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Month: February 2026

Reminder: LTR Edition 49 Happening This Wednesday, February 25th

Posted on February 24, 2026

OPW – This is a reminder that LTR Edition 49 will take place this Wednesday, February 25th, at 12:00 PM EST. In this edition, Mark Brooks will sit down with Matthew Gain, CEO of ParshipMeet Group, to discuss the company’s portfolio of brands, current market challenges, and the key opportunities shaping the next few years in the dating industry.

Then, Mark will interview Eric Straus, former CEO and Founder of Cupid.com and now President of Transworld Business Brokers in Manhattan. They will cover Eric’s exit from Cupid.com and explore how dating companies can position themselves for acquisition, navigate the sale process, and identify the right buyers.

If you hold a full-time leadership role at an online dating, social discovery, or matchmaking company, you are welcome to join LTR events for free.

This LTR is kindly sponsored by HubPeople.ai, LeadThink and Courtland Brooks.

Promotional image for LTR US featuring Matthew Gain, CEO of ParshipMeet Group, and Eric Straus, former CEO/Founder of Cupid.com, in front of an audience.

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Grindr Is Testing a New AI Subscription Tier in Australia Called Grindr Edge

Posted on February 24, 2026
Grindr EDGE

STREAMLINE – The paid plan uses AI to summarize chats, suggest compatible matches, detect under-18 users, and strengthen identity verification. It’s priced very high (over AUD 100/month in some markets).

See full article at Streamline

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Dating App ‘Advocate-Influencer Marketing’, by Courtland Brooks

Posted on February 23, 2026
influencer marketing

OPW – At Courtland Brooks we approach influencer marketing with care and intention. We find storytellers who get a brand’s mission, nurture those relationships, and help them become genuine advocates. The results are ads that do not look like ads; they’re videos that actually live in the creator’s story, feel real to their audience, and inspire them to take the next step instead of just scrolling past.

Here are some examples:

  • Chad Foster for Christian Filipina: https://youtu.be/l4-4X6XYyW0?t=25
    Most creators hesitate to promote dating apps, but we have a way to turn skepticism into genuine advocacy. When we tapped travel content creator Chad Foster, he wasn’t convinced he was the right fit for CF, thinking whatever he’d produced would feel forced. But we guided him to create videos that felt personal, which led him to sign up as a member, and over time, he became a full-pledged advocate (extending his initial 3-month collab agreement into a long-term partnership that continues to this day). His videos went from simply mentioning CF to featuring success stories of couples to his own experience using the service. 

  • Province Smile for Christian Filipina: https://youtu.be/0JgdFb5Iu4E?t=120
    A dating app’s biggest advocate is often the one whose own story proves the platform works. Jason of Province Smile didn’t just talk about CF; he lived it and made a channel that was sort of a love letter to his wife, whom he met on CF. We brought him to the Philippines for a sit-down with CF’s relationship experts, produced a deep-dive episode on the dating process, and met with other YouTubers alongside his then-fiancée to help their story reach more people looking for the same serious relationship while giving CF more exposure across multiple platforms.

  • Camp Throuple for BiCupid: https://www.instagram.com/p/DEqjf4ryUNg/
    Before we started the campaign with BiCupid, they originally only worked with bisexual singles and couples, but that approach didn’t deliver meaningful results. After spending more time understanding the app and its community, we proposed expanding into creators in non-traditional relationships. This shift widened the addressable audience, e.g., Camp Throuple was a strong fit because their content on TikTok and Instagram both normalizes non-traditional relationship structures and signals where people like them can actually find others. Since the partnership started, their BiCupid videos have so far reached 5M+ views across platforms and have been generating sales to this day.

  • El Guapo for Christian Filipina: https://youtu.be/yvBbilTrQ2o?t=4571
    Our creators advocate for our brands. Because they trust us, they proactively integrate the platform into their livestreams or post about it on their Instagram stories (that are not part of their agreed deliverables). El Guapo, for example, talks about CF on his livestreams, which leads to real-time conversions as viewers feel like they are getting personal recomendations.

  • Gena Tew for PositiveSingles: https://youtu.be/PlRLtE-_YdA?t=262
    Sensitive topics like dating with HIV require trust and authenticity, so with Gena’s dedicated episode for PS, we didn’t “script” her story. We let her share her own journey: the losses, the stigma, and the community that helped her heal. We worked with her to ensure PositiveSingles was naturally integrated as the supportive space that made this possible. Because of the trust we’d built, she went beyond the agreed deliverables, too, by linking the platform across her social media platforms, encouraging conversations that have then resulted in sign-ups, engagement, and advocacy that also strengthened PS’s credibility in a very sensitive niche.  

