PR NEWSWIRE – Apr 22 – Today (Apr 22), BlueCity Founder, Chairman and CEO Baoli Ma will appear at leading global tech conference Collision 2021, speaking about his inspiring mission to unite the LGBTQ community in China and overseas. Known as the fastest growing technology conference in North America, the Collision Conference is also one of the largest and most influential technology events in the world. Paying subscribers to Collision Conference 2021 can tune in to Ma's interview on April 22, 13:20 – 13:30 (ET).
Category: All Gay
BlueCity’s He Health Obtains Internet Hospital License
PR NEWSWIRE – Apr 20 – He Health, the BlueCity's health service platform for men, has officially obtained an Internet hospital license in China, presenting great prospects for the brand's nascent, yet fast-growing health business. BlueCity can now offer a complete set of health services from men's health consultations. Since its launch in March 2019, He Health has promoted awareness of men's health and HIV prevention, and its services have gradually expanded from sexually transmitted diseases to the field of men's everyday wellbeing. BlueCity's mobile app Blued enables users to conveniently and safely connect with each other, express themselves and access professional health-related services. BlueCity's portfolio of brands of apps also includes Finka, a leading gay social networking app for a younger generation in China, and LESDO, a leading lesbian social networking app in China.
Dating App AYA Stands for “Come ‘As You Are'”
FINANCIAL EXPRESS – Apr 18 – AYA, a home-grown dating & social networking app built exclusively for the Indian LGBTQ+ community, prides itself on being a no-pressure zone. The app also aims to offer matchmaking services to the community one day. While the annulment of Section 377 may have granted the Indian LGBTQ+ community legal status, it did not neutralise or de-stigmatise the social taboos. AYA aims to create a safe space to counter the challenges of queer dating. With 9,500-plus downloads to date, the app is currently available for Android users. The user base accounts for 40% from tier-1 cities, 40% from tier-2 cities, and the rest from all over the country.
Manhunt Hacked, Thousands of Accounts Stolen
TECH CRUNCH – Apr 15 – Manhunt, a gay dating app that claims to have 6M male members, has confirmed it was hit by a data breach in February after a hacker gained access to the company's accounts database. The hacker downloaded the usernames, email addresses and passwords for a subset of our users. Manhunt was launched in 2001 by Online-Buddies, which also offered gay dating app Jack'd before it was sold to Perry Street in 2019 for an undisclosed sum. Just months before the sale, Jack'd had a security lapse that exposed users' private photos and location data.
Hornet’s Latest Version Lets Users Add Custom Music to Their Videos
HORNET – Mar 25 – Starting March 24 on Hornet for iOS, users are now able to add adaptive, machine learning-composed soundtracks to their video stories. It will be coming to Android soon.
BlueCity’s Q4 and Full Year 2020 Financial Results
GLOBE NEWSWIRE – Mar 24 – Total Q4 revenues reached RMB278.8M ($42.7M), up 24.2% YOY. Net loss was RMB73.1M ($11.2M), compared with net loss of RMB7.2M in the Q4 of 2019. Monthly active users reached 7.6M, up 20.3% YOY. Total paying users on the Blued mobile app reached 518K, up of 38% YOY. Total 2020 revenues reached RMB1.03B ($158M), up 35.9% YOY. 2020 net loss was RMB221.9M ($34M), compared with net loss of RMB52.9M in 2019.
Grindr Must Delete Improperly Collected Data, Norway Watchdog Says
REUTERS – Mar 17 – Norway should force the Grindr dating app to erase illegally gathered data, on top of a recent threat to impose a large fine. Norway's Data Protection Authority said it planned to fine the LGBTQ+ app 100M Norwegian crowns ($11.8M) for what the regulator said was illegal disclosure of user data to advertising firms. In January, following news of the fine, Grindr said the allegations against it dated back to 2018 and no longer reflected its current privacy policy or practices, and that the company was following the law.
Taimi Launches a Referral Program
TAIMI – Mar 15 – The program is an extension to the LGBTQ+ platform's livestreaming, serving as a "passive source" of Taimi Diamonds for the users. After the invited users start utilizing Taimi's livestreaming, the referrers will receive 30% of all Diamonds their referred persons collect.
10 Million Users: Taimi Marks a Major Milestone
BUSINESSWIRE – Mar 9 – After just 2.5 years on the market, Taimi proves to be the fastest-growing LGBTQ+ platform, reaching 10M worldwide users in late March 2021. Taimi grew its userbase from 3.5M in Jan 2020 to 9M in Dec 2020. According to Sensor Tower's 2021 "The State of Dating Apps 2021" Report, Taimi made the list of Top-10 most downloaded dating apps in the U.S.
Grindr to Produce Its First Original Content Series – “Bridesman”
PR NEWSWIRE – Mar 1 – Grindr will produce a new, original series – Bridesman – created by John Onieal. The irreverent, fast-paced comedy series follows a gay bridesman as he undermines his best friend's wedding. The six to ten-minute episodes are set to premiere in the fall on YouTube as well as in-app to Grindr's 5M daily active users.