MIRROR.CO.UK - May 6 - BeautifulPeople.com, which has rejected 8.5M people worldwide for not being attractive enough, has revealed the physical characteristics that are most rejected. The poll of 3K members found bad skin, a disproportionate nose and weight were some of the main reasons why someone would get rejected.
by Harriet Whitehead & Tanveer Mann
See full article at Mirror.co.uk
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QUARTZ - May 9 - Tantan, China's favourite dating app, is now the fifth-most popular in India by combined monthly active users on iOS and Android phones, according to App Annie. In May 2018, Tantan did not feature among the top 10, but zoomed to the 4th position by July. It has since slid one spot following the launch of Bumble in December.
Top dating apps in India
(as on May 2018) (as on March 2019)
1. Tinder 1. Tinder
2. Happn 2. Happn
3. Azar 3. Azar
4. Badoo 4. Bumble
5. OkCupid 5. Tantan
Tantan translates in Mandarin to "talk." Launched in 2014, the app bears a high resemblance to Tinder, and was acquired by the Chinese social network Momo in February 2018. Tantan has ~90M registered users in China. The dating app has been advertising aggressively on TikTok.
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BDAILY.CO.UK - May 9 - We see our phones as an extension of ourselves, according to new research from the University of Cologne. The findings, published in the journal Electronic Commerce Research, demonstrate that we only retain apps on our phones either because they tie into our self-image or if we believe they are or will be useful, keeping them 'just in case'. Professor Fritze suggests that digital services are so pervasive that we now see them as an extension of ourselves.
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QUARTZ - May 9 - Bumble entered India in December 2018, at a time when the country was already flooded with online dating apps. But just five months later, the company says it has witnessed record-breaking success in the country. Indians have already started ~2M conversations on its platforms, says Priti Joshi, Bumble's global director of strategy. Also, ~60% of Indian women on Bumble are using at least two of its modes (Dating, Bizz, BFF), which is higher than in any other country.
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THE NEXT WEB - May 9 - Bumble has recently introduced AI to automatically censor unsolicited dick pics to make online dating for women a safer and friendlier space. Starting in June, users of dating apps including Bumble, Badoo, Chappy, and Lumen will have access to the AI-based tool "Private Detector." The tool, which allegedly has a 98% accuracy in spotting nudes, will warn users of an image it deems as "lewd" or offensive. "Putting women's safety first is out top priority," says Louise Troen, Bumble's VP of Internal Marketing and Communications in the UK. "We have 1000s of moderators, all around the world, looking for it. AI is built into Bumble that can monitor and find images like this."
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BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK - May 9 - HappyGo has launched a London dating app to arrange dates on the same day. The app, aimed at young working professionals, will give users three local profile choices of potential dates and have until 1pm that day to decide on one. At 2pm they will be notified if they have found a match, and the app will introduce the pair and recommend a nearby pub or bar for them to meet.
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BUSINESS TODAY - May 9 - Out of the billion search queries that Google gets from India, dating and ordering pizza are two things Indians are most excited about. There is 40% growth in dating related searches in India, much faster than the matrimony queries. There is also 37% increase in online dating brand queries versus 13% increase in interest for matrimony brands.
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NEW YORK TIMES - May 9 - Bumble founder's week includes testifying before the Texas Legislature, planning a new headquarters and avoiding a lethally enthusiastic Great Dane. In addition to Bumble, the dating app that requires women to make the first move, Whitney Wolfe Herd, the company's founder and CEO, oversees an app for friends (Bumble BFF), an app for networking (Bumble Bizz), an app for gay men (Chappy), a print magazine (Bumble Mag), an investment fund (Bumble Fund), a film fund (Bumble Presents … The Female Film Force), a psychotherapeutic skin care line (Bumble Beauty), a restaurant concept (Bumble Brew), operations in nine countries, and a slew of celebrity investors and endorsers including Priyanka Chopra and Serena Williams.
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THE VERGE - May 8 - Match Group had to pay Tinder employees $9.4M in stock compensation this quarter because of the app's rapid growth. That might be consequential in the $2B lawsuit the company faces from Tinder co-founder Sean Rad. Rad claims Match purposely undervalued Tinder in an effort to avoid paying out billions of dollars in stock to the team's original employees. An independent valuation earlier this year valued Tinder at $10B, which would trigger performance-based payouts. This new valuation, which comes only two years after Match valued Tinder at $3B, could lend Rad's case some merit.
