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

Safety Tip for Online Dating Users

USA TODAY - Jan 21 - Grindr, OkCupid and Tinder were at the center of controversy last week when researchers accused the companies of disclosing highly personal information and breaking privacy laws. Each app denied many of the accusations. When users sign up for a dating app, "they're putting information out there that people can use against them. Whether it's hackers or predators," said Jo O'Reilly, a data privacy expert at ProPrivacy. And like many other tech sectors, dating apps are rife with data breaches.

Dating app tips from an Internet privacy expert:

• Be aware that free apps are more likely to sell your data.
• Use only your first name or a nickname.
• Don't give away your home address, work address, phone number or email address in private messages, or when signing up.
• Don't let other users persuade you to chat via another app like WhatsApp or Messenger.
• Turn off location settings, or use them sparingly.
• Use as little personal and identifiable information on your profile as possible.

by Dalwin Brown
See full article at USA Today

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OPW Podcast - The Top Dating Industry News for Jan 21st

OPW -Jan 21 - Microsoft Artemis, Norwegian Consumer Council, Tinder photo dump, Bye bye cookies.

For the top weekly dating industry news in ~2 minutes subscribe to OPW's Two Minute Tuesdays (TMT) podcast on Breaker , Google Podcasts , Spotify , Anchor , Stitcher , Overcast , Radio Public or Apple Podcasts .

Tinder Drops Valentine's Day Related Tweet

HUNDUSTAN TIMES - Valentine's Day is on its way and Tinder India tweeted about it to remind people. Many people, however, grabbed the opportunity to drop memes and show how singles may react on Valentine's Day. While some took at dig at Tinder, others wrote about how they plan to avoid the day. Many people, however, grabbed the opportunity to drop memes and show how singles may react on Valentine's Day. It's not uncommon for brands to dish out tweets which end up attracting hilarious reactions from people.

by Trisha Semgupta
See full article at Hindustan Times

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70k Tinder Photos of Women Just Got Dumped on a Cyber-Crime Forum

GIZMODO - Jan 17 - Aaron DeVera, a member of New York City's task force on cyber sexual assault, said they discovered the images on a website known for trading in malicious software. The reason the photos were collected remains unclear, but their availability to cybercriminals has raised serious concerns that it may be used to commit illegal acts. Tinder said it would take whatever steps it could to have the data removed offline. Tinder noted that all of the photos are public and can be viewed by others through regular use of the app; although, obviously, the app is not designed to help a single person amass such a massive quantity of images. The app can also only be used to view the profiles of other users within 100 miles.

by Dell Cameron & Shoshana Wodinsky
See full article at Gizmondo

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Grindr and OkCupid Spread Personal Details, Study Says

NEW YORK TIMES - Jan 13 - Popular dating services like Grindr, OkCupid and Tinder are spreading user information like dating choices and precise location to advertising and marketing companies in ways that may violate privacy laws, according to a new report released by the Norwegian Consumer Council, a government-funded nonprofit organization in Oslo. Grindr also sent a user's location to multiple companies, which may then share that data with many other businesses, the report said. OkCupid app sent a user's ethnicity and answers to personal profile questions to a firm that helps companies tailor marketing messages to users. OkCupid has recently posted a list of ~300 advertising and analytics "partners" with which it may share users' information. Tinder sent a user's gender and the gender the user was looking to date to two marketing firms. The Norwegian group said it filed complaints asking regulators in Oslo to investigate Grindr and five ad tech companies for possible violations of the European data protection law.

by Natasha Singer & Aaron Krolik
See full article at New York Times

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Tinder CEO, Elie Seidman, And Sean Rad Invest in LA Tech Magazine

GEEKWIRE - Jan 9 - Nearly a year after stepping down as CEO of Seattle-based Zillow Group, Spencer Rascoff is leading the launch dot.LA, a news site for Southern California tech. Dot.LA has attracted dozens of investors and just announced a $4M seed funding round with participation from venture capital firms such as Comcast Ventures, Maveron, Anthos and Greycroft; companies including the Los Angeles Dodgers and Snap; and executives and entrepreneurs including former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, CEO of Tinder Elie Seidman and Tinder Founder Sean Rad.

by Kurt Schlosser
See full article at Geekwire

Study Suggests Tinder is not Very Effective for Finding New Sexual Partners

PSYPOST - Jan 1 - Tinder has been described as a "hook-up app" - but new research published in Evolutionary Psychological Science suggests that it is not particularly effective at facilitating one-night stands. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology were interested in how differences in motivations for using Tinder were related to sexual encounters. In the study, the researchers surveyed 269 Norwegian university students who were former or current Tinder users. Only 54 participants reported engaging in one-night stands following Tinder use and the majority of them had only experienced this once. 80% did not achieve any sexual encounter thanks to Tinder and 13% achieved only one. Only 3% achieved two sexual encounters and 4% achieved more than two. Using data from their new study, the researchers calculated that it took 57 matches on average for a user to have one meeting with a potential partner.

