TECH CRUNCH – Feb 12 – Facebook has been forced to call off the launch date of its dating service in Europe because it failed to give its lead EU data regulator enough advanced warning – including failing to demonstrate it had performed a legally required assessment of privacy risks. Facebook said dating would arrive in Europe by early 2020 but it just didn't think to keep its lead EU privacy regulator in the loop, despite the DPC having multiple ongoing investigations into other Facebook-owned products at this stage. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) had sent agents to Facebook's Dublin office seeking documentation that Facebook had failed to provide. The DPC said Facebook first contacted it about the rollout of the dating feature in the EU on February 3.
Month: February 2020
Q&A With Hinge CEO
YAHOO MONEY – Feb 11 – Hinge is one of the fastest growing dating apps in North America. The app's active user base has increased 400% YOY. Founder and CEO Justin McLeod discusses the state of the dating apps, how the space has changed since Hinge's creation, Facebook Dating, users privacy and the company's $200 dating stipend for employees.
Russia’s Security Service Tells Internet Firms to Hand Over User Data
REUTERS – Feb 11 – Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has ordered some of the country's major internet companies to give it continuous access to their systems. The list, drawn up by Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, contains more than 200 entities such as popular messenger service Telegram, some Yandex services, social network VK and classified advertisement website Avito.ru. Companies that fail to comply can be blocked. Tinder said last year that it had agreed to be added to Roskomnadzor's register but had not divulged users' personal information.
Study: Half of American Singles Tried to Score a Last-minute Valentine’s Date
MENAFN – Feb 11 – Hily dating app asked 3K of its single users from the U.S. if they feel pressure with Valentine's Day coming. 42% of women and 47% of men struggled to find a date before Valentine's Day just because they didn't want to be alone. Only 6% of female users and 8% of male users have actually succeeded in it. 38% of men and 36% of women feel like they need to find a date. Hily is an acronym for "Hey, I like you". Hily's CEO Alex Pasykov also founded Taimi, the first LGBTQ+ dating app and social network.
Report: Dating Site & Ad Tracking
MASHABLE – Feb 11 – A new report from Ghostery, which creates products to detect and block data trackers, reveals which dating sites are using ad trackers. A data tracker is a snippet of code that companies such as Facebook and Amazon can implement onto other sites. Ad trackers on dating sites, for example, retarget the user on other websites. If a user goes to Match.com, the next time they go on Facebook they may be served an ad for Match.
EliteSingles Study: Being Vegan Boosts Popularity When Online Dating
PRESS RELEASE – Feb 11 – According to a new EliteSingles' study, users whose profiles mention veganism or vegetarianism receive 73% more messages than the average user. The study also revealed that, while the term vegan gives a significant message boost (50% above the average), it's vegetarian that is the big winner, boosting message rates to 108% above average. Veggie sits in the middle, coming with an 62% boost in messages received. EliteSingles is designed for successful single professionals seeking a long-term relationship. EliteSingles is part of Spark Networks SE.
AI Isn’t Just Coming to the World of Dating – It’s Already Here
ARS TECHNICA – Feb 11 – There's an entire world of AI-powered dating site gaming techniques – some of which even have public Github repositories. For most of the men gaming the apps – a bot logs on to the site for them, swipes right repeatedly, and perhaps drops a basic introductory message to mutual swipes. The human player simply logs in later and collects the results of the bot's "harvesting" run.
Shane Mac is CEO/co-founder of conversational AI company Assist. Mac's "bot" is a virtual keyboard for dating-related conversations where the user select two levels of "intents." It works anywhere, from Tinder to Twitter and is no different in principle than Gmail's Smart Compose. Alas, Mac's keyboard isn't publicly available, due in part to his own concerns about ethical use. However, an Android SMS messaging app called Mei offers an optional AI feature that analyzes your SMS conversations and offers advice about how the other person feels – both in general and about you specifically – and how you should best engage them to continue your conversation.
Internet Dating Jobs Listing Update – February 2020
OPW – Feb 12 – The new Internet dating jobs listing is live on the Internet Dating Jobs blog.
Below see a couple of this month's most interesting offers:
Bumble
Head of Growth
CoffeeMeetsBagel
VP of Product
Lovoo
Head of Community Management
Match Group
Head of Marketing – Match
POF
Director of Live Straming Content
Spark Networks
Vice President of Investor Relations
The Inner Circle
Chief Marketing Officer
The League
Director or VP of Operations & Finance (COO fxn)
Tinder
Business Development Director, Europe
To see more open positions go here.
Do you have an idating industry job offer which is not included? Please, send it to tips@onlinepersonalswatch.com and we will add it to the list.
The Top Dating Industry News for Feb 11th
OPW – Feb 11 – Match Group's financial results, $2.2B Spent on Dating Apps, Tinder lost Chief Product Officer, New Pew Research Report, Matrimony Acquired Astro-Vision.
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Aussies Lost $29M to Romance Scams in 2019
BUSINESS INSIDER – Feb 11 – Aussies lost ~$28.6M to dating and romance scams in 2019, according to figures from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Traditional online dating websites accounted for $7.8M in losses, via Facebook ~$2M and Instagram ~$975K. Those aged between 45-64 were mostly affected. Women made up 55% of reports.