APPDATE – Mar 6 – APPdate's 9 seconds selfie video feature allows its members to get a pick into potential matches real life. Pinny Rozen, co-founder: "We have seen tremendous positive feedback. Our members tell us that with it, they can instantly get a feel of other matches look, way of expression, accent, vocabulary, habitat, dress code and much more." The app launched the selfie video feature in December 2017 during a pilot in Israel. It became an immediate hit.
Month: March 2018
There Is Three Day Rule, When Dating Feels Like A Job
NPR – Mar 6 – Three Day Rule is a matchmaking company that is finding matches for their clients and offering date coaching while also helping to optimize online profiles. The company also has a database of 90k singles – and partnerships with online dating companies like Match, OkCupid, Christian Mingle and J-Date. Clients pay ~$6K for a package that gets them six dates over six months, as well as personalized support and advice.
by Ashley Brown & Alyssa Edes
See full article at NPR
Bumble Is Becoming The LA Clippers’ Jersey Sponsor
TECH CRUNCH – Mar 6 – Bumble's logo will now appear on the jersey of the LA Clippers. The multi-year, eight-figure partnership comes a little over a year after the league announced a program to include sponsored patches on team's jerseys. So far about 20 teams have inked deals with sponsors, including tech companies like Stubhub, Fitbit and Rakuten. Bumble says they will work with brands that have strong female representation in executive management.
Tinder Has Patented Swiping And Double-opt-in Matches
AXIOS – Mar 6 – Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg made an intriguing disclosure during Q4 earnings call: "On the product front, Tinder has been on the cutting edge of innovation since its inception in 2012, inventing the swipe gesture, which has since become this cultural phenomenon of 'swipe right' and 'swipe left' and that is often imitated on mobile products. Tinder also invented the 'double blind opt-in' whereby two users need to 'like' each other before they can message. In fact, these features are so innovative that Tinder was granted a patent in the dating category by the US Patent & Trademark office." The patent application is dated October 21, 2013.
Tinder Is Not The #1 Dating App In Japan
BUSINESS INSIDER – Mar 6 – The online dating market continues to grow in Japan as well. The market size was ~ 25.6B yen in 2017 (~ 200M Eur), and according to forecasts, it should grow 37.4B yen (~290M Eur) in 2018, or by 46% according to Business Insider Japan. However, Tinder is not the largest dating app on the Japanese market. It is Pairs, a Facebook-based dating app that is also owned by Match Group.
by Jonas Grundler
See full article at Business Insider
Dating App Bumble Bans Gun Images After Mass Shootings
NEW YORK TIMES – Mar 5 – Following a string of mass shootings and nationwide calls for gun control in recent weeks, Bumble is banning images of firearms. Some 5K moderators will scour new and existing profiles and remove gun-related content, said Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble's founder and CEO. Bumble will not censor images that appear in users' Instagram feeds, which can be integrated into Bumble profiles. Ms. Herd plans to eventually filter out mentions of guns in written content as well.
Online Identities Cost £820 On Dark Web
TIMES – Mar 6 – An individual's extensive online identity, including bank details, dating profiles, shopping accounts and passport information, can be bought for only £820 on the dark web. Hacked dating profiles or food delivery services, on sale for less than £5 each, can provide a gateway for criminals to more serious identity thefts.
Tinder Is Now Offering A ‘More Genders’ Option In Australia
DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA – Mar 5 – The new feature, which was rolled out just ahead of Sydney's Mardi Gras parade on Saturday, means users are now able to edit their selection using a 'More Genders' option. Tinder Australia is quite late to the game in terms of offering the new feature – the app has offered gender diverse options on the US and UK since November 2016.
App LegalFling Is Trying To Simplify Consent
YAHOO NEWS – Mar 3 – LegalFling is an app that allows users to catalog their consent with a partner. The app's tagline says: "Get explicit about sexual consent." Still in beta, it's powered by Live Contracts, a Netherlands-based startup that allows users to create instant, easy-to-understand, legally binding contracts in minutes. Relying on blockchain, a technology that encrypts data, the contracts are only accessible to the two people involved, and the claim is that they are 100% safe from hacking. Just like Tinder or Bumble, users choose to X (swipe left) or heart it (swipe right). A heart is yes and an X is no. But the reality may be more complex.