MARIECLAIRE.CO.UK – July 28 – Looking for love is costing single Brits ~£1,349 a year. Plenty of Fish surveyed 2K single adults and found that on average, they go on thirteen dates a year with each meet-up costing ~£106.06.
Category: All UK & Europe
Matchmaking at Lisdoonvarna Cancelled Due to Covid-19
IRISHNEWS – July 20 – The globally famous event, which takes place in the Co Clare town every September, attracts thousands of people from around the world who hope to find their perfect match. The organisers said the cancellation "will also be felt deeply by many businesses in the area as it brings in more than €2.5M annually to the local economy".
eharmony Sees 85% Increase in UK App Registrations During Covid-19 Lockdown
PRESS.AT – July 7 – eharmony has seen its app registration figures increase by 85% YOY in the UK during lockdown – in the period between January and June 2020. Driving this increase has been the success of Video Date, which enabled singles to keep connecting romantically during lockdown and beyond.
Dating Apps in Balkan
BALKAN INSIGHT – June 29 – Like the rest of the world, the Balkans has seen a rise in the use of dating apps during the pandemic, with data showing the length of daily conversations is increasing. While Tinder is the most popular dating app across Europe, in Romania and Bulgaria it is Badoo that is used the most. Created in 2006 by Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev, Badoo now has ~450M users globally, with daily messages sent between users exceeding 350M. "Our data shows that more conversations are happening now, with increases of up to 35%," said Tristan Pineiro, Badoo's global head of communications. In other Balkan countries, dating apps are used more sparingly. One such place is North Macedonia, where the use of dating apps like Tinder are still frowned upon. For some, Instagram functions as a dating app instead.
57% of British Singletons Turn to Virtual Dating to Ease Loneliness
HAPPIFUL – Apr 6 – As a recent report from eHarmony details, over half of single Brits are turning to virtual dating. Not only does virtual dating allow users to keep on dating, a quarter of singletons said it gave them the opportunity to cut a date short if it wasn't working out, 'without any real life awkwardness'.
Grindr and OkCupid Spread Personal Details, Study Says
NEW YORK TIMES – Jan 13 – Popular dating services like Grindr, OkCupid and Tinder are spreading user information like dating choices and precise location to advertising and marketing companies in ways that may violate privacy laws, according to a new report released by the Norwegian Consumer Council, a government-funded nonprofit organization in Oslo. Grindr also sent a user's location to multiple companies, which may then share that data with many other businesses, the report said. OkCupid app sent a user's ethnicity and answers to personal profile questions to a firm that helps companies tailor marketing messages to users. OkCupid has recently posted a list of ~300 advertising and analytics "partners" with which it may share users' information. Tinder sent a user's gender and the gender the user was looking to date to two marketing firms. The Norwegian group said it filed complaints asking regulators in Oslo to investigate Grindr and five ad tech companies for possible violations of the European data protection law.
by Natasha Singer & Aaron Krolik
See full article at New York Times
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1.6M Britons Broke up Over Brexit
THE BIG SMOKE – Dec 23 – eHarmony discovered that 1.6M Britons broke up because of Brexit-based disagreements. Opposing political views led to ~2.7M people throughout the UK ending a relationship in the last year. Online dating profiles that mentioned Brexit – either positively or negatively – received up to 90% more messages than the average member.
Majority of Dating App Users Feel Unsafe
OZY.COM – Dec 19 – In the U.K. in the last four years, crimes involving dating apps have doubled in some parts of the country, according to a BBC investigation. And in the U.S., as per a recent survey: 85% of dating app users feel unsafe on these platforms. The online survey conducted by MyLife.com, a reputation management platform, collected information from 1,866 people. Of those who hadn't used a dating app, 37% said it's because they don't feel safe.
By 2037, Most Children Will Be Born to Parents Who Met Online
YAHOO NEWS UK – Nov 27 – By 2037, more babies will be born to parents who met online than offline, according to a research by eHarmony and the Imperial College Business School. Even within the next decade, 40% of babies born will be so-called "e-babies", born to parents who met on the Internet. The data highlights the shifting habits of those looking to meet a partner: around a third (32%) of relationships started between 2015 and 2019 started online, compared to only 19% between 2005 and 2014. By 2030, the UK will reach the "tipping point" that more than 50% of relationships will begin online.
Singles Can Now Use Tinder to Get Involved in Election
MIRROR.CO.UK – Nov 22 – Tinder is hoping to get single people involved in upcoming UK election as it launches Swipe Cards which will direct users to register to vote. This new feature is a first for UK Tinder users. From now until November 26, people with the app will be served a swipe card while they're looking through potential matches. This card highlights that a single vote is a powerful one.