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

Bumble Reveals Dating Trends in 2023

MASHABLE - Bumble has released its annual predictions for what we can expect in the new year. Emotional needs are high on people's list of priorities.

1. New year, new me(n) (74% of men say they've looked inward and analysed their own behaviour more than ever and have a clearer understanding of toxic masculinity.)
2. Guardrailing (63% of daters say they're clearer about emotional needs and boundaries.)
3. Love-life balance (54% care more about their work/life balance than their career status.)
4. Open casting (One in three daters are now more open to considering dating beyond their "type")
5. Ethical sex-ploration (53% believe it's paramount to express sexual wants and needs early on in a relationship.)
6. Wanderlove (33% of people on Bumble are now more open to having relationships with people not in their current city.)
7. Dating renaissance (Per Bumble's data, 39% of people on the dating app ended a marriage or serious relationship within the past two years. Some of them are using dating apps for the very first time.)

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on Bumble

Tinder Is Launching Tinder Uni in the UK

MASHABLE - Tinder Uni can only be accessed by students with a uni email address (ending in ac.uk), and users will have to confirm that email address in order to gain access to the feature. Per Tinder research, 53% of graduates in the UK met a current or previous partner while studying and 62% of those are still with that partner. Tinder has launched similar features in other countries, namely Tinder U for U.S. college kids.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on Tinder

Bumble Makes Cyberflashing Detection Tool Available as Open-source Code

MASHABLE - In 2019, Bumble launched its AI tool 'Private Detector', which alerts users when they've been sent an obscene photo and automatically blurs the image. Now, Bumble is making a version of the tool available to the wider tech community on GitHub. Rachel Haas, Bumble's VP of member safety, said in a statement, "Open-sourcing this feature is about remaining firm in our conviction that everyone deserves healthy and equitable relationships, respectful interactions, and kind connections online."

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on Bumble

Bumble Is Campaigning to Make Cyberflashing Illegal

MASHABLE - Cyberflashing is the act of sending non-consensual explicit photos. The violation is not currently illegal in England and Wales. It has been criminalised in Scotland for more than a decade. Bumble is launching a campaign #DigitalFlashingIsFlashing to call on the UK government to acknowledge the need for a new law in England and Wales criminalising the sending of non-consensual explicit images. According to Bumble, 48% of women aged 18 to 24 had received a non-consensual sexual photo in the last year alone, with 59% reporting they felt less trusting of others online afterwards, with one in four stating they feel violated. 

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on Bumble

Tinder Launches Vibes, A Compatibility Check Feature

MASHABLE - May 5 - Vibes is a new way to test compatibility. Tinder users will be informed when Vibes has kicked off in their area via push notification or when they open the app. They'll be asked to answer a series of questions on any number of topics like pop culture, personality traits to see whether they'll vibe with a possible match. Vibes will be rolling out globally in late May.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on Tinder

OkCupid Predicts August 1 as the Hottest Dating Day of the Year in UK

MASHABLE - Feb 23 - According to OkCupid, Aug. 1 will be "the hottest day for dating in 2021," after Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to offer all UK adults the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 31. Vaccines are a hot topic among online daters at the moment, according to OkCupid data. The dating app reports a 137% increase in the mentions of 'vaccine' on OkCupid profiles between November 2020 and January 2021. 42% of OkCupid respondents said they'd cancel a date with someone who didn't want to take the vaccine.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on OkCupid

Bumble Bans Fatphobic Messages and Body Shaming

MASHABLE - Jan 28 - Bumble will be modifying its terms and conditions to prohibit unsolicited, pejorative, disrespectful comments about someone's body shape, size, health, or appearance. Comments that are fatphobic, ableist, racist, colourist, transphobic, or homophobic will also be prohibited. The ban will apply to comments made through the dating app's chat function.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on Bumble

Hinge Rolls out New Features Including Roses

MASHABLE - Dec 7 - Dating app Hinge is rolling out some new features globally. One of them is Roses which works like Tinder Super Likes. In addition to Roses, Hinge is introducing Standouts, and a new feed featuring Prompts and Photo Prompts from possible matches. Standouts will refresh everyday to show users new Prompts curated based on their previous likes and comments sent to possible matches.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on Hinge

