STUFF.CO.NZ – Mar 22 – The bots typically respond "hello" immediately after matching and then invite men to visit their private webcam on another site soon afterwards – with the aim of convincing them to part with money or simply fleecing them of credit card details in a phishing scam. Bots for online scams were now being designed more intelligently using advances in machine learning.
by Dileepa Fonseka
See full article at Stuff.co.nz
PRESS RELEASE – Mar 21 – Spark Networks Q4 revenue was $7.7M, a YOY decrease of 28%. Q4 2016 net loss was $3.7M. For the full year 2016, total revenue was $35M, a decrease of 27% compared to the year ago period. The YOY decrease was primarily driven by 10.3% and 13.4% decreases in average paying subscribers for the Jewish and Christian Networks segments, respectively. CEO Danny Rosenthal commented: "We expect 2017 will be a transformational year for Spark. Our priorities are clear: operating profitably, relaunching our technology platform and driving future growth through effective marketing investments. Importantly, we are on track to deliver our new technology platform and re-launch JDate in Q2 and Christian Mingle in Q3."
CBC.CA – Mar 21 – Tinder has been keeping its new, elite service under wraps for the last six months. Tinder Select is for the world's most exclusive bachelors and bachelorettes, and promises an increased level of privacy to people who are wary of being overexposed. Tinder hasn't been exactly forthcoming about the criteria it uses to decide who makes the Select cut, the preference is clearly for those who have that magic blend of affluence, attractiveness and notoriety.
SEEKING ALPHA – Mar 21 – Momo is one of the most popular social networking apps in China. It has evolved from a dating app to a major player in live-streaming, a very lucrative business in China. Revenues have jumped ~300% in 2016, and they still have a lot of room to increase further. Shares are cheap based on forward multiples, and the barriers to enter the industry are increasing. Momo started in 2011 by Yan Tang, former executive at NetEase. By 2012, it had 22M registered users, and as of December 2016, monthly active users (MAU) on the platform reached a record 81.1M. The company started generating revenues in July 2013, and is currently profitable. In the beginning, Momo was a dating app similar to Tinder. Over time, the company added more features, like groups, member forums or topics. In 2015, it launched live video streaming, which today generates the bulk of the company's revenues.
WEBWIRE – Mar 21 – The iDate mobile dating conference is taking place on June 1-2, 2017 at the Sportsmen's Lodge Events Center in Studio City. The event will focus solely on mobile dating and mobile dating apps. Speakers include CEOs and executives from: Zoosk, Woo, PinkSofa, Online Personals Watch and others.
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK – Mar 20 – Spontana is a mix between Instagram and Tinder. The app that lets people rate each other's selfies, all while finding a date. Users upload a picture of themselves that is rated by others. If two users give each other's selfies a high rating, they will then have the ability to contact one another – similar to Tinder's swipe model.
STANDARD.CO.UK – Mar 21 – Oliver Phillips, a master's student at the London School of Economics, thought of the app while travelling in Asia when he struggled to find local dining companions who spoke English. Meet'n'Eat encourages people who want to get to know others, or who speak the same language, to eat together. They are matched by using GPS location data alongside filters such as age, food choice, time and date. Meet'n'Eat is self-funded, hoping to secure restaurant advertising after next month's launch on iOS and Android.
by Mark Blunden
See full article at Standard.co.uk
by Benjamin Butterworth
See full article at Pinknews
GRUENDERSZENE – Mar 20 – Mayze, a new Munich-based dating app, has been launched recently. Marianne Kraai, the app's founder, calls her app "Parship for the young generation". While the Tinder aims at young mobile users, who are mainly looking for casual relationships, Parship attracts older users who are looking for serious relationships. Mayze wants to position itself in the middle. The market is crowded. There is Tinder, Lovoo and Spotted but the apps don't attract any investors. Lovoo, for example, did not receive any external money. According to TechCrunch, there were only $47M for dating startups in 2016 – $32M went to a Chinese player. "Investors are often afraid of dating apps," says Romain Lavault, partner of the French VC Partech Ventures who led the investment in Once. "The apps do not hold their users, and it is very difficult to get users to pay," says Lavault. In addition, the exit market for dating startups is quite limited. Anke Hecht from VC Target Global sees a lack of innovation. "The dating market has not changed for years", she says.