TECH CRUNCH – Feb 14 – Tinder is testing a series of new social features designed to boost conversations between users. One of them is a conversational prompt that encourages users to respond to questions or finish a sentence in order to better showcase their personality with their answers. The other, a "Share to Matches" option, allows users to post photos, looping videos and other content that can only be seen by their existing matches. Because the features are tests, some users may see both, some may see neither, and some may see just one or the other. Tinder declined to say where or when the tests were running or when they may roll out more broadly to users.
Month: February 2020
A Sad Valentine’s Day for Love Group Global
THE MARKET HERALD – Feb 14 – Love Group Global has reported it has been hacked, with the offender accessing the server and CRM files. The online dating provider did not specify how many clients had been impacted or which services they were using. Love Group has a range of dating services from free online dating to premium matchmaking such as Lovestruck and Noonswoon. Love Group has reported the incident to the Hong Kong Police and the Office for the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data in Hong Kong.
Inside the World of Elite Bay Area Matchmaking
THE MERCURY NEWS – Feb 14 – Amy Andersen runs Menlo Park-based Linx Dating. Andersen started Linx ~15 years ago, after she grew tired of being a "female player" in San Francisco's Marina dating scene, wondering why it was so hard for smart people to find the right match. Another elite dating app, The Bevy, is not for everyone. Users have to be accepted into the club. Only male clients pay on The Bevy. "What people are really paying for is time," said Talia Goldstein, founder of Three Day Rule. Most of her clients are "working nonstop" in tech and finance and recoil at the thought of spending hours weeding out potential weirdos online, grilling people for their resume on first dates or getting ghosted with no explanation.
by Fiona Kelliher
See full article at The Mercury News
See the top news on Linx Dating
See the top news on Three Day Rule
See the top news on The Bevy
‘Dig’ App for Dog Lovers Launches in Las Vegas
NEWS3 LV – Feb 14 – Founders Leigh and Casey Isaacson said they created the app after they were duped by fake dog lovers. The app was first launched in the New York City metro on Valentine's Day in 2018, since then it has also launched in San Francisco, Austin, Kansas City and Los Angeles.
Tinder Loophole Allows Users to Reappear as Suggestions After Being Rejected
FOX BUSINESS – Feb 14 – The loophole allows users to delete and remake their profiles, giving them a second chance to reappear as suggestions for people who previously "swiped left" on their profiles. One Twitter user wrote directly to Tinder on the social media site in April, saying, "Hi Tinder! I would like an explanation as to why a profile that I've swiped left on at least 10 times in the past keeps reappearing. I've tried to report it through the app to no avail." Tinder did not respond to the tweet.
Tinder’s Swipe Night Coming Soon to Indonesia
THE JAKARTA POST – Feb 14 – Tinder is set to release an interactive video titled Swipe Night in Indonesia in March. Available on the Tinder app, Swipe Night brings users on a first-person apocalyptic adventure. The interactive video requires them to make choices at key turning points and their decisions will impact their matches when the journey ends.
Safer Dating With 3D Face Verification
Why Hinge Employees Bet a $200 Dating Stipend
YAHOO FINANCE – Feb 11 – Dating and relationships are at the heart of the company's culture, said McLeod, CEO of dating app Hinge. Employees of Hinge enjoy perks, including a $200 a month stipend to go on dates. "They're encouraged to use the money to do something that they wouldn't have typically done without the $200," he said. McLeod said even he uses the benefit for date nights with his spouse.
Tinder Is Matching Users’ Valentine’s Date Bill & Donating It to Bushfire Relief
Matchmaking Based on “DNA Compatibility”
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN – Feb 13 – Genetic matchmaking is entering the mainstream. Earlier this year, Nozze, a Japanese dating service, established a DNA Matching Course and hosted a related DNA Matching Party. For 86,400 yen ($790), men are paired with prospective dates based upon 16K variations in HLA gene complexes. There is also Swiss pioneer GenePartner, Houston-based Pheramor and services that combine genetic and non-genetic profiles like Instant Chemistry and SingldOut. Since the 1970s, researchers have found that variations in the genes of the major histocompatability complex (MHC) play a role in mate selection in mice. Swiss biologist Claus Wedekind did a study known as the sweaty T-shirt study. Researchers had men wear T-shirts for extended periods of time. Then they had women sniff the shirts to rate the former wearer's sexual attractiveness. They found an inverse correlation between MHC similarity and attraction score. Harvard geneticist George Church has championed another version of compatibility. Using whole genome sequencing, he hopes to match couples to reduce or eliminate many inherited diseases.
by Mira Michels-Gualtieri & Jacob M. Appel
See full article at Scientific American
See the top news on Nozze. See the top news on SingldOut
See the top news on GenePartner See the top news on Instant Chemistry
See the top news on Pheramor