, Scruff and Manhunt are all enormously successful apps with millions of users. But one of the side effects of their success is that they may be contributing to a “hook-up” culture. “The hookup world is a vestige of the past,” Carl said. “We’re looking for a way that creates more space for something else to emerge.”

by Eric Sasson
See full article at WSJ