Please see CourtlandBrooks.com to learn more about how to work with us and book an initial paid consult.

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Bumble Hit With Class Action Over Alleged Data Breach Exposing User Data

Posted on February 23, 2026
Bumble logo

KXAN – A class action lawsuit has been filed against Bumble after a January 29 cyberattack allegedly exposed users’ personal data. The complaint claims hackers accessed sensitive information – including names, contact details, Social Security numbers, and chat history – due to inadequate security protections, reportedly via a phishing attack linked to the group ShinyHunters. The plaintiff says affected users suffered time loss, anxiety, and risk of identity theft. The lawsuit seeks damages, stronger security measures, and deletion of compromised data, though Bumble’s arbitration clause may move the case out of court.

See full article at KXAN

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Thursday Reaches $50M Valuation, Sets $500M Target and Acquires thursday.com Domain

Posted on February 20, 2026
Thursday logo

LINKEDIN – George Rawlings, co-founder of Thursday, shared that the company has now reached a $50M valuation. The original goal was to achieve this within one year, but it ultimately took three. He also outlined a new target: a $500M valuation within the next five years. Alongside the announcement, Thursday has acquired the thursday.com domain and opened a Series A round for individuals and funds interested in brand and consumer tech. 

See full article at LinkedIn

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Matchmakers Claim Higher Success Rates as Singles Drift From Dating Apps

Posted on February 19, 2026
matchmaker

BUSINESS RECRUITMENT – Dating app usage in the UK has fallen 16% since 2024 due to app fatigue, but investor interest is shifting toward female-led dating companies, especially matchmaking services. Women run ~90% of personalized agencies and are increasingly entering app leadership roles, focusing on safety, emotional intelligence, and relationship outcomes rather than engagement mechanics. These platforms produce fewer initial meetings than large swipe apps but achieve higher rates of long-term relationships. The UK market has ~1.3M users across ~1,400 services worth £422M and is growing 8% annually, with global dating projected to exceed £13B by 2030. Industry figures argue that the future model combines human matchmaking supported by AI rather than AI-only systems.

See full article at Business Recruitment

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Swept Dating Adds In-App Date Planner and Safety Tools

Posted on February 19, 2026
Logo for Swept Dating

PRESS RELEASE – Swept Dating, a relationship-focused dating app, released an update adding an in-app date planner to schedule and review dates, with feedback used to flag no-shows and repeat ghosting. The update also introduces profile styling options, VPN-based fraud detection, stronger safety controls, and expanded availability across the U.S. and Canada.

See full article at EinPresswire

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Paul Eastwick: Dating Works Through Compatibility, Not Volume

Posted on February 19, 2026
Book cover of 'Bonded by Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection' by Paul Eastwick

LOS ANGELES TIMES – UC Davis relationship researcher Paul Eastwick, author of Bonded by Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection, argues dating is driven by compatibility and emotional attachment rather than looks, money, or fixed “mate value.” Instead of many quick app dates, people should broaden social circles and spend more time with fewer partners across different activities. His research finds men and women want largely the same qualities – support and security – and connection forms through repeated interaction, not rapid filtering.

See full article at Los Angeles Times

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UK Survey: AI Deepfakes Are Undermining Trust in Dating Apps

Posted on February 19, 2026
AI deepfakes

ITBRIEF – A UK poll of 2K dating-app users found 84% say AI-generated content now makes dating harder to trust (up from 64% in 2025). While 32% use AI to help write messages, 36% have tried AI companions instead of dating apps. Identity fraud and deepfakes are the main drivers: 61% encountered fake profiles and the sector shows high fraud rates (6.35%), with romance scams costing over £100m annually. Users are responding by self-verifying matches, while demanding clearer rules and stronger platform accountability rather than outright bans on AI tools.

See full article at ITBrief

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Happn: Singles Feel Less Pressure on Valentine’s Day as Slow Dating Takes Over

Posted on February 18, 2026
Logo of the dating app Happn

BFM RMC – Valentine’s Day no longer drives major dating pressure. Happn CEO Karima Ben Abdelmalek says 39% don’t mind being single, reflecting broader social acceptance and a shift toward intentional partner selection. Dating-app signups peak in January and summer, not February. Users now favor “slow dating” and personalized matches, while AI-generated fake profiles have pushed Happn to add reporting tools.

See full article at BFM RMC

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CONTACT

Mark Brooks
CEO, Courtland Brooks
Publisher, Online Personals Watch
mark@courtlandbrooks.com

Irena Brooks
Editor, Online Personals Watch
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