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

by Lincoln Tan
See full article at NZ Herald

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Mar 12, 2019 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sugar Dating App SugarBook to Open Office in New Zealand

NZ HERALD - Feb 23 - SugarBook runs a sugar dating app and claims to have 10K members signed up in New Zealand. Its Malaysian creator and CEO Darren Chan, 31, wants to extend its online service to set up an office in New Zealand and Australia because of the "rising trend of sugar relationships down under". Sugarbook is being watched by police in Singapore and accused of facilitating illegal prostitution in Malaysia. Another sugar dating website, SeekingArrangement, based in the US, claimed last year to have ~50K members signed up in New Zealand.

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Feb 23, 2019 | Permalink | Comments (0)

SeekingArrangement On The Morning Show

YAHOO NEWS - Sep 28 - SeekingArrangement.com is the controversial dating site that's connecting older rich men with attractive younger women. For the first time, the Seeking.com team is bringing their Sugar Baby Coaching Sessions to Australia. Seeking Arrangement's coaches Brook Urich and Alexis Germany talk about the involvement of being sugar daddy/baby.

The full article was originally published at Yahoo7, but is no longer available.

by Caroline Spiezio
See full article at Law.com

Sep 28, 2018 | Permalink | Comments (0)

SeekingArrangement.com Goes After Alleged 'Extortion' Of Exposed Users

LAW.COM - Aug 18 - The suit claims that users of the site have had their photos and identities posted on PredatorExposed.com and PredatorAlerts.com, alongside allegations that they had attempted to pay for sex or made sexual advances to minors. The suit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges Arman Ali and his Bangladesh-based business D4 Solutions posed as women seeking sugar relationships to get personal information and photographs from men on SeekingArrangement.com. Men's photos, names, addresses and other identifying information were then allegedly sold to and posted on PredatorExposed.com and PredatorAlerts.com, alongside allegations that they had attempted to pay for sex or had made sexual advances to minors. The men were then "referred to the removal sites where they are told that the posting can be removed for a fee, which generally ranges from a few hundred to even thousands of dollars," the complaint states. SeekingArrangement's parent company Reflex Media said PredatorExposed.com and PredatorAlerts.com are "extortion sites" that have "caused harm to Reflex Media and the SA members". Many impacted users ended their subscription to SeekingArrangement.com.

by Shana Lebowitz
See full article at Business Insider

Aug 20, 2018 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some 'Sugar Daddies' Provide Business Advice, Mentorship, And Investments

BUSINESS INSIDER - June 7 - The term "sugar dating" typically refers to a relationship in which a younger woman pairs up with an older man who can help support her financially, while she provides romantic companionship. But sugar dating can mean mentorship - without romance or sex. Some sugar daddies are open to business relationships from the beginning, and it's not uncommon for sugar babies to have entrepreneurial ambitions that they seek sugar daddies' help with.

by Emma Lee
See full article at Technode

Jun 08, 2018 | Permalink | Comments (0)

SeekingArrangement Pulled From China's App Stores

TECHNODE - May 28 - The Chinese version of US sugar daddy dating app Seeking Arrangement was removed from the country's iOS app store on May 25th. Meanwhile, the app was unreachable on multiple Android stores such as Tencent MyApp and 360 Mobile Assistant. The controversial dating app, launched in October 2015 in China, recorded a quick spike in popularity in China over the past few weeks. It has taken over the top spot for free social networking apps and the fourth place on the general list last week, outperforming some of the country's most popular networking apps like WeChat and Weibo. Created in 2006 by Singaporean-American Brandon Wade, SeekingArrangement is marketed as a money-for-love dating platform that only pairs rich men with attractive women. It claims to have ~10M active users worldwide.

See full article at GlobalTimes

May 29, 2018 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seeking Arrangement Under Investigation In China

GLOBALTIMES - May 24 - Authorities in Shanghai have launched a probe into Seeking Arrangement which allegedly sexualize and exploit women. SA's WeChat account has been banned on Tuesday. However, its app was downloadable. "Seeking Arrangement dating platform is definitely not built for sex workers. Any suspicious personal data will be excluded by SA review team," the site said.

by Zheping Huang
See full article at Quartz

May 25, 2018 | Permalink | Comments (0)

SeekingArrangement Is Now One Of The Most Downloaded Apps In China

QUARTZ - May 24 - SeekingArrangement has taken over the top spot for free social networking apps in China's iOS App Store, according to App Annie. The service provides pay-to-play relationships usually between older, wealthier men, and young women. It claims to have ~10M active users worldwide, with a sugar-daddy-to-baby ratio of 1:4.

by Shana Lebowitz
See full article at Business Insider

May 25, 2018 | Permalink | Comments (0)

SeekingArrangement Hosted "Sugar Baby Summit"

BUSINESS INSIDER - May 9 - SeekingArrangement, an online dating service for sugar babies and daddies, hosted a conference in New York City. One of the panels focused on money in sugar dating. According to the panelists, sugar dating isn't just about money - it's about developing a relationship and respecting each other's feelings. In fact, it's generally considered a faux pas to ask for money right off the bat. "The financial aspect of the relationship is something that can be brought up once a level of trust has been built. Anyone asking for money upfront is treating the situation as a job, and Sugar dating is not a job, it's a lifestyle choice," according to the website.

by Sanchez Manning
See full article at DailyMail.co.uk

May 09, 2018 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Virginity For Sale On SeekingArrangment Dating Site

DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - Apr 14 - SeekingArrangement promises to bring together 'sugar babies' and 'sugar daddies'. But an investigation by The Mail has revealed that some young British women are selling – or even auctioning – their virginity. Psychologist, intimacy coach and author Dr Lori Beth Bisbey said it was 'disingenuous' to suggest sex wasn't part of the SA deal.

by Rebecca Sullivan
See full article at News.com.au

Apr 16, 2018 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seeking Arrangement Targets Young Female University Students

NEWS.COM.AU - Feb 22 - A Sydney student is funding her studies by having sex with two different men three times a week - and says she's not the only one doing it. There is no cash exchanged directly. Both men preferring to "mentor" her by paying for her living expenses and university costs. She is one of 125K Australian university students signed up to the "Sugar Baby" website Seeking Arrangement, which connects young women with wealthy, time-poor men. The website directly targets university students, offering "relief" to those with large uni debts or HECS payments. Seeking Arrangement spokeswoman Kimberly De La Cruz told news.com.au that a third of the website's "sugar babies" are students.

by Sarah Clayton-Lea
See full article at Lovin Dublin

Feb 23, 2018 | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Controversial 'Sugar Baby' Event Is Taking Place In Dublin This Week

LOVIN DUBLIN - Sep 5 - A Sugar Baby coaching event is taking place in Ireland this Friday, in a private meeting at a Dublin hotel. The event is organised by Seeking Arrangement, which is where many people go to become 'sugar babies' or sugar daddies', a relationship which usually involves an older man financially supporting a younger woman in exchange for her company. The average wage for a sugar baby in Dublin is €2,5k a month, which can include tuition payments, car payments, or rent.

by Kyle O'Sullivan
See full article at Mirror.co.uk

Sep 05, 2017 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brandon Wade: Love Is For Poor People

MIRROR.CO.UK - May 19 - Brandon Wade set up controversial dating site Seeking Arrangement and is hosting the UK's first 'Sugar Baby' summit. He has said love is for poor people and women look for an older lover because men are "more successful". He was joined by Emma Gammer, an experienced 'Sugar Baby' who defended the dating site, but Good Morning Britain's Ben Shephard questioned whether it was "prostitution".

by Alexander Kacala
See full article at Unicorn Booty

May 20, 2017 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seeking Arrangement Is Hosting A Sugar Baby Summit

UNICORN BOOTY - Apr 3 - Seeking Arrangement is hosting a Sugar Baby Summit, a paid seminar for sugar babies in London this May, where they will learn how to succeed in getting a Sugar Daddy. Tickets start at $90.

by Shawn Logan
See full article at National Post

Apr 03, 2017 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Canadian University Students Find Sugar Daddies Online

NATIONAL POST - Jan 17 - According to Statistics Canada, the average tuition fees for an undergraduate student in Alberta were $5,730 in 2015. Alexis German, a spokeswoman for Seeking Arrangement, noted the average monthly "allowance" agreed upon by clients is ~$2,700, not including gifts or other boons. German said the dating service, which has 631,678 registered users in Canada (of which 412,528 are female "sugar babies"), has been successful because it allows users to transparently and explicitly outline their expectations in advance, minimizing unexpected assumptions about the relationship in the future. About one-third of those users are post-secondary students, which German said is a reflection of the financial difficulty facing those attending colleges and universities.