DAILYMAIL.CO.UK – May 22 – Clémentine Lalande, 36, is the French founder of dating app Pickable. She claims the British dating scene is missing 'sparkle and magic' of the French. Lalande's app, Pickable, is designed to encourage what it describes as 'slow dating', getting users off the app, away from text exchanges and onto a real-life dates. However she noted British men appear to lack creativity when it comes to planning face-to-face encounters. She launched Pickable in France and the UK in November last year and it now has 1M active users, including 200K in the UK. The key to Pickable is that it gives women a greater sense of control over their online dating by keeping their identity anonymous. They can sign up on the app anonymously, without photos and any other details. Men, meanwhile, create a traditional profile, with a name, photo and bio. Women are able to scroll through men's profiles on the app and, when they land on a user they like, send them a message.
Month: May 2019
Chinese Singles Start Blind Dating at a Younger Age
How an AI Can Be an Online Dating Coach and Help People Find Love
FOX5NY – May 21 – The online dating sector is turning to artificial intelligence. Match.com in the UK launched Lara, an AI dating coach available on Google Home smart speakers and some Android devices. Users ask Lara for a match and can then ask for suggestions on what to say to or do with the person they’re matched with. Dating app companies are trying to figure out how to satisfy their users, which is why they are trying AI. AIMM, a voice-activated dating app, launched last year and is being tested in Denver with about a thousand users. AIMM sets up dates, preps users before the first date, gives them advice, and checks in with both people to see how it went. And it even recommends whether they should continue to date or move on to someone else. Experts believe this is the future.
Females ‘Ship’ MatchGroup’s New Dating App
WALL STREET JOURNAL – May 21 – Match Group has teamed up with millennial digital brand Betches to create Ship, which was launched in January. Ship allows friends to vet potential mates for one another. On its first-quarter conference call in early May, Match said Ship is seeing strong engagement in big cities. The company said ~70% of registrations thus far are female and ~60% of matches are made by friends.
Global App Report – Video & Streaming and Online Dating Saw Huge Increase in Traffic
ADJUST.COM – May 21 – According to the latest annual "Adjust Global App Trends" report, video & streaming is the 4th fastest growing sector (the traffic was up 12.3% in 2008), followed by the online dating sector (traffic was up 11%). The Adjust Global App Trends Report examines data (from Jan 1, 2018, to Dec 31, 2018) across the top 1K performing apps. Download the report here.
Taiwan Legalises Same-sex Marriage
BBC – May 21 – Taiwan's parliament has become the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. In 2017, the island's constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry. Parliament was given a two-year deadline and was required to pass the changes by 24 May. Lawmakers debated three different bills to legalise same-sex unions and the government's bill, the most progressive of the three, was passed. It will take effect after Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen passes it into law.
Cointreau and Bumble Join Forces for Margarita Monday Dates
BUSINESSWIRE – May 21 – Cointreau, the iconic orange liqueur at the heart of The Original Margarita recipe, and Bumble partner for Margarita Monday events. Happening across New York City, Los Angeles, Austin, and Chicago throughout the months of May and June, these events are promoted and available for sign-up in the Bumble app.
Grindr Is Falling Out of Favor
WASHINGTON POST – May 20 – Grindr has received backlash for one blunder after another. The Kunlun Group's buyout of Grindr raised alarm among intelligence experts that the Chinese government might be able to gain access to the Grindr profiles of American users. The app faced scrutiny after reports indicated the app had a security issue that could expose users' precise locations and their HIV status. Also, Scott Chen, the app's straight-identified president, may not fully support marriage equality. "It still feels like an app from 2009," says Brooks Robinson, a 27-year-old marketing professional in Washington." Robinson now prefers meeting people on Scruff. In the past several years, Grindr users have widely reported that spambots and spoofed accounts run rampant. "Grindr made stalking someone a little too easy," says Dave Sarrafian, a 33-year-old artist and barista in LA.
Dating.com to Expand in Asia and US Through M&A
PR NEWSWIRE – May 17 – Dating.com Group, managed by SOL Networks, is an umbrella brand for ~15 brands, including Dating.com, Lovinga, Tubit and TripToghether. The company is looking to acquire dating companies in Asia and the U.S. Dating.com Group has offices in seven countries and a team of ~500 professionals with ~73M registered users across the entire portfolio.
A Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against Momo
GLOBE NEWSWIRE – May 15 – Bragar Eagel & Squire, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased Momo Shares between April 21, 2015 and April 29, 2019. Investors have until July 15, 2019 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. The complaint alleges that throughout the period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the company's business, operational and compliance policies.