Category: All UK & Europe
Major Campaign to Fight Fraud Launched in the UK
GOV.UK – The "Stop! Think Fraud" national campaign, launched on Feb 12, 2024 by the Home Office and supported by counter-fraud experts, aims to combat fraud, which accounts for 40% of crime in England and Wales. The campaign introduces an online hub offering clear anti-fraud advice and support for victims. Key supporters include Match Group, alongside other major stakeholders, underlining the collaborative effort to address the UK's most prevalent crime.
Rising Dating Scams in Netherlands: ~€7.6 Million Lost in 2023
NL TIMES – In 2023, Dutch victims lost ~€7.6M to dating scams, a 75% increase from the previous year. Of the 494 reported victims, 264 suffered financial damage, with average losses of €30K each. This rise is linked to investment fraud tactics used by scammers. To tackle this, the Fraud Help Desk, in collaboration with Tinder and Victim Support Netherlands, launched a campaign to educate online daters about spotting fraud.
Swedish Dating App Relate Shifts to Exclusive Matchmaking
OPW – Relate, a Swedish dating app focused on long-term relationships, is undergoing a major transformation. Despite its unique approach and previous funding rounds totaling $2.3M from various investors, Relate struggled to attract a wide user base. Stepping in to steer the company in a new direction is Swedish leading matchmaker Lemarc Thomas, known for his current role at SVT. Thomas plans to shut down the existing Relate app and introduce a new matchmaking model which will involve a significant investment from users, requiring a five-figure sum for those seeking to find their ideal match.
Authentic Video Speed Dating With Noii
NAU.CH – Swiss start-up noii offers video speed dating instead of swiping and chatting. The platform allows users to meet seven singles for six minutes each, giving them a more authentic impression through voice, facial expressions, and gestures. The goal is to get singles into real life as quickly as possible, with almost 80% of matches resulting in a real-life date. Noii also organizes offline dating events. The start-up was presented on the television show "Lion's Cave," but the promised million-dollar deal fell through. However, the founders continue to pursue their vision of a better dating world.
Hinge Is Launching in Germany
CASCHYS BLOG – Hinge, a dating app that is designed to be deleted, is now available in Germany. In 2021, Hinge was among the fastest-growing apps in the US, UK, and Australia.
by André Westphal
See full article at Caschys Blog
Iceland Dating App Keeps People From Dating Relatives
MIRROR.CO.UK – Iceland has fewer than 400K people and little immigration over the years. To resolve the issue of Icelanders awkwardly finding out they are distant relations while dating, one company developed a practical mobile app called Íslendinga-App, also known as The Book of Icelanders that lists in great detail every Icelander since they first arrived on the island in the 9th century and the ways in which they could all be related. All users have to do is type in a name to see the results of how related one person is to another.
Breeze – One of the Top Three Most Popular Dating Apps in Holland
EMERCE – Breeze is now the third most downloaded dating app in Holland, after Bumble and Tinder, respectively. The app encourages users to meet IRL as soon as possible. Users are not allowed to chat but can immediately plan a date with their matches via the app. Breeze claims it helped organize over 28K face-to-face meetups so far, a number that almost doubled in the first half of 2022.
Apple Gives in to Dutch Dating App Developers
PHONE ARENA – The Netherlands' antitrust watchdog, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), said that Apple will allow its customers to pay for various Dutch dating apps by using different payment options embedded in such apps putting an end to a dispute that left Apple on the hook for $53M in fines. Under the new rules imposed by Apple, dating app developers will still have to pay Apple a commission for purchases made outside of its App Store payment platform albeit with a slight discount. Those who were paying Apple 30% of the value of an in-app transaction related to a dating app will now pay it 27%. Apple released a statement today that says, "We don't believe some of these changes are in the best interests of our users' privacy or data security. As we've previously said, we disagree with the ACM's original order and are appealing it."
Finnish Christian Dating App Valo Expands Abroad
YLE – Valo (meaning Light) was launched last year and currently has ~130K users in Finland. The app will soon launch in Sweden and Italy.