July 2019 – Page 3 – Online Personals Watch

Muzmatch Raised $7M

Posted on July 26, 2019

TECH CRUNCH – July 26 – Muzmatch, a matchmaking app for Muslims, has just raised a $7M Series A. The app has now ~1.5M users, across 210 countries. The funding will help fuel growth in key international markets, is jointly led by US hedge fund Luxor Capital, and Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator – the latter having previously selected Muzmatch for its summer 2017 batch of startups. Last year the team also took in a $1.75M seed. The team has grown from four people seven months ago to 17 now. With the Series A the plan is to further expand headcount to almost 30. Muzmatch was already profitable two years ago.

by Natasha Lomas
See full article at Tech Crunch

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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com

Now Users Can Pay $50 per Month for Grindr

Posted on July 26, 2019

OUT.COM – July 25 – Grindr Unlimited implemented a slate of new add-on features that come in addition to Grindr Xtra. With Xtra, the app upcharges users who wants features like being able to see more profiles, additional filtering options, the ability to send more than one photo at once, unlimited blocks, read receipts, unlimited favorites, and saved phrases. It was previously $11.99 per month, but doubled in price, going up to $24.99 this June. Now Unlimited, which has been pushed recently on social media by the app, boasts the ability to see unlimited profiles, to view who has viewed you, see typing status, go Incognito, and to unsend messages as well as the Xtra features. And that's going for $49 per month. Unsurprisingly, the reaction on social media was not positive.

by Mikelle Street
See full article at Out.com

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Swoovy Sets Users up on Volunteer Dates

Posted on July 26, 2019

BUILT IN AUSTIN – July 26 – Austin based dating app Swoovy send users on volunteer dates such as packaging food to send to the elderly, creating art with homeless people to help them make an income, or attending doggie adoption events. Swoovy co-founder Brooke Waupsh said: "There are so many people spending their time finding a partner to fulfill that personal piece of their life, so I thought, why not do both?"

by Sophie Kalt
See full article at Built In Austin

Bumble Teams up With Country Couples for Charity

Posted on July 26, 2019

EAGLECOUNTRYONLINE – July 25 – Bumble is teaming up with four country music power couples for charity. Bumble users can win a double date with Carly Pearce and Michael Ray, Chris Lane and Lauren Bushnell, Kane and Katelyn Brown or Scotty and Gabi McCreery. In return, Bumble will make a $25K donation to the country couple's charity of choice.

See full article at EagleCountryOnline

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Match Fends off Another Patent Infringement Suit

Posted on July 25, 2019

LAW 360 – July 25 – A Texas federal judge tossed a lawsuit against Match Group. Match was suit last year by newly created Texas company called NetSoc. The company has accused Match of infringing NetSoc's patent titled "a social network to facilitate people in life issues." The judge said the patent is invalid because it lacks an inventive concept and constitutes an abstract idea.

See full article at Law 360

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Dating App Muzmatch Is Changing the Way Muslims Find Love

Posted on July 25, 2019

STANDARD.CO.UK – July 25 – Muslim dating app Muzmatch helped 15K couples meet and get married. Muzmatch is often dubbed the Muslim Tinder but the app's founder and CEO, Shahzad Younas, is not so happy with the comparison. "Muslims don't date, we marry," he says. Younas quit his job as an investment banker and spent six months working 18-hour days to create Muzmatch in his bedroom. Six months after launching, the app had produced its first marriage. Today, Muzmatch has 1.5M members. The start-up has achieved profitability thanks to its premium paid-for tier but the next stage is to continue to improve the app and its features, and expand the team and its reach. The start-up has today announced the close of Series A funding round for $7m. Investors included respected Silicon Valley-based accelerator Y Combinator and Luxor Capital.

by Amelia Heathman
See full article at Standard.co.uk

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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com

CEO of Scruff Talks at Tech Open Air Festival

Posted on July 25, 2019

OPW – July 25 – Eric Silverberg, CEO & Founder of gay dating app Scruff, talks at Tech Open Air about how Scruff spiced up ad design, embraced GDPR and set new revenue records in 2019. Tech Open Air is Europe's leading technology and innovation festival.

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Tinder’s New Security Feature Protects LGBTQ+ Users in Hostile Nations

Posted on July 25, 2019

TECH CRUNCH – July 24 – Users who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer on Tinder will no longer automatically appear on the app when they arrive in an oppressive state. This feature, called Traveler Alert, relies on users' phone network connection to determine its location. From there it will give users the choice to keep their location private. If users opt-in to make their profile public again, Tinder will hide their sexual orientation or gender identity from their profile to safeguard the information from law enforcement and others who may target them. There are 69 countries that consider same-sex acts illegal. Nine of the countries, including Iran, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia allow for prosecutors to pursue the death penalty against same-sex acts and relationships.

by Zack Whittaker
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Momo: Tantan Is Back With a Bang

Posted on July 25, 2019

SEEKING ALPHA – July 24 – On April 29, dating app Tantan was removed from app stores in China at the direction of government authorities. After a 10-week hiatus, the app is available again on Chinese app stores. Less than 24 hours after being back online, the app roared to the top of the grossing ranks in China. Momo shares were trading ~$36 before the announcement of the suspension of Tantan. The share price fell ~25% over the course of May. Now shares have rallied back up, close to their price pre-suspension.