Month: March 2017

Norway Forced Tinder To Change How It Uses Customer Data

Posted on March 31, 2017

Tinder icon on mobileENGADGET – Mar 30 – In Norway, Tinder recently got into trouble over how its terms and conditions are worded, according to regional news publication Dagens Næringsliv. Under the old terms Tinder had "sweeping" ownership and control over user data. More than that, Tinder could change its terms and even delete user accounts without any sort of notification. Because of the Council's inquiry, Tinder has changed how it'll do business. The changes were:

  • Norwegian consumers get Norwegian conditions
  • Terms must be easier to understand and shorter
  • A summary of the short-form terms will be present before the terms are agreed upon
  • Norwegian and European protection rules apply
  • Notification of changes to the agreed upon terms
  • User-generated items will be deleted when an account is terminated

by Timothy J. Seppala
See full article at Engadget

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eHarmony Launches Premium Service

Posted on March 31, 2017

Eharmony logo new may 13PR NEWSWIRE – Mar 30 – eHarmony Premium helps people to:

  • Get up and running faster with a one-time profile consultation with an eHarmony expert
  • Get more exposure through a new "Spotlight" feature designed to promote their profile for an entire day each month.
  • Know who is reading their messages and who isn't to eliminate time wasted communicating with someone who may not be as active online.
  • Go incognito to see who has been checking them out and view their profile without reservation.

eHarmony Premium starts at $30 a month on top of the eHarmony standard price. In the coming year, eHarmony plans to release additional tiers and services to Premium.

See full article at PR Newswire

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People Get Caught Out By The Tinder Scammers

Posted on March 31, 2017

Tinder scammerNAKED SECURITY – Mar 30 – Maggie Archer, a 20-year-old student, has found what she considers the best possible use for Tinder: just asking guys to send her money ($5). At one point, she was pulling in ~$100/week. She put her pitch ("send me $5 and see what happens") into her profile, so it wasn't even a direct ask. After they had sent her $5 via PayPal, she unmatched them. While it wasn't a scam, technically, it turns out to be against Tinder terms of service – "requesting money from other Tinder users violates our terms of service". Tinder has plenty of other scam flavors. In Thailand, Tinder scammers are posing as attractive young women to trick men into wiring cash.

by Lisa Vaas
See full article at Naked Security

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Indian Dating App, Marrily.in, To Improve The Matching Process

Posted on March 30, 2017

Marrily logoTHE HINDU – Mar 30 – There are ~2k matrimonial sites operating in India but only 4% of all marriages per year happen through online matches. The online matchmaking business is estimated to be worth ₹1,000 crore. A new startup, Marrily.in, has just entered the space. The app was launched by four alumni from IIT Kanpur. It works very much like other dating apps currently on the market. Users have to register through Facebook. They can then swipe yes or no on people anonymously and will be allowed to initiate a conversation only if there is a match. Marrily though would like to refine the search algorithm as much as possible and make the matching process better through the use of AI and information that can be found on social media. Marrily uses parameters like the Big Five personality test. Their algorithm also uses techniques like word cloud measures, which collects a stream of text written on social media accounts that are then compiled to match personality types. Marrily has ~15k registered profiles.

by Jayant Sriram
See full article at The Hindu

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He’s For Me – Offline Matchmaking For Professional Lesbian Women

Posted on March 30, 2017

H4M_logoPRESS RELEASE – Mar 30 – He's For Me (H4M) is an offline matchmaking service designed exclusively for gay professionals seeking long-term relationships. The service was started by Austin businesswoman and certified matchmaker, Tammy Shaklee. Her matchmaking service is available in Texas, as well as Boston and Chicago.

See full article at Internet Dating Newswire

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Tinder Available On Desktop

Posted on March 29, 2017

Tinder desktopTECH CRUNCH – Mar 28 – Tinder is launching Tinder Online, a web-optimized version of the dating app so people can Tinder at their desktops. Tinder Online doesn't include any of Tinder's revenue features like Tinder Boost or Super Like, for now. Head of Product at Tinder, Brian Norgard, says that Tinder Online is meant to serve users in emerging markets who don't have enough storage on their phone or a big enough data plan for Tinder's image-heavy feed. It's also meant to offer Tinder power users the option to do their swiping and messaging on desktop, which is far easier on power users than a mobile app. Tinder has always been a native mobile app, first on iOS and then on Android. But the company now serves 196 countries across the world, and is learning to be flexible when it comes to giving people options about how they use Tinder. Tinder is currently testing Tinder Online in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Philippines, and Sweden, with plans to launch everywhere 'soon'.

by Jordan Crook
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Grindr Launches LGBTQ Online Magazine Platform ‘Into’

Posted on March 29, 2017

Grindr intoFORBES – Mar 28 – Grindr celebrated its 8th birthday last weekend. Almost a decade and ~10M app users worldwide later, the company is eager to get rid of its "gay hookup app" image, and establish itself as a lifestyle brand instead. Grindr launches its online magazine title Into, today. It is headed by former Wonderland magazine Production Director, Oly Innes.

by Declan Eytan
See full article at Forbes

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Tinder Is Testing A “Matches Up For” Feature

Posted on March 29, 2017

Tinder_matches_up_for_interestitial1VENTURE BEAT – Mar 27 – Tinder is testing a new feature called "Matches Up For" that lets singles set a status to indicate they are interested in meeting up for a specific activity. The feature is not a permanent addition, meaning not all users currently have the experiment and it may not be here to stay. Matches Up For is a perfect example of dating apps ripping and innovating off each other. It also shows how they are eager to expand from matching singles to helping them actually meet. Tinder's new feature looks like a direct ripoff of dating app Happn. Happn only offers six choices: Grab a bite, Go for a run, Get a drink, Catch a movie, Go out, and Go for a walk. Tinder is currently testing 11 choices: Going Out, Drinks, Coffee, Food, Dancing, A Party, Clubbing, Movies, Karaoke, Tea, and A Concert.

by Emil Protalinski
See full article at Venture Beat

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Snap Announced 2016 Results; Poised For Rapid Growth After The Merger With Paltalk

Posted on March 28, 2017

Snapinteractive logoACCESSWIRE – Mar 28 – Snap completed merger with Paltalk on Oct 7, 2016. Total revenues increased 4.3% in 2016 as compared to 2015. Total post-merger revenues for Q4 2016 increased 51.5%, compared to total pre-merger revenues in Q4 2015, reflecting the benefits of the merger. 2016 net loss was ~$1.5M, which included ~$1.1M of non-recurring Merger expenses. Snap has introduced a beta launch of a new dating product, 50more, in the Q1 of 2017, which targets a growing segment of the dating market of users 50+. The company integrated dating functionality into Paltalk to cross sell FirstMet subscriptions to video chat users, and began work on a new live video chat consumer application.

See full article at Yahoo Finance

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The League Is Coming To London

Posted on March 28, 2017

Theleague london adMASHABLE – Mar 27 – The League, the super-exclusive dating app for ambitious intellectuals, is currently only available in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Boston. But he app announces its plan to expand into 10 international cities this year, with London first up on the agenda. London was chosen as its first international stop due to its "similarities to Manhattan" – The League's "best market to date." The League will officially launch in London on April 25, and the app says it will select ~2k from the 10k people currently on its waitlist to join its founding London community.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team