FOX4NOW – Dec 17 – Former Cape Coral mayor, Marni Sawicki launches a new dating site aimed to combat the issue of domestic violence by providing users with additional background information. "I absolutely believe the online dating sites should be doing more to protect their users," said Marni Sawicki. Sawicki and her business partner launched You're A Match, which allows survivors to anonymously post police reports, restraining orders, convictions and other verifiable documents. She says that of the 3M restraining orders reported each year, only 1M are uploaded to the FBI's crime database. The site aims to provide a safer dating experience and relies heavily on survivor engagement.
Month: December 2019
Gen-Zers on Tinder Want Someone to March With, not Just Match With
QUARTZ – Dec 17- According to Tinder's 2019 Year In Swipe report, users between the ages of 18 and 24, who now make up the majority of the dating and hookup app's users, were 66% more likely than millennials to mention issues like climate change, gun control, or social justice in their bios.
Tinder, Netflix and Tencent Lead Record-Breaking Year for Apps
BLOOMBERG – Dec 16 – Tinder, Netflix and Tencent Holdings took the top three spots in App Annie's 2019 ranking of consumer spending on non-gaming apps. By the close of 2019, App Annie said consumers have downloaded 120B new apps across iOS App Store and Google's Play Store – that's without factoring in app updates, re-installations of existing apps or Android installs done via unofficial means. The number marks a 5% increase on last year, and the app-tracking company predicted the record will be broken again in 2020. Consumer revenue is said to be growing at 15% each year, with 2019 set to record close to $90B.
OPW Podcast – The Top Dating Industry News for Dec 17th
OPW – Dec 17 – Acquisition rumor?, Rankings Update, Hily growth, The League video dates.
For the top weekly dating industry news in ~2 minutes subscribe to OPW's Two Minute Tuesdays (TMT) podcast on Breaker, Google podcasts, Spotify, Anchor.
S’More Dating App Doesn’t Rely on Swipes
NEW YORK BUSINESS JOURNAL – Dec 17 – New dating app S'More, which stands for "Something More," prioritizes getting to know a person before users see profile photos. Photos start out blurry. The more users engage and chat with each other, the more their profile photos unblur. S'More offers a collage-like feel and can be customized to reflect the personality and priorities of the user. S'More requires photo verification that reduces "catfishing:" and helps prevent underage users. All profiles also feature a publicly visible rating score, based in part on user behavior. Investors liked this unique spin on the dating app model, including Benson Oak Ventures, which led a recent $1.1M seed round. Social Discovery Ventures CEO and Founder Dmitry Volkov also joined the effort, along with investor Joshua Black and SideCar Angels. Aslatei most recently served as managing director of Chappy, Bumble's gay dating app. Before that, he consulted for The Meet Group.
by Anthony Noto
See full article at New York Business Journal
Dating App Based on Genetic Matching Not Eugenics, Scientist Says
THE GUARDIAN – Dec 17 – George Church's dating app proposes to match users based on their DNA in an attempt to eliminate genetic diseases. He said that the app would screen out potential partners who are considered to have the "wrong" DNA. Church, a molecular engineer, has dismissed claims the app would create a distinction between acceptable and unacceptable humans. The app, which has not yet been developed, would in theory prevent two people from matching if they had similar genetic mutations that could result in rare, hereditary diseases like Tay-Sachs. Church had previously been part of Jeffrey Epstein's circle of scientists friends. In the interview, Church distanced himself from Epstein, saying "just because he hung out with me briefly, doesn't mean I bought into his malarkey."
There’s an Exclusive Dating Site for the University of Maryland
WASHINGTON POST – Dec 17 – University of Maryland senior Brandon Ferrell offered his peers a free dating site called TerpMatch. Students register with a university email address, type the name of thier crush and wait. Unlike most dating services, TerpMatch does not have messaging capabilities, photos or bios. But all matches must be made by this week. Ferrell said he will close the site on the last day of the semester. He said he built TerpMatch from scratch in about six hours. He launched the site the weekend after Thanksgiving and watched ~900 students sign up the first few days. Now, ~6K students are trying to match with their classmates.
OkCupid Survey: Women Should Refuse to Marry Into a Family That Requires a Dowry
HINDUSTAN TIMES – Dec 17 – 72% users of OkCupid have said that traditional gender roles, such as men being default heads of households and women taking care of chores and children or changing their names, have no place in their lives now. OkCupid revealed these statistics in its year in review report for 2019. It said that 85% of its users said that women should refuse to marry into a family that requires a dowry.
Parent Company of eharmony Eyes Acquisition of The Meet Group
REUTERS – Dec 16 – German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE's e-commerce arm NuCom Group is exploring the acquisition of U.S. livestreaming app developer The Meet Group. NuCom, whose holdings include online dating website eharmony, has made a preliminary expression of interest to buy The Meet Group, the sources said, cautioning that there is no certainty that there will be negotiations that lead to a deal.
Top Grossing Dating Apps Worldwide for November 2019
SENSOR TOWER – Dec 16 – The top grossing dating app worldwide for Nov 2019 was Tinder with ~$82M in user spending, which is up 12% YOY. 41% of Tinder's revenue was from the US, followed by 8% from UK and 4% from Germany. Bumble was #2 with ~$18M in gross revenue, up 29% YOY. 77% of Bumble's revenue was from the U.S., followed by 9% from UK. The next top grossing app was Badoo, followed by Pairs and Tantan.