by Eric W. Dolan
See full article at PsyPost

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Gen-Zers on Tinder Want Someone to March With, not Just Match With

QUARTZ - Dec 17- According to Tinder's 2019 Year In Swipe report, users between the ages of 18 and 24, who now make up the majority of the dating and hookup app's users, were 66% more likely than millennials to mention issues like climate change, gun control, or social justice in their bios.

by Brianna Holt
See full article at Quartz

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Tinder, Netflix and Tencent Lead Record-Breaking Year for Apps

BLOOMBERG - Dec 16 - Tinder, Netflix and Tencent Holdings took the top three spots in App Annie's 2019 ranking of consumer spending on non-gaming apps. By the close of 2019, App Annie said consumers have downloaded 120B new apps across iOS App Store and Google's Play Store - that's without factoring in app updates, re-installations of existing apps or Android installs done via unofficial means. The number marks a 5% increase on last year, and the app-tracking company predicted the record will be broken again in 2020. Consumer revenue is said to be growing at 15% each year, with 2019 set to record close to $90B.

by Vlad Savov
See full article at Bloomberg

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Top Grossing Dating Apps Worldwide for November 2019

SENSOR TOWER - Dec 16 - The top grossing dating app worldwide for Nov 2019 was Tinder with ~$82M in user spending, which is up 12% YOY. 41% of Tinder's revenue was from the US, followed by 8% from UK and 4% from Germany. Bumble was #2 with ~$18M in gross revenue, up 29% YOY. 77% of Bumble's revenue was from the U.S., followed by 9% from UK. The next top grossing app was Badoo, followed by Pairs and Tantan.

by Julia Chan
See full article at Sensor Tower

Is Tinder Really a Hook-Up App?

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY - Dec 12 - A common criticism of Tinder is that it promotes meaningless sexual encounters. In general, research shows that people who are more motivated to pursue uncommitted sex are more likely to use mobile dating apps. A team of psychologists from Norway investigated whether Tinder matches typically led to one-night stands. They recruited over 250 users of Tinder. Each volunteer reported their total number of matches, how often they had met a match, and how long they had used the app. Only around half of the volunteers had met with any other Tinder user following a match. 20% of the volunteers had experienced a one-night stand with a match; 25% had met someone who was interested in a long-term relationship. Overall, 80% of Tinder users reported that the app hadn't led to a sexual relationship of any kind.

by Robert P Burriss
See full article at Psychology Today

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Swiping Meant Dating This Decade, and It's Time for a Change

THE VERGE - Dec 11 - As we close out the decade, it might be time to retire the swipe we once knew. The swipe was born only seven years ago, and in that time, it's conquered online dating and made it mainstream. Dating apps are expected to top 25M users in the US this year, and as of 2017, 39% of heterosexual couples in the US said they met online, up from 22% in 2009, according to a recent study. Tinder lowered the barriers to online dating and gamified it. As we enter 2020, the apps seem to be finding out that the swipe alone is no longer cutting it. They're differentiating themselves by creating slower experiences that result in real dates with real people, presumably picking up on daters' wants. Even Tinder is experimenting with ways to augment the swipe and give people more context than just a yes or no. It launched Swipe Night, an interactive video feature, this year that gives daters the option to swipe on people who made similar decisions to them during the experience. The League is using automated, two-minute video calls to help daters filter through matches. New dating app Bounce concentrate on the real-life part of dating by giving people no room to talk and instead focus on the meetup. The app is only live at specific times.

by Ashley Carman
See full article at The Verge

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Tinder's Year in Swipe - Topics Singles Loved in 2019

MIRROR.CO.UK - Dec 5 - From the most popular emojis, the most attractive likes and interests and what people are looking for in a potential match - here's Tinder's 2019 in swipe.

Most used words in bios - Real, Lit, Cause/Mission, Stan, Tea, Travel, Woke, Connection, Explore, Snack; top topics in bios - Vegan, Brexit, Meghan and Harry, Keto, Climate Crisis, Boris Johnson; top entertainment topics in bios - Game of Thrones, Love Island, Fleabag, Lewis Capaldi, JLO, Ariana Grande; fastest growing Tinder cities - Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, London, Leicester.

by Zoe Forsey
See full article at Metro.co.uk

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Tinder Lets Sex Offenders Use the App

PROPUBLICA - Dec 2 - Match Group screens for sexual predators on Match, but not on Tinder, OkCupid or PlentyofFish. A spokesperson said: "There are definitely registered sex offenders on our free products." Match first agreed to screen for registered sex offenders in 2011 after a lawsuit. A Match Group spokesperson said the company cannot implement a uniform screening protocol because it doesn't collect enough information from its free users, and that background checks do little more than create "a false sense of security" among users. "Our checks of the sex offender registry can only be as good as the information we receive," she said, explaining that the government databases can lack data, have old pictures or include partial information. Herb Vest, founder of dating site True.com used to pay ~ $1M a year for third-party services like rapsheets.com and backgroundchecks.com. True.com even warned subscribers that the company would sue if they misrepresented their pasts. True ultimately folded in 2013 but Mr Vest insists the cost of doing background checks didn't play a role in his company's closing. "People can't rely 100% on the sites," Vest said. "But as an industry, we could have done much better."

by Hillary Flynn, Keith Cousins & Elizabeth Naismith Picciani
See full article at ProPublica

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Study: 50% of Tinder Users Have Only Been on ONE Face-to-face Date

DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - Nov 28 - Trond Viggo Grøntvedt at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and his colleagues surveyed 269 students in Norway who were all members of Tinder – 60% of participants were women. Men, on average, reported having matched with 111 Tinder users and women with 124, however only half of the participants reported having meet ups with matches, and on average, men met with 1.9 partners, women with 2.2 partners. Only ~25% of study participants said they had used the app to meet someone interested in a long-term relationship.

by Stacy Liberatore
See full article at DailyMail.co.uk

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Tinder's Sean Rad Accused of Secretly Recording Employees and Bosses

LOS ANGELES TIMES - Nov 22 - IAC alleged in a new court filing that Rad secretly recorded multiple conversations with Tinder employees and his supervisors, potentially violating California law requiring both parties to consent to being recorded. Attorneys for Rad responded with a motion to dismiss the amended claim, arguing that the recordings and transfers of company files did not violate the terms of his employment, though some may have violated California law. The new filing also raised the amount of damages sought to $400M.

by Sam Dean
See full article at Los Angeles Times

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Singles Can Now Use Tinder to Get Involved in Election

MIRROR.CO.UK - Nov 22 - Tinder is hoping to get single people involved in upcoming UK election as it launches Swipe Cards which will direct users to register to vote. This new feature is a first for UK Tinder users. From now until November 26, people with the app will be served a swipe card while they're looking through potential matches. This card highlights that a single vote is a powerful one.

by Courtney Pochin
See full article at Mirror.co.uk

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Tinder or Bumble - The Clichés of 'Big Dating'

USA TODAY - Nov 21 - Swiping to find a date came into the cultural lexicon when Tinder launched in 2012 and revolutionized the online dating scene. "It's a game, it's fire and it's fun," said online dating consultant Mark Brooks about Tinder. Brooks said the app can skew toward audiences looking for a "casual" encounter, whereas other apps, like Hinge, tend to build more "meaningful" relationships. "Since Match Group bought Hinge, they positioned Hinge as 'long-term' and Tinder as 'casual'," Brooks says. "I always regret going on a date from Tinder," said 28-year-old Justyna Kedra, a frequent user of Hinge, Bumble and, sometimes, Tinder. "I feel that people are very transactional. There's no depth." Hinge's approach tends to focus more on getting to know someone based on their politics and religion. According to Hinge's global head of communications Jean-Marie McGrath, 99% of the app's users are college-educated. The app gained recognition when 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg publicly said that he met his partner on Hinge.

by Coral Murphy
See full article at USA Today

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Tinder Will Support Trans Women on the App With New Protocols

BUSTLE - Nov 20 - Tinder is taking steps to protect trans users, particularly trans women, who may be targeted for complaints and harassment by cisgender app users. Tinder CEO Elie Seidman acknowledged the trans women on Tinder who have been speaking out on social media about the apparent automatic bans of trans people's profiles on the platform. These bans occur because when complaints accrue on anyone's account, the platform automatically bans the profile. But Tinder acknowledged that this policy has inadvertently impacted trans folks negatively. To address this, Tinder is going to start "redirecting these types of reports to an escalations team."

by Jenn Polish
See full article at Bustle

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Barry Diller Begins Again

FORBES INDIA - Nov 18 - Barry Diller, the former Hollywood mogul has ground his way to a $4.2B technology fortune. At IAC he has built and spun off ten publicly traded companies, including Ticketmaster, travel giant Expedia and Match Group, Tinder's parent company, worth a combined $70B. "Spinning off Match is a process of renewal in that IAC gets to start inventing again. We are shrinking in order to grow again… shrinking with $5B of cash," he says. Former Diller lieutenant Dara Khosrowshahi, now the CEO of Uber Technologies, says, "Barry's like a shark. If he stops swimming, he dies. So he just keeps going." Diller's current hand looks challenging. Match shares were falling after Facebook said it would redouble its online dating efforts. There are also lawsuits. The co-founders of Tinder, Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, claim they were deprived of billions when the app was consolidated by Match. Diller responds sharply: "Sean Rad is a blowhard and a bad actor." Facebook, Diller adds, has yet to register as a threat to Match. "I'm not overly worried," he quips, then brings up the possibility of regulation. "I think that there are real issues," he says, turning his attention to Google. "It's okay to take our money as advertisers. It's not fine, in my opinion, to then try and get our customers."

by Antoine Gara
See full article at Forbes India

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