Category: All Gay
Gay Dating App to Launch a Friend Mode
THE LONDON FREE PRESS – Sep 3 – Chappy, a dating app for gay men, will be launching Friend Mode, a new platonic connection feature that allows users to connect for friendship. A Swedish study of ~13,600 men and women found that having few or no close friends increased the risk of having a first-time heart attack by ~50%.
Gay Dating App Blued Plans U.S. IPO at $1 Billion Value
BLOOMBERG – Aug 30 – Blued, China's largest gay-dating app, is planning a U.S. IPO that could raise ~$200M. The share sale will likely take place next year and could value Blued at ~1 billion. Founded in 2012 by former policeman Geng Le, Blued has become an icon for the Chinese LGBT community and attracted ~$130M in venture capital as of March. The dating app also offers live streaming and connects men who want to become parents with overseas surrogates.
by Crystal Tse, Lulu Yilun & Manuel Baigorri
See full article at Bloomberg
Google Play App Store Accused of Anti-gay Bias
BBC – Aug 16 – Gay dating app Hornet has accused Google of discrimination after its app was removed from Google's Play store several times without warning. Hornet said Google often employed moderators in Malaysia, where same-sex relationships are illegal, to vet apps. In January, gay dating app Scruff introduced stricter profile image guidelines, banning photos of men in underwear or swimwear. The app had also been suspended from Google Play several times prior to the change.
Grindr User Takes Stalking Case Against App to High Court
LAW360.COM – Aug 15 – Matthew Herrick, who claims Grindr was negligent in failing to stop his ex-boyfriend from using the dating app to stalk and harass him, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Second Circuit ruling dismissing his lawsuit, claiming Grindr should not be protected as a publisher under the Communications Decency Act. He has filed a petition seeking to revive the case, in which he accuses the app of failing to prevent the harassment despite nearly 50 reports with the company.
Gay Dating App Chappy Joins Bumble in Austin
KVUE – Aug 10 – Chappy, an app for gay dating and friendship, moved operations to Austin. The relocation will allow Chappy to tap into the marketing and operational resources of Bumble, allowing quicker growth.
Grindr and Romeo Can Expose User Locations
FAST COMPANY – Aug 8 – Researchers from the cyber-security company Pen Test Partners found that Grindr, Recon, and Romeo apps allow users to share their general location by displaying their distance from each other. Anyone with basic computing skills could use that information to determine another user's exact location using a method known as trilateration. The researchers created a tool that faked their own location and did all the trilateration calculations automatically, in bulk, allowing them to generate maps of precise user locations for thousands of individuals at a time.
by Michael Grothaus
See full article at Fast Company
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Chappy and Bumble Team up for Pride 2019
Gay Dating and Social Network Taimi Launches in Spain
THE LEADER – July 30 – Taimi has already established a name for itself in North America, Brazil, Singapore and EU including the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Adding Spain to its list of available counties is yet another milestone.
China’s Kunlun to Relaunch Grindr IPO
REUTERS – July 28 – Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun is relaunching Grindr's IPO process after it said a U.S. national security panel had dropped its opposition to the plan. Beijing Kunlun was preparing for an IPO (IPO) of Grindr in September, but the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), which reviews deals for potential national security concerns, intervened. At the request of U.S. officials, Kunlun that month agreed to sell the dating app. Grindr will be listed on a stock exchange outside China. Beijing Kunlun acquired a majority stake in Grindr in 2016 for $93M and bought out the remainder of the company in 2018.