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FEMINA.IN - May 8 - In India, only 1 in 12 abandoned pets are rehomed, and the estimate on pets abandoned run into thousands. Friendicoes SECA, a Delhi-based NGO, estimates that up to 600 pets are abandoned every year in the city, of which only about 100 to 150 find new homes. So dating app Tinder is partnering with animal rescue and shelter foundations to help users find their #PawfectMatch. Users will be able to swipe on pet profiles, and swiping right will redirect them to fill out a form to indicate their preference from adopting, fostering, donating or volunteering, after which the process will be taken further.
by Shraddha Kamdar
See full article at Femina
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BUSINESS WIRE - May 8 - Q1 revenue is $49.5M, up 32% YOY. Net income is $7M, up from $4.1M in Q1 2018. "Our strong progress in video continued in the first quarter," said CEO Geoff Cook. "We grew video revenue to ~$20M, a more than four-fold increase from the year ago quarter." Average video revenue per daily active video user increased to 26c, up from 18c in the Q4 of 2018, while ~20% of users engaged in video every day.
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BARRON'S - May 8 - It has been a year since Facebook announced it was getting into online dating and Match Group stock fell to $35. But it closed at $60 yesterday, and it was recently up 6% in after-hours trading after the company announced Q1 results. Tinder performed well, with subscribers and ARPU described as the main reasons for Match's revenue growth. Facebook, meanwhile, continues to move ahead with dating services. It is expected in the US later this year.
by David Marino-Nachison
See full article at Barron's
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BRUSSELS TIMES - May 8 - Brussels' correctional court has ruled against dating site RichMeetBeautiful, declaring it guilty of "encouraging sexual immorality or prostitution". The site's owner, Sigurd Vedal, was dealt a suspended six-month prison sentence and ordered to pay ~€200K fine. The ruling follows a 2017 lawsuit after the site targeted students at the Free University of Brussels with controversial ads. The court slapped an additional €240K fine on the site's parent company, Digisec Media Limited, ordering it to pay an additional amount to the university for damages. The site remains blocked in Belgium.
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PRESS RELEASE - May 8 - Q1 revenue grew 14% YOY to $465M. Average subscribers increased 16% to 8.6M, up from 7.4M in the prior year quarter. Tinder average subscribers were 4.7M in Q1 2019, increasing 384K sequentially and 1.3M YOY. The stock is up 9.5%.
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LAW360 - May 6 - A class action seeking to hold AdultFriendFinder.com accountable for its 2016 data breach that allegedly released the personal information of 339M users must go to arbitration, a California federal judge ordered this week.
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CNN - May 7 - Apple and Google removed three dating apps from their app stores after the US government said the apps could expose children to sexual predators. Meet24, FastMeet and Meet4U were in potential violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. COPPA prevents websites and apps from collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. The three apps are owned by a Ukraine-based company called Wildec LLC. It allowed minors 13-years-old and younger to be contacted by other users, contradicting the apps' privacy policies, which claimed they would follow necessary laws, including COPPA.
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TECH GUIDE - May 6 - Lumen is a dating platform for over 50s. It was launched in September 2018 and provides a safe and age-appropriate environment for older men and women. The app's new feature - Lumen Social - allows members to join groups based in interests in travel, sports, home and garden, TV and film, food and drink and meet and greets. This feature is designed to connect users via group chats with new friends who share their interests.
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EU STARTUPS - May 6 - Frankfurt-based startup Go Crush is a dating app that allows people to meet in groups. Dr. Jost Schwaner, the ex-CEO of Elitepartner, has just invested a mid-five-figure sum in Go Crush. The team plans to raise another €500K in September, after raising €250K last year. Founded in 2017, Go Crush so far has ~50k registered users in Germany.
by Mary Loritz
See full article at EU Startups
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
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VOX - May 6 - Coworking spaces, friendship apps, and adult dorms are selling human connection. Tribe is a co-living space with 7 locations in Brooklyn whose motto is "We help you make friends" which offers furnished rooms. However, "the product really is the people." WeWork was recently valued at $47 billion and makes facilitating connection an explicit part of its mission...to rebuild social fabric and human connection. Hey Vina is an app to help women develop new friendships and was founded in 2015. A few months later, Bumble launched Bumble BFF, which does the same thing. For new mothers to make mom friends, there's Peanut. For dog owners, there's Meet My Dog. Then there's Meetup. Loneliness is such a tragedy - and a trap. Hypervigilant, the lonely brain detects social threats everywhere, spurring further isolation.
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LINKEDIN - May 6 - Badoo is looking for an individual with experience content sourcing, live-streaming and launching a commercially successful product.
This post also appears on InternetDatingJobs
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