Hinge and Headspace Launch Free Pre-date Meditations

MASHABLE - Oct 6 - From today, daters can access Hinge and Headspace's pre-date guided mediations on hinge.co/headspace at no cost. The meditations last around five to six minutes and they tackle a number of emotions singles might be feeling before a date, from self-doubt to negative self-talk.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on Hinge

Tinder Is Making Its 'Orientation' Feature Global

MASHABLE - June 25 - Tinder users can identify as three of the following: straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, demisexual, pansexual, queer, and questioning. Since launching a year ago in Australia in partnership with GLAAD, 62% of swipers have set an orientation, and one in five matches made identify as queer. Tinder also plans to expand its More Genders features on a global scale in the next few months.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on Tinder

It's Time For Dating Apps To Move Away From Facebook Sign Ups

MASHABLE - Mar 22 - Since news broke about Cambridge Analytica's "hijacking" of 50M Facebook users' data in a bid to influence the U.S. election, people are thinking about deleting Facebook. But deleting Facebook will also prevent them from accessing their existing Tinder account. They can sign up for Tinder using phone number. This will, however, create an entirely new profile. With Bumble, it's a little different. Bumble currently requires you to have a Facebook account in order to sign up for the app. But, if users deactivate their Facebook, they can still keep Bumble profile and access it as usual. That access will end, however, if they log out of Bumble. Bumble is less than a couple of weeks away from releasing an update that includes a non-Facebook login. User of The League would need to upgrade to a membership option if they want to cut ties with Facebook. Hinge also insists on users having a Facebook profile. far too many dating apps are tethered to Facebook. It's high time they offered users another way to sign up.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See all posts on Tinder          See all posts on Hinge
See all posts on Bumble        See all posts on The League

Summarized by the IDEA team

With "Apply To Date" Singles Can Now Play Their Own Game Of The Bachelor(ette)

MASHABLE - Mar 18 - Apply To Date lets singles build a shareable webpage that's a little bit like a dating resume. The webpage has its own shareable URL that daters can add to their tweets, Snapchat stories, and Instagram bios. At the top of the page, there's a button that allows people to ask them out. There's an introduction, followed by more background, a chance to list what they're looking for. At the top and bottom of the page photos from Facebook or Instagram will be shown, and links to social media accounts.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

Summarized by the IDEA team

Tinder Users Are Changing Their Locations To Match With Athletes At The Winter Olympics

MASHABLE - Feb 12 - People are changing their Tinder locations so they can swipe on athletes at the Olympic Villages in South Korea. According to Tinder, there's been a 1,850% increase in swipers "passporting" to the Olympic Villages. Tinder Passport is a feature which allows users to change their location to connect with people anywhere in the world. Tinder has given all its Olympic Village users free access to Tinder Gold during the games.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See all posts on Tinder

Summarized by the IDEA team

Heterosexuals Are Obsessed With Height In Online Dating

MASHABLE - Nov 17 - In online dating, height appears to be an immensely valuable currency. Author and "dating coach" James Preece says dating apps encourage us to be "incredibly picky" and to rule out individuals based on arbitrary qualities. "Tall men know that their height is a big selling point, so they'll mention it to attract women," says Preece. Salonee Gadgil, co-host of dating podcast The Swipe Hype, doesn't necessarily think it's a bad thing to swipe left on someone because of a physical attribute. "I don't particularly like long hair, and don't find men with long hair attractive, so I would swipe left. Does that mean I am discriminating? Not really," says Gadgil. Benjamin G. Voyer - a psychology and behavioural science professor at London School of Economics - says the allure of height boils down to evolution. "Height is a sign of health, and we are looking for health characteristics when we look for potential romantic partners," says Voyer.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

OkCupid Launches Anti-dick Pic Pledge

MASHABLE - Aug 12 - OkCupid is making all current and prospective users pledge that they won't send unwanted sexually explicit messages on the app. In a blog entitled "Because You're Better Than a Dick Pic," the dating app said the member pledge is designed to remind their community of "dating etiquette."

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See all posts on OkCupid

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team