SCMP – Aug 26 – Online dating apps are more popular than before, but users are becoming more selective about meeting up in person amid social distancing measures. Instead, daters are chatting on apps longer, and getting creative with virtual options such as video calls, online games and Netflix Party. In a survey of ~1,200 Hong Kong-based users in late July, Coffee Meets Bagel found that 95% said it was "at least somewhat important" that their date took Covid-19 precautions seriously, with 8 in 10 considering it a deal-breaker if their date did not wear a mask, and 7 out of 10 feeling the same if their date did not adhere to social distancing guidelines.
Month: August 2020
Bumble Brings Benches to Atlanta to Help With Socially Distant Meetups
WSB-TV2 – Aug 26 – The bright yellow bench has two seats that are six feet apart and includes a hand sanitizer dispenser. Printed on the bench it says, "I need space – but only like 6 feet."
Spark Networks SE Reports H1 2020 Financial Results
PRESS RELEASE – Aug 27 – Spark Networks, the parent of Zoosk, EliteSingles, Jdate, Christian Mingle, eDarling, JSwipe, and SilverSingles, reported H1 2020 revenue of €103.4, an increase of €54.2M from €49.2M in the H1 of 2019. The increase is primarily attributable to the integration of Zoosk following the Spark Networks / Zoosk Merger in July 2019. Net Loss was €0.4M, an improvement of €4.5M compared to Net Loss of €4.9M in the H1 of 2019. Average paying subscribers increased to 915K in the H1 of 2020, compared to 445K in the same period of 2019.
Hinge Users Slam the Dating App for Technical Glitch
YAHOO SPORTS – Aug 27 – On August 25, a technical malfunction caused Hinge to crash. According to Twitter, Hinge users were alarmed that their matches were disappearing after they restarted the app. This is not the first time a glitch like this has occurred for the app. A few days prior, on August 20, users also started complaining about how the app restarted and erased their profiles, matches, likes and conversations.
As You Are – A Homegrown LGBTQ Dating App in India
INDIAN EXPRESS – Aug 25 – Indian LGBTQ dating app called "As You Are" aims to offer a safe space for people to make connections while keeping their identity confidential. The app was created by two women – Sunali Aggarwal and Aditi Gupta. For close to two decades, the duo has closely worked with various startups. The app has a strong verification process to filter out fake or junk profiles early on. New users have to provide their email and phone number and a selfie for verification. The app is about two months old and is seeing ~60 signups on a daily basis.
Online Dating Is a Growing Industry But 2021 Will Be Tougher
DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL – Aug 25 – Dating-app users are set to jump by 18% in the U.S. this year to ~26M, according to eMarketer. That comes after a gain of less than 7% in 2019. Still, eMarketer pointed to a slower future after the pandemic of 2020. The number of American users is set to decline in 2021 by 8%.
Albanian Dating App Dua.com Launches With Cisgender and Heterosexual Options Only
‘OkZoomer’ Is a Dating App for College Students
KENS5 – Aug 25 – "OkZoomer is a dating app for college students that was born because we were all kicked off of campuses back in March," said Ileana Valdez, creator of OkZoomer and senior at Yale University majoring in computer science. The dating app can also be used as a way to make new friends. New users need to verify they're a college student with school email. And they'll need to fill out a personality quiz. Then the algorithm does the work. So far, students from ~1,200 colleges around the world have signed up.
Top Grossing Dating Apps Worldwide for July 2020
SENSORTOWER – Aug 24 – The top grossing dating app worldwide for July 2020 was Tinder with ~$68.5M in user spending. 40% of Tinder's revenue was from the United States, followed by 6% from Japan and 5% from Great Britain. Bumble was #2 with ~$16.8M in gross revenue. #3 was Pairs, followed by MeetMe and Badoo.
The Round Dating App Launching in Austin
FOX7AUSTIN – Aug 25 – The Austin-based dating app The Round is trying to reimagine online dating. The app hosts 5-minute real-time matchmaking events so users spend less time messaging and more time on dates.