SKY NEWS – Frustrated with traditional dating apps, entrepreneurs are creating niche platforms to address common issues like ghosting, fake profiles, and compatibility mismatches. Zaahirah Adam launched Hati, an app skipping profile pictures and texting, instead using voice notes and short phone calls to foster genuine connections. Johanna Mason created Cherry, requiring ID verification to tackle catfishing and scams, while Alex Felipelli developed Veggly for vegans and Lefty for left-wing singles, catering to shared values.
Month: January 2025
China Slaps Heavy Fine on Top Dating Platform for False Ads
SIXTH TONE – Zhenai, one of China's oldest matchmaking platforms, was fined 1.7M yuan ($232K) for false advertising, including the use of fake profiles, exaggerated claims, and aggressive sales tactics. Regulators found the company misled users with automated messages, manufactured success stories, and inflated membership numbers, damaging consumer trust and market competition. Zhenai has apologized and promised to improve oversight.
Happy New Year!
OPW – We wish you a very Happy New Year. To all our readers of Online Personals Watch, we wish you and your families a fantastic 2025. Thanks for your continued readership, support, and encouragement. Online Personals Watch was started in 2004, and we're now in our 21st year with the same team and zero turnover!
Dating Apps Prepare to Launch AI Features to Help Users Find Love
THE GUARDIAN – Match Group is increasing investment in AI with new products coming in March 2025 for its “AI transformation.” Match Group’s digital assistant will perform core dating tasks such as selecting the photos it calculates, which will garner the most responses and recommend prompts and information to put in a bio. It will help users choose the perfect partner. The AI will conduct a spoken interview with the user to establish what they want to get out of their dating experience, suggest messages to send to people, and provide “effective coaching for struggling users.”
Anastasiia Babash, a PhD candidate at the University of Tartu in Estonia and a member of the international Ethical Dating Online project, said the increased reliance on AI in dating could be detrimental to people’s ability to interact without it. Also, can Match Group be trusted to safeguard the immense amount of data they are collecting and using to train their algorithms or to remove data bias problems? “AI systems used in dating apps are often trained on data that reflect existing biases. If these biases aren’t addressed, AI could reinforce stereotypes or even discriminate.”
Faye Iosotaluno, the CEO of Tinder, said the company had been taking a careful approach to AI in relation to how it handles data. “I think it does have a chance to really revolutionize how users are engaging. We want to be super thoughtful about that.”
by Raphael Boyd
See full article at The Guardian
Mark Brooks: People need help navigating the huge amount of choices we’ve served up for them. They need help with all the associated decisions; how to choose, communicate, and decipher feedback. AI will become a mainstay for larger dating apps and an enduring USP.
Tinder Showcases Dance Duo in Latest Campaign
MARKETING BEAT – The ad ‘Wherever It Takes You’ devised by European agency LePub stars dance duo Victoria Vassiliki Daldas and Theo Zeitner. The duo met on Tinder and have become a lauded new act in dance music. The ad starts with their tour for their first album and flashbacks to moments throughout their relationship, such as their first date and matching on Tinder. The campaign will run across TV, video-on-demand, social media platforms, and out-of-home placements in the UK, Germany, France and Spain.