Category: All UK & Europe

Dua.com, the Dating App for Albanians, Faces Privacy Accusations

Posted on July 13, 2021

Duacom logo 2021WATSON – July 12 – A Swiss start-up that operates Dua.com, a Europe-wide dating app for Albanians, is confronted with data protection issues. Dua.com has been installed ~350K times so far. It was developed by a start-up run by the Eastern Swiss entrepreneur Valon Asani, who now operates from Zurich and Kosovo's capital Prishtina. Dua.com is designed for people of Albanian origin, and a Romanian version of the app is coming soon. Most recently the company has encountered data protection issues. Some users accused the app of sharing their data with third parties for marketing purposes. Mr Asani said he was serious about data protection. Dua.com has appointed a data protection officer which is required by law when "particularly sensitive data" is processed.

by Petar Marjanović
See full article at Watson

Mark Brooks: The CEO of Dua refutes these claims and says, "The news about dua.com is actually wrong. We had only accusations without any facts. We declared those are not true. So, we don't "face privacy issues"."

See the top news on Dua.com

Iceland’s Dating App, Smitten, Raised $2.7M

Posted on June 18, 2021

Smitten logoSIFTED.EU – June 18 – Smitten, a dating app from Iceland, has raised $2.7M to expand in Europe, and to woo Gen Zers (people born between 1997 and 2015) with a dating app that mixes gaming, entertainment and flirting. Most Smitten users are 25 or younger, and roughly 20% are 18 years old. The company says it will use the investment to launch in the Nordics in late August or early September. Smitten's round was led by early-stage firm byFounders, with participation from PROfounders, Inventures, Brunnur Ventures, Tiny.vc and several angel investors. As part of the round, wine app Vivino founder Heini Zachariassen and PROfounders's Joe Bond will join the board.

See full article at Sifted.eu

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com

Popular Online Choices During Pandemic

Posted on June 10, 2021

Ofcom logoPRESS ASSOCIATION – June 9 – UK adults spent more time online than other large European countries such as France and Germany during the pandemic, according to Ofcom research. They 217 minutes online each day in 2020. More than an hour longer than in Germany and France and 30 minutes more than Spain. Tinder was the most popular dating app among young online UK adults. 11% of 18-24 year-olds used Tinder in Sep 2020. Plenty of Fish was most popular among the 45-54 age group. However lockdown saw an increase in romance scams, with money lost to fraudsters increasing 12% to £18.5 million.

See full article at Western Telegraph

See the top news on Tinder
See the top news on POF  

Dutch Dating App Relationship Planet Is Shutting Down

Posted on June 2, 2021

Relatieplanet logo 2021GRATIS DATING TIPS – June 2 – The Dutch dating app is closing down on July 1, due to increased competition from international dating apps.

by Michael Slender
See full article at Gratis Dating Tips

See the top news on Relatieplanet

Brits Have Spent More on Dating Sites Since the Start of 2021

Posted on May 4, 2021

Mobile dating2021METRO.CO.UK – May 3 – More people than ever are investing their money into online dating sites and apps. There was also a significant rise in online dating spending in the first three months of 2021, as people looked for love after lockdown. The number of transactions in this category increased by 46% YOU, while total spending was up by more than a third (34%).

by Natalie Morris
See full article at Metro.co.uk

Hawaya Study Shows That 83% of Muslims in Germany Are in Favor of Equality in Partnerships

Posted on April 13, 2021

Hawaya iconPRESS RELEASE – Apr 13 – ~4.7M Muslims live in Germany. The matchmaking app Hawaya, which was specially developed for modern Muslims who want to find a long-term relationship, has recently surveyed its users. The survey shows that only a few Muslims of the younger generation favor a conservative attitude and that women in particular want more tolerance. The family's approval of the chosen partner remains important to most, but the majority of respondents (80%) would like to choose their future partner themselves.

See full article at Presse Portal

See the top news on Hawaya

50PlusMatch Users Can Share Their Vaccination Status in Their Profiles

Posted on April 13, 2021

50plusmatch logoMETROTIME – Apr 13 – 50PlusMatch, a dating app for singles 50s, introduces an option that lets users share their COVID-19 vaccination on their profiles.

See full article at Metrotime

See the top news on 50PlusMatch

Half of Young Danes Think Sugar Dating Is ‘Perfectly OK’ as Lawmakers Prepare Crackdown

Posted on March 18, 2021
SugardatersSPUTNIK NEWS – Mar 18 – In a cross-party effort, Danish lawmakers are calling for separate clauses that would punish grooming, sugar dating and other sex-related offenses targeting minors. 50% of the 1,732 Danish young people aged 18 to 30 surveyed said that sugar dating is perfectly okay, Danish Radio reported. While previous reports estimated that 1 to 2% of young people engage in sugar dating, VIVE's survey indicated that 5% of 18-30-year-olds actually tried giving sex, kissing, or sending intimate photos in exchange for everything from a drink to money. According to the dating site SugarDaters.dk, which has ~10K active users every month, it has nothing to do with prostitution. It stressed that it is a dating site like any other and doesn't encourage sex for money in any way.

by Igor Kuznetsov
See full article at Sputnik News

OkCupid Predicts August 1 as the Hottest Dating Day of the Year in UK

Posted on February 24, 2021

Okcupid logo 2018MASHABLE – Feb 23 – According to OkCupid, Aug. 1 will be "the hottest day for dating in 2021," after Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to offer all UK adults the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 31. Vaccines are a hot topic among online daters at the moment, according to OkCupid data. The dating app reports a 137% increase in the mentions of 'vaccine' on OkCupid profiles between November 2020 and January 2021. 42% of OkCupid respondents said they'd cancel a date with someone who didn't want to take the vaccine.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on OkCupid

Brits Admit They Have Confessed ‘I love You’ to Someone They Have Only Met Online

Posted on February 10, 2021

Online dating general picTHESUN.CO.UK – Feb 9 – One third of British daters have uttered the words "I love you" – to someone they have only ever met online, according to a study of 2K adults. 47% firmly believe it is possible to find 'love at first sight' in the virtual world. The study conducted by Vision Direct found it only takes 4 online dates before deciding someone is worth pursuing – with 33% of participants starting and ending a relationship this year without ever meeting in person.

See full article at TheSun.co.uk