FRANCE24 – Gay dating app Grindr has disappeared from multiple app stores in China as authorities tighten control of the country's already heavily policed internet. Although China decriminalised homosexuality in 1997, same-sex marriage is illegal and LGBTQ issues remain taboo. Local Grindr competitors such as Blued remain available for download.
Category: All Worldwide (non UK/Euro/US)
Dating App for Queers “As You Are” Raises $250K
MONEY CONTROL – 'As You Are', an Indian social networking and matchmaking app, has raised $250K in Compulsorily Convertible Debentures (CCDs), from queer couples who are angel investors and also Indian-origin entrepreneurs from the marketing space. AYA launched in June 2020 and has ~25K downloads.
by Mansi Verma
See full article at Money Control
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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Hong Kong-listed Firm Behind Yumy Dating App Is Testing Metaverse
SCMP – Newborn Town is testing metaverse features for its dating app Yumy, which has 30M users outside China. The feature is called Meta Town, and it will be incorporated into its dating app Yumy. The app has had ~30M worldwide downloads since launching in early 2021, with some of the best performing markets being Egypt, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and Britain. Users taking part in the beta test have been able to create avatars based on their photo, find other virtual figures, and engage in audio conversations that are supported by AI. Match Group is working with South Korean-based Hyperconnect to create a virtual world "Single Town". Similar to Yumy's Meta Town, singles can interact and engage in audio conversations in virtual locations.
China’s NewBorn Town to Set up $100M Fund to Privatise Blued
DEALSTREETASIA – Chinese social media firm NewBorn Town is planning to set up a $100M fund with an aim to privatise BlueCity Holdings, the operator of Blued, the country's biggest LGBTQ dating app. BlueCity's founder, chairman, and CEO Baoli Ma currently holds a 30.4% stake in the firm, which means that the buyer group will need to purchase the remaining 69.6% stake, or ~25.9M ADSs, for ~$48M in total. BlueCity has formed an independent special committee to evaluate and consider the going-private proposal. BlueCity started trading on Nasdaq after a $85M IPO in July 2020. Blued, which serves over 60M registered users in 170 countries and regions, offers social networking, live streaming, and health-related services to the LGBTQ community.
Survey: Most of Japan’s New Adults Hope to Fall in Love and Get Married
SORANEWS24 – A recent survey conducted by marriage-minded matchmaking company O-net revealed that most Japanese young people just coming of age are still planning to get married and have children. Quite a few young people are receptive to finding love online. 49% of respondents answered yes to the question, "Do you think you could fall in love with a person of the opposite sex you met online?" This number hasn't really changed in the last two years, though it saw a big increase between 2017 and 2019. In particular, more men seem receptive to the idea, as 50.2% of male respondents answered "Yes", which is the highest number in five years.
Apple Agrees to Korean App’s Own Payment Systems
KOREA JOONGANG DAILY – Apple will allow Korean app developers to use their own in-app purchase systems, a first for the U.S. tech company. This is part of Apple's compliance with the "Anti-Google law" passed by the National Assembly last August. The Anti-Google law was intended to keep big tech companies from forcing their own commissions on app developers, which could raise costs for consumers and deprive developers of potential revenues. However, Apple failed to deliver details such as the maximum commission rate it will allow.
China’s Internet Dating Market Sees Value Top $1B
XINHUA NEWS AGENCY – The market value of China's Internet dating industry reached 7.2B yuan (~ $1.13B) in 2021, up 11.6% compared with 2020. By the end of 2021, the Internet dating user totaled ~30M people, driven by a growing number of individuals born after 1985, according to the report released by BigData-Research. The emerging market is projected to post a total value of ~8B yuan in 2022.
According to Hinge, Therapy Could Be the Secret to a Flourishing Love Life
WOMEN'S HEALTH – According to research conducted by Hinge, the last two years have seen singles prioritize mental health more than ever. The company found that when it comes to dating, mental health isn't just an attractive quality but a necessary one, with daters admitting they aren't accepting anyone who isn’t doing it. 89% of Australian Hinge singles would prefer to date someone who goes to therapy.
BlueCity Receives a Buyout Proposal
GLOBE NEWSWIRE – BlueCity, a leading online LGBTQ platform, has received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter from Mr. Baoli Ma, founder & CEOof the company to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of the company that are not already beneficially owned by the Buyer Group for a proposed purchase price of US$3.70 per Ordinary Share or US$1.85 per ADS in cash.
India Regulator Launches Probe of Apple App Store
PYMNTS – India's competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), wants to look into Apple over reported violations of antitrust law. The order comes as a nonprofit group, "Together We Fight Society," said Apple had been forcing developers to use its in-app purchase system. The complainant also said that Apple's 30% in-app fee on the distribution of paid digital content had been harming competition.