Category: All Worldwide (non UK/Euro/US)

99% of Women Report Abuse on Dating Apps

Posted on September 22, 2026
99% of Women Report Abuse on Dating Apps

BIT – A new report from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), funded by the Minderoo Foundation, found that 99% of Australian women surveyed had experienced some form of tech-based abuse on dating platforms in the previous three months. Psychological and emotional abuse was the most common, while many women chose to unmatch or avoid offenders rather than report them. The report calls on dating platforms to take more responsibility for safety, including detecting harmful behaviour earlier, improving reporting, and preventing offenders from creating new accounts.

See full article at BIT

Anthropic Finds Claude Powering Thousands of Fake Dating Profiles

Posted on September 14, 2026
Anthropic Claude

STORYBOARD 18 – Anthropic found that a China-based studio had used its Claude AI to operate ~ 4,700 fake profiles across 20 dating apps. ~75% of the profiles shown to users were AI personas, which exchanged 2M+ messages with 25K people in two weeks. Human workers handled video calls and social-media follow-backs to make the profiles appear real. Anthropic banned the accounts and reported the apps to Apple and Google.

See full article at Storyboard 18

South Korean Matchmaker Duo Fined $250K Over False Claims

Posted on August 27, 2026
Duo logo

AJP – South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission fined matchmaking company Duo 345M won ($250K) for false or exaggerated advertising. Duo claimed to have the industry’s largest numbers of professionals and graduates from prestigious universities, but used its own definitions and provided no competitor data to support the claims. It also falsely described itself as Korea’s only externally audited matchmaking company and advertised up to 230 professional matchmakers when only 188 employees arranged matches. The regulator ordered Duo to correct the advertising.

See full article at AJP

Australia Court Finds eHarmony Misled Users Over Subscription Terms

Posted on August 26, 2026
eHarmony logo

REUTERS – Australia’s Federal Court found that eHarmony misled users about free access, automatic renewals, subscription length, cancellation rights and pricing. The court said renewal terms were displayed in small print late in the purchasing process, while advertised monthly prices did not clearly show the total cost of the subscription. The case was brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in 2023. Penalties and consumer compensation will be decided later, while eHarmony said it is reviewing the judgment.

See full article at Reuters

Chinese AI Matchmaker Liangpei Raises RMB15M in Angel Funding

Posted on August 25, 2026
Liangpei

36KR – Chinese AI matchmaking startup Liangpei Technology has raised RMB15M ($2.2M) in angel funding from Capital Today for a 20% stake. Its AI matchmaker verifies users through real-name checks, facial recognition, and a 20-minute voice interview, then introduces one compatible person at a time instead of offering swipe-based browsing. The company launched its product 40 days ago and has registered ~10K users. Founder Zeng Xinxun previously worked on search recommendations at WeChat and TikTok and led AI search at Kimi.

See full article at 36Kr

China Cracks Down on Flash Marriage Scams Targeting Single Men

Posted on August 12, 2026
Chinese bride

BBC – China is cracking down on “flash marriage” scams in which matchmaking agencies target single men with promises of quickly finding a wife. Victims have paid large agency fees and bride prices, only for their new wives to disappear or be exposed as having concealed major personal and financial information. The scams exploit China’s gender imbalance and shortage of potential partners, particularly in rural areas. Authorities investigated cases involving more than 1,500 people between January 2024 and March 2025, but prosecutions and recovering victims’ money remain difficult.

See full article at BBC

Coffee Meets Bagel Relaunches in Australia

Posted on July 31, 2026
CoffeeMeetsBagel

NEWS.COM.AU – Coffee Meets Bagel has relaunched with a redesigned matchmaking system intended to reduce endless swiping and encourage in-person dates. Its Australian research found that 82% of users swipe without intending to message or meet, while 59% are dating to marry and 91% find modern dating apps challenging. New features include a curated daily selection of up to 22 matches, seven-day chat expiry, personalized opening suggestions, profile-specific notes and activity reports showing users’ messaging behavior. The research also found that 87% of Australian daters are open to AI assistance.

See full article at News.com.au

Tokyo Dating App Leads to 265 Marriages

Posted on July 29, 2026
Tokyo Dating App Leads to 265 Marriages

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE – TOKYO Enmusubi, the AI-powered dating app launched by the Tokyo government in September 2024, has led to 265 marriages and 760 serious relationships. As of June 30, the app had accepted 16K members from ~36K applicants. Users must prove they are legally single and complete an online interview before joining.

See full article at ABS CBN

CheckMyDate Launches AI-Assisