TECHWEEK EUROPE – Feb 4 – Two in five online daters in the UK have been spammed or scammed by prospective partners, according to a study by antivirus provider Norton. The study, which surveyed 3K mobile users aged 18-34 across the UK, France and Germany, shows 56% of UK respondents have used an online dating site. 48 % of online daters have lied about themselves online. Brits are the most likely to lie.
Month: February 2016
Analysts Say Tinder Is ‘A Real Business’
BUSINESS INSIDER – Feb 5 – Match Group released its first ever earnings report on Tuesday and banks are feeling confident about Tinder's ability to make money. Deutsche Bank said that "Tinder is a real business." The stock market, however, wasn't so bullish on Match Group. The shares were down 16% on Thursday, which followed a 13% drop the day before. On its earning call, Match Group said that ~60% of Tinder users come from outside North America but did not disclose how many people pay for Tinder.
Match Group: Looking Beyond The Dating Business
SEEKING ALPHA – Feb 4 – Match Group has two big online education platforms (The Princeton Review and Tutor.com) that will play an important role in company's future success. In its latest earnings report, the company said that 2016 will be a year when its e-learning platforms will take off. According to IBIS Capital, e-learning is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world. It's expected to grow 23% from 2012 to 2017. Match.com revenues from the educational platforms were $26.1M.
Tinder’s Success In India
FORBES – Feb 4 – Tinder, which launched globally in 2012, reported a 400% jump in downloads in India last year. By last Sep India was already Tinder’s top market in Asia and among the top 15 global markets. Tinder opened its first international office in Delhi last month, headed by Taru Kapoor, a Harvard MBA graduate who previously worked with The Boston Consulting Group and Sequoia Capital India.
AdultFriendFinder Offers One Month Free To Users Of Its Competitors
BUSINESS WIRE – Feb 4 – FriendFinder Networks promises to never use female bots with fake profiles as a method of luring new members. The company is now offering free one-month Gold memberships to anyone who signs up on AdultFriendFinder and can show proof of membership in a competitive adult dating site.
See full article at Businesswire
Ohlala Dating App For Paid Dates Raised Funds To Launch In USA
BUSTLE – Feb 3 – On a new app Ohlala, guys are paying women to go on dates with them. Male users create profiles and, once they've been verified, put out a date request specifying the time they want to meet and the price range of what they’re wiling to pay their date. Female users in the area are then informed about the offer and are given 21 minutes to respond. The app is based in Berlin, Germany but launching in USA with $1.7M seed funding.
by Emma McGowan
See full article at Bustle
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Matrimony Sites Cry Foul Over Identity Proof Norm
TIMESOFINDIA – Feb 3 – India government's new proposal is to make prospective brides and grooms submit id and address proof before registering on matrimonial sites. "~8,K profiles are uploaded on our site every day. It is impossible to physically verify such persons or digitally map their identities", said the strategy head of a matrimony website.
The Inner Circle: Women Wouldn’t Date Men Who Earn Less
EXPRESS.CO.UK – Feb 3 – 60% of the 2K women surveyed by London dating app The Inner Circle admitted refusing a second date with a guy – after finding he had a lower salary than them. 96% of men were not bothered if their date earns less. 75% of women admitted offering to pay towards a first date meal. But only half of men said they expected the offer to split the expense.
by Chris Riches
See full article at Express.co.uk
RuReal App Quickly Recognizes Fake Profile Photos
BROADWAYWORLD – Feb 3 – The RuReal App released by U.S. Publications, cay say if the profile photo is real or not. The App scans 14B images on the Internet. If an image has been used elsewhere or altered, this app reveals where it's been used, along with its origination. It's also a good way for people to see if, where and how their images are being used.
Company Behind Instagram’s #2015bestnine Creates New Dating App
MACWORLD – Feb 2 – Toward the end of last year, a new meme surfaced on Instagram to let users share a grid of their nine most-liked pictures. The same service thinks Instagram users can use those nine photos to find a hot date. The company behind the #2015bestnine Instagram meme has released a new dating app called Nine. 15M Instagram users used the service to post their #2015bestnine. The service then emailed these people offering them a chance to pre-register to a "match-making" app, which 130K people did.