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

Young Indians Embrace Dating Apps Despite Social Taboos

ASSOCIATED PRESS - July 7 - Indian dating app market has exploded in recent years, with more than a dozen companies operating in India such as Woo, Thrill, TrulyMadly, HitchUp and DesiCrush. In India, half of the 1.2B population is younger than 25 and smartphone sales are projected to surge 67% this year alone. Dating is still widely seen as a social taboo in India, "it is very difficult to get girls in India to start using a dating app," said Sachin Bhatia, co-founder of India's TrulyMadly. "We realized verification, security and privacy are very important" to women, Bhatia said. TrulyMadly encourages men to upload copies of their IDs, or to verify their phone numbers. The app Thrill sidelines up to 35% of male users, without telling them, to a so-called "phantom zone" where they can still log on and view others' profiles, but can't make contact and are invisible to other users.

by Rishab R. Jain
The full article was originally published at Denver Post, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Thrill
See all posts on Truly Madly

Summarized by

Asian Apps Try To Be The Anti-Tinder

WSJ - Feb 12 - Peekawoo is a new dating app based in the Philippines. The app has so far raised $85K and claims 25K. Users create a profile with 5 questions. If users match answers on three out of five questions, it’s a match. Another Asian app, Thrill, has ~100K users. It requires all users – who register using Facebook – to have at least five FB photos and 15 friends. MeetDrinks, an app that recently launched in Asia in Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, takes the chatting feature out of online and sets up users for dates.

by Brittany Hite
See full article at WSJ

See all posts on Peekawoo
See all posts on Thrill

Summarized by

Thrill, India’s New Tinder Wannabe, Screens For Scammers And Stalkers

WSJ - Jan 31 - Josh Israel moved to India, hoping to create the Tinder of India. He launched Thrill. As he monitored his users, he saw that many men were opening multiple accounts and using fake photos. After a year of overhauling, the app re-launched last week. It uses Facebook to confirm identities. Men with fewer than 150 friends and those with fewer than five profile pictures are rejected. Men whose profiles say they are married or in a relationship are also locked out. People Group, the parent company of Shaadi, has recently paid $1M for 25% stake in Mr. Israel's company. Mr. Israel also agreed to redesign Fropper, one of India's first dating sites that he started a decade ago.

by Preetika Rana
See full article at WSJ

See all posts on Thrill

Summarized by

Shaadi.com Takes 25% In Thrill

ECONOMIC TIMES - Jan 26 - People Group has bought about 25% stake in dating applications maker Thrill in a cash and stock deal valued at close to $1 million. As a part of the transaction, Mumbai-based People Group has also merged its dating platform Fropper with Delhi-based Thrill Applications.

by Harsimran Julka
See full article at Economic Times

See all posts on Shaadi
See all posts on Thrill
See all posts on Fropper

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Summarized by

Thrill Is Rethinking Dating In India

NEXT BIG WHAT - Sep 5 - Thrill is a new dating app released for the Indian market. On Thrill women get to make all the decisions. Married men and those interested in "sex chat" won't get access. Dating is a relatively new concept in India. The older generations still look down upon it. Most dating sites in India lack credibility. Guys are creeping on women by incessantly messaging them inappropriately,” says Josh Israel, Thrill's co-founder.

by Anand Murali
The full article was originally published at The Next Big What, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Thrill

Indians Hit Mobile Apps To Find Love

TIMES OF INDIA - Sep 15 - Grindr has ~11K monthly users in India. "In conservative regions where being gay may be taboo, Grindr allows for connections that wouldn't happen face-to-face so it's not surprising that it is popular in India," says a Grindr spokesperson. SinglesAroundMe claims they have 66K Indian subscribers. "India is third after the US and UK and represents only 5% of our user base presently, but the number is growing very quickly," says CEO Christopher Klotz. Thrill is another app that is getting popular in India. Thrill's 'he applies she decides' approach enables women to choose the men they want in. Thrill won't be enabling their locator technology at the moment.

by Sonal Nerurkar
See full article at Times if India

See all posts on Grindr
See all posts on SinglesAroundMe