LITTLE BLACK BOOK – Hinge and creative agency Birthday launched "Where Hinge Ends, We Begin", a new European campaign that builds on the app's "Designed to Be Deleted" message. Tailored for markets like Germany and France, the campaign features local dating moments and ends with couples deleting the app by destroying its mascot, Hingie.
See full article at Little Black Book
Curated by the Courtland Brooks team
404 – A user of the women-only dating safety app Tea, Griselda Reyes, has filed a class action lawsuit after two major data breaches exposed selfies, ID photos, and over a million private messages. The lawsuit claims Tea failed to protect users’ sensitive data and violated their trust. Reyes says she learned of the breaches through the media, not from the company. The case could expand as more users join. Tea has not publicly commented but has since disabled its direct messaging feature.
Curated by the Courtland Brooks team
OUT – Grindr has reversed its ban on the phrase "no Zionists" in user profiles, stating the decision was made after a policy review. The reversal follows backlash over inconsistent moderation, as other exclusionary phrases like "No FFA" remain allowed. The app said the original ban was introduced due to user concerns, but confirmed it regularly reviews its moderation rules.
Curated by the Courtland Brooks team
LINKEDIN – Dating app Thursday and intimate care brand Femfresh launched a bold billboard campaign across London this week. The collaboration links Thursday’s real-life dating events with Femfresh’s message of confidence and freshness, using cheeky, direct messaging to turn heads.
Curated by the Courtland Brooks team
TECH CRUNCH – Dating safety app Tea has disabled its direct messaging feature after a second data breach exposed ~1.1M private messages, including sensitive content like phone numbers and discussions about abortions. This follows a prior breach that leaked 72K user images. The company took the system offline as a precaution and stated that the first breach only affected users who joined before Feb 2024. Despite the issues, Tea remains highly popular, ranking #2 on the App Store with an estimated 2M monthly active users.
See full article at Tech Crunch
Curated by the Courtland Brooks team
LINKEDIN – Coffee Meets Bagel has appointed Quincy Yang as CEO for the U.S. and Canada, while co-founder Arum Kang moves into an advisory role. Yang, who joined as CFO in 2018, will work alongside Shn Juay, CEO of CMB Worldwide, who oversees markets outside North America. Co-founder Dawoon Kang is also stepping away from daily operations.
Curated by the Courtland Brooks team
LTR – Join us in a conversation with Maria Avgitidis Pyrgiotakis, the renowned fourth-generation matchmaker, CEO of Agape Match, and host of the Ask a Matchmaker podcast. Maria delves into her 16-year journey as a top-flight matchmaker in New York and her family’s rich history in the matchmaking tradition. She discusses her newly released book ‘Ask a Matchmaker: Matchmaker Maria’s No-Nonsense Guide to Finding Love.’ Maria shares her unique perspectives on modern dating, the role of family in matchmaking, the impact of technology and dating apps, and how the matchmaking industry can bridge gaps in today’s society.
[**See the video here on YouTube**]
The May LTR was kindly sponsored by Dating Through Curiosity and Courtland Brooks
MASHABLE – Grindr now blocks users from writing "no Zionists" in their bios, showing an error message if they try. But phrases like "no fats," "no Asians," "no Blacks," and "no Jews" are still allowed. This has raised questions about why some language is flagged while other, clearly exclusionary, terms are not. Grindr says it made the change after user complaints and is reviewing its policies. The platform has faced similar criticism before – in 2020, it promised to remove ethnicity filters but left them live for weeks.
Curated by the Courtland Brooks team
GDI – Mark Rollings is Co-Founder of a most unusual niche dating service, Paranormal Date, for singles interested in the paranormal. What possessed him to start it, how is it promoted, and what platform is he running on?
Curated by the Courtland Brooks team
OPW – Online marketing luminary Dennis Yu, kindly pointed out that Mark Brooks (and Courtland Brooks) take the top spot for “dating industry expert” on Chat GPT and stated… “People will always seek out the best.”
If you’d like some help growing your dating business or are a best-in-class vendor or service provider to the dating industry, please see CourtlandBrooks.com, and schedule a call to discuss your current needs.
