Month: January 2026

Online Dating & Social Discovery Conference, New York – March 18, 2026

Posted on January 30, 2026
Aerial view of New York City featuring a sprawling skyline with skyscrapers, Central Park with lush greenery in the foreground, and the Hudson River in the background.

OPW – The Dating & Social Discovery North America Conference will take place on March 18, 2026, at Etc. Venues, 601 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan. A pre-networking reception is scheduled for March 17, with a post-conference reception following the event on the 18th.

This one-day conference brings together leaders across dating tech, social discovery, and relationship innovation for focused keynote sessions, industry insights, and high-level networking.

Mark Brooks, CEO of Courtland Brooks, will keynote the event. Confirmed speakers include:

  • Ankit Nayal, Founder, Flamme
  • Ethan Martin, CEO & Founder, SLIDE
  • Obai Abdullah, COO & Co-Founder, Charisma Check
  • Colin Hodge, Founder, DownApp
  • Michael O’Sullivan, Owner, HubStars
  • Ikuho Nakahata, CEO, Tapple
  • Jack Hollins, Head of Engineering, Jigsaw Dating
  • Aaron Jacobs, Partner, Prince Lobel
  • Karima Ben Abdelmalek, CEO, happn

Early bird tickets are available until today (January 30, 2026) – £249 for dating brands, £999 for vendors.

Podcast With Candice Gallagher, Founder of Single Pour and 30 Girls Club

Posted on January 29, 2026

GDI – In the latest GDI Podcast episode, Mark Brooks speaks with Candice Gallagher, founder of Single Pour and 30 Girls Club, about how dating is changing for people in their 30s and 40s. Gallagher discusses her shift from dating content to hosting sold-out matchmaking and social events, the limits of dating apps, cultural differences between Singapore and London, and the growing demand for real-world, community-driven ways to meet and connect.

ShinyHunters Claim 30GB Data Theft From Bumble via Slack and Google Drive

Posted on January 29, 2026
Bumble data leak

CYBERNEWS – The hacking group ShinyHunters claims it has stolen 30GB of internal Bumble data, allegedly taken from Slack and Google Drive, including thousands of internal documents. Bumble confirmed that a contractor account was compromised via phishing but denies any access to user chats, profiles, or sensitive user data. The claims are under investigation by Cybernews. The alleged Bumble breach is part of a broader ShinyHunters campaign targeting companies through stolen single sign-on credentials, following similar claims involving Match Group apps and other firms.

See full article at Cybernews

Indian Dating App flutrr Partners With Saregama to Launch Music-Based Matchmaking

Posted on January 29, 2026
An advertisement for Flutrr and Sa Re Ga Ma

ECONOMIC TIMES – flutrr, an Indian intent-led dating app, has partnered with Saregama, India’s oldest music label, to introduce music-based matchmaking. The new feature lets users connect through shared musical preferences and moods, using Saregama’s catalogue as a signal for emotional and cultural compatibility, with the aim of reducing swipe fatigue and improving match quality.

See full article at Economic Times

ShinyHunters Claims Leak of 10M+ User Records From Match Group Dating Apps

Posted on January 29, 2026
Match Group got hacked

PROTOS – The hacking group ShinyHunters claims it has leaked ~10M user records from Match Group dating apps including Hinge, Match, and OKCupid. The data reportedly includes user IDs, IP addresses, match data, subscription identifiers, and some internal company records, and may have been obtained via the mobile analytics platform AppsFlyer. Researchers say the leak contains limited direct personal details but could still be used for highly targeted scams and fraud. ShinyHunters is known for extortion attempts, having previously forced AT&T to pay a bitcoin ransom, and has recently claimed other large-scale data leaks.

See full article at Protos

Grant Langston: Navigating eHarmony Milestones

Posted on January 28, 2026

LTR – Join us for an in-depth discussion with Grant Langston, the original marketing lead and former CEO of eHarmony. Grant reflects on the early days of eHarmony, the unique challenges of building and scaling one of the most renowned online dating platforms, and the pivotal moments that saved the company from bankruptcy. He also shares insights from his tenure as CEO where he navigated financial distress, legal battles, and evolving media strategies to turn eHarmony into a success story. Moving beyond eHarmony, Grant delves into his current role at Warehouse Exchange and the transformative impact of AI on business operations. This conversation provides valuable lessons on innovation, resilience, and the continuously evolving landscape of online dating.

[**See the video here on YouTube**]

The December LTR was kindly sponsored by Courtland Brooks

Nearly Half of Kiwi Online Daters Would Date an AI

Posted on January 28, 2026
dating an ai

SECURITYBRIEF – Nearly half of New Zealand online daters would consider dating an AI, according to Norton, with 48% open to AI relationships and 25% believing romantic feelings toward AI are possible. Many daters already use AI for emotional support, profile writing, flirting practice, and dating advice, sometimes trusting AI more than friends or family, even as most say they are uncomfortable when others use AI to alter photos or messages.

See full article at SecurityBrief

iOS and Google Play Online Dating App Rankings (January ’26 Update)

Posted on January 28, 2026
Data.ai logo

We’ve updated the rankings using the latest January 2026 U.S. data from Data.ai. Tinder remains the top-grossing dating app across both the App Store and Google Play. Bumble has slid to #3, with Hinge now ranking #2. Other leading apps, including Grindr, Yubo, Taimi, Raya, and Feeld, continue to place across the dating and social networking categories.

Left Field Dating App Lands $200K on Shark Tank to Disrupt Endless Swiping

Posted on January 27, 2026
Let Field on Shark Tank

MSN – Left Field is an AI dating app featured on Shark Tank that aims to move away from endless swiping by focusing on real-life connections. Launched in February 2025, it had ~5K users at the time of filming and uses AI and approximate location data to suggest socially proximate matches. The founders secured $200K in funding from Kendra Scott and Alexis Ohanian in exchange for 8% equity plus advisory shares, signaling strong investor confidence despite ongoing public debate about location-based safety.

See full article at MSN

Thursday Partners With PepsiCo on Branded Singles Event

Posted on January 26, 2026
Promotional image for the event 'Love at First Sip' featuring two people smiling and posing, with details about the event date and location.

LINKEDIN – Thursday has partnered with PepsiCo to launch a branded singles night in London this February, combining an in-person dating event with Pepsi-branded cocktails. The event is designed as a structured IRL social format, with guided seating, short dating games, and limited capacity, and will take place at The Ministry in Borough. The collaboration follows a similar offline brand move announced last week, when Tinder revealed a large-scale European partnership with Sprite, placing the Tinder logo on hundreds of millions of cans across select markets.

See full article at LinkedIn