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

The Right Stuff Dating App Floundering After 3 Months

THE DAILY BEAST - Twelve weeks after its rocky launch, conservative dating app The Right Stuff failed to attract many users. In Oct, the Peter Thiel-backed startup generated 40K downloads, according to data from Sensor Tower. But between Nov. 1 and Dec. 20, that figure dropped to just 11K downloads. The app, co-founded by former Trump administration official John McEntee, continues to face an onslaught of negative reviews and criticism from its target demographic: young conservatives. Its intense verification process has made it inoperable for many users.

by Noah Kirsch & Zachary Petrizzo
See full article at The Daily Beast

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Right-Wing Dating App Slams Rival's '33 Gender Options' in New Ad

NEWSWEEK - "The Right Stuff", a right-wing dating app that was recently mocked for failing to attract women to its platform, is now promoting itself as "the least political dating app" around, one that doesn't prompt users to add their pronouns or political beliefs. In its ad, The Right Stuff is mocking Tinder, Hinge and Bumble for "33 gender options", presenting itself as a return to "normal." But the app, targeted at heterosexual conservatives, is struggling to get off the ground. The Right Stuff, backed by billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, was launched on September 30, with a video introducing the app presented by Ryann McEnany, former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany's younger sister.

by Giulia Carbonaro
See full article at Newsweek

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Dating App "The Right Stuff" Launched to Negative Reviews

INDEPENDENT.CO.UK - The dating platform currently has a 2.4-star rating in Apple's App Store. The Right Stuff, an invite-only dating app backed by conservative PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, launched last month after a widely mocked marketing campaign, which included promises of "profiles without pronouns" and a way for conservatives to avoid the "woke" dating apps. In addition to concerns about the "safety" of the platform, the most common complaint is the app's invite-only aspect. The app has also sparked mixed reviews among the conservative individuals it intends to target. One user claimed that the platform is actually a place for "extremists to meet".

by Chelsea Ritschel
See full article at The Independent

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Three Former Trump Staffers Are Launching a Dating App for Conservatives

BUSINESS INSIDER - The Right Stuff, a conservative dating app founded by Trump administration staffers John McEntee, Daniel Huff, and Isaac Stalzer, came out of stealth last week via a video posted by the company's spokesperson, Ryann McEnany, on Twitter. On The Right Stuff, users can only identify themselves as male or female, or view profiles without pronouns. Women can earn a premium subscription by inviting friends to the platform, while men have to pay to access premium features, such as viewing more profiles, sending more likes, and seeing all of their likes at once. The Right Stuff is the latest dating app catered to conservatives that has cropped up in recent years. Others include Righter and Donald Dater. Peter Thiel, a billionaire investor and outspoken Trump supporter, was reportedly pouring $1.5M into the app. Thiel has a long history of investing in startups that align with conservative values.

by Samantha Stokes & Lakshmi Varanasi
See full article at Business Insider

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Conservative Dating App The Right Stuff Launches With Bizarre Video

VERDICT.CO.UK - The Right Stuff first hit the news in January following a $1.5M seed round from Thiel. At the time, John McEntee, the former Trump political aide behind the company, said The Right Stuff aimed to launch in the summer. Ryann McEnany, the younger sister of former Trump White House secretary Kayleigh McEnany, stars in the video and said that The Right Stuff will launch in September. The app is invite-only and free to use, at least for the basic package. The video also showcases how conservatives can create conversation starters by filling in different prompts. In one prompt shown in the video, it says "Alexa, change the…" to which fingers supposedly belonging to McEnany type in and finish the sentence with the word "president". The Right Stuff isn't Thiel's first conservative tech investment. He has also injected dosh into the YouTube-like video-sharing app Rumble, which has become a hit with conservatives because it has looser content moderation rules, as Business Insider reported.

by Eric Johansson
See full article at Verdict.co.uk

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Billionaire Investor Peter Thiel Is Reportedly Pouring $1.5M Into a Dating App for Conservatives

BUSINESS INSIDER - Early Facebook investor Peter Thiel is reportedly pouring $1.5M into "The Right Stuff", a dating app for conservatives. John McEntee, Trump's former political aide, is behind the project. It will launch first in Washington DC this summer and will initially be invite-only.

by Katie Canales
See full article at Business Insider

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