YAHOO FINANCE – Feb 10 – Australians are set to spend $1.1B on Valentine's Day gifts and experiences this year, but while love is in the air, romance scams are everywhere. Aussies reported ~3,5K dating and romance scams in 2020, with 35% of those scams resulting in a loss, according to Scamwatch data. In total, singles lost $37.2M to these kinds of scams last year – a large portion of which occurred in February.
Category: All Worldwide (non UK/Euro/US)
Dubai Opens up – “Connecting Minds”
OPW – Jan 31 – The tagline for the grand Expo 2020 in Dubai is "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future." So you'd think with that focus it would now, surely, be possible for visitors to access their favorite dating apps.
Over the years I've posted news on OPW about the opening up of dating apps. Most were simply not available here. Here's the previously blocked sites and their current availability.
Previously blocked…
- Adopteunmec – available
- ArabLounge – available
- Badoo – available
- Chemistry – available
- CoffeeMeetsBagel – available
- eHarmony – available
- FarmersOnly – available
- Flirt.com – blocked
- Jiayuan – available
- Match – available
- Meetic – available
- Nirvam.it – available
- OKCupid – available
- Person.com – blocked
- POF – available
- Teamo.ru – available
- Zoosk – available
- Zhenai – available
Previously open…
- Jeevansathi – available
- Matrimony – available
- Meetme – available
- Shaadi – available
- Skout – available
- Tagged – available
- Tinder – available
So all but the risque/super-casual products are now open. The U.A.E. is open for business.
Indian Dating App QuackQuack Sees Rise in Consumer Base
TIMES OF INDIA – Jan 27 – QuackQuack, a desi dating platform for Indian singles, has said it is seeing a 16% rise in consumer base when compared to the previous year. The dating app touched 11M users in December 2020. There has also been a 10% increase in chats and messages exchanged between users.
Tinder Gives SA Government Free Ads to Combat Sexual Violence
ABC.NET – Jan 21 – Tinder has given the South Australian Government free advertising space this month to keep its campaign to combat sexual violence running. The SA Government campaign, called "See it for what it is. Sexual Violence", was announced the month after ABC's Four Corners and triple j Hack interviewed Australian women who had been sexually assaulted after using dating apps. The South Australian campaign aims to raise awareness about predatory behaviour involved in sexual violence and to link victims and perpetrators with further information and support.
South Korean Hyperconnect Launches “Slide”, a Video-based Dating App
BUSINESS KOREA – Jan 20 – Hyperconnect, a Korean IT company that develops software and mobile applications, has officially launched 'Slide,' a video-first dating and social discovery app. Through video-based profiles, AI-driven matching tools and a real time video "Vibe Check" feature, Slide enables users to match with others.
by Kim Eun-jin
See full article at Business Korea
Bumble Survey: 40% of Single Indians to Opt for Virtual Dating in 2021
TNN – Jan 14 – Virtual dating is the new norm in India, according to Bumble's recent nationwide survey. After connecting with people virtually, 83% of single Indians are comfortable to meet up in-person. The study also reveals that 40% of single Indians will opt for virtual dating in 2021.
More Young Indonesians Skip Dating, Go Straight to Marriage
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Jan 14 – Dating still remains the main method of courtship for young Indonesians. Dating apps such as Tinder are popular in large cities like Jakarta, and a 2017 government survey found that two-thirds of Indonesians aged 15 to 24 have dated. But many Islamic figures say it encourages young men and women to engage in premarital sex, which is forbidden in Islam. Some couples chose a speedy marriage, with much of the getting-to-know-each-other process occurring after the wedding. The practice is known as "taaruf." Taaruf differs from arranged marriages, as it is often initiated by young people themselves rather than their families. There are even online taaruf apps, such as Taaruf Online Indonesia which currently has 18K active users.
Tinder Makes a Pivot in Thailand as a Social App Beyond Dating
BRANDING IN ASIA – Jan 14 – Tinder has launched a new campaign in Thailand aiming to reposition the brand as a social app beyond dating. For years, Tinder had been established as a dating app with a stereotype of finding one-night stands and friends with benefits. This reputation posed a challenge for recruiting new users in Thailand, where a research showed that Gen Z is the most likely group to quit the app within one week for not wanting to participate in hookup culture. The agency came up with the idea "Friends with (Other) Benefits", or in Thai "Puen Sampan" which twists the word for "sex" into a brand new word for "friendship". In less than one week, the launch film received ~9M views and the campaign line "Puen Sampan" started trending on social media.
A Matchmaking Alliance Was Set up in Shanghai
Matrimony.com Launches New Matchmaking Portal Only for Doctors
BUSINESS TODAY – Jan 11 – DoctorsMatrimony.com was launched after Matrimony saw a 40% increase in the number of doctors registering over the past 3 years. Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder and CEO, Matrimony.com, while explaining why they launched an exclusive service for doctors, said, "Most doctors feel the need for a companion who understands their profession and shared values well and that seems possible when the life partner is also a doctor."