MATRIMONY – Matrimony.com's net profit rose 61.4% YOY at Rs 16.6 crore for the September-ended quarter. Other key financial highlights for Q2: Revenue $14.8M, up 18% YOY. Matrimony added 220K paid subscriptions during the Q2 (growth of 4.4% YOY).
Category: All Worldwide (non UK/Euro/US)
LGBT Dating Site Atraf Permanently Removed From Internet in Fight Against Hackers
JPOST – Two weeks ago, Black Shadow announced its hack of Cyberserve, which hosted Israeli dating app Atraf, and the hackers have been exposing personal information of LGBTQ clients of the website in waves. The state prosecution has succeeded in getting the Atraf website for LGBTQ dating permanently removed from the Internet as part of its ongoing battle against the hacker group.
Black Shadow Leaks More Data From Atraf
JPOST – The hacking group leaked more data from gay dating app Atraf after its demand for ransom was not met within 48 hours. The hackers broke into web hosting company Cyberserve's servers and have since been threatening to release data from Atraf, as well as Dan bus company and tour booking company Pegasus, who were clients of Cyberserve's and had their data stored on their servers.
Excessive Data Mining to Come to an End as China’s Personal Info Protection Law Comes Into Effect
GLOBAL TIMES – The highly anticipated Personal Information Protection Law came into effect on Monday in China. The law prohibits the excessive collection of personal information and big data-enabled price discrimination against existing customers. The law requires Internet giants, which possess the personal information of a large number of users, to set up independent bodies that will be mainly composed of outsiders to supervise how the information is handled. More than 20 companies including matchmaking website Zhenai.com and tech giants Tencent and Huawei have promised to strictly safeguard the boundaries of users' privacy, set limits on personal information collection within the law and protect users' rights to fair trade.
First-Ever Jewish ‘Dating App’ Debuts in Gulf
ALBAWABA – JSG (Jewish Singles in the Gulf) is the first-ever Jewish dating app in the Gulf and was developed by the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC). JSG users fill out a questionnaire and matchmakers recommend matches.
Older South Koreans Turn to Dating Apps: Couple.net
FINANCIAL TIMES – Adult children are helping their parents find matches to combat elderly poverty and suicide. e.g. Couple.net, is a South Korean dating app that helps adult children find partners for their parents. Lee Woong-jin, president of dating app provider Sunoo, which operates Couple.net, said: "Many elderly live alone. We even have a 93-year-old…In the past, it was parents who applied for dating services for their adult children. Now the trend has reversed." South Korea's birth rate is 0.84 babies per woman and last year, its population shrank for the first time.
by Christian Davies, Song Jung-a & Kang Buseong
See full article at Financial Times
Aussie Dating App Boop Supports Bars and Restaurants Post Lockdown
7NEWS – Rather than users constantly swapping messages, dating app Boop has teamed up with 36 Melbourne bars, restaurants and venues in a bid to get them to meet in the real world. Those who match and then decide to go on a date will receive discounts on their meals or drinks if they pick one of the venues. Boop is free and launches exclusively for Melbourne residents next Wednesday.
TamilMatrimony Rolls out Matchmaking App Jodii
THE HINDU BUSINESS LINE – Jodii is a new exclusive matchmaking app in Tamil from TamilMatrimony. "Our purpose in rolling out Jodii is to help Tamils from all walks of life find a life partner," said Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder and CEO – Matrimony.com, the parent company of TamilMatrimony. On Jodii, all male members are required to verify their profile with a government identity proof.
Tinder India Announces Multiple New Features
REPUBLICWORLD.COM – Tinder is going to add a new Explore section in its app for India. Along with the Explore section, the company plans to introduce multiple new experiences. For instance, profiles will not be arranged by user's interest, and users will have more control over their interaction with other people on the app. The Tinder Explore section will allow users to explore matches based on users' interests and activity. Additionally, there is a new photo verification feature as well, which will enable users to authenticate their presence with real-time selfies.
Dating in China: From Marriage Markets to Virtual AI Boyfriends
CHINA TONIGHT – Ms Liu, a Chinese international student studying in Melbourne, said she has been chatting with a guy since May last year, but her "perfect boyfriend" isn't a real person. It is an AI chatbot created by Chinese tech firm XiaoIce, a spin-off from Microsoft. XiaoIce's chatbot is programmed to form emotional bonds with human users through text, voice and photo messages and can be customised to create the ideal virtual boyfriend or girlfriend. Ms Liu said the emotional support and companionship that her boyfriend provides is real, but he falls short when it comes to intimacy. When she tries to talk to him about intimate topics, he tends to switch the conversation to a lighter subject. That's by design – XiaoIce has been reportedly "dumbed down" or "re-educated" to avoid talking about sex or politics, after the chatbot was censored on social media platforms in 2017 for giving politically-sensitive responses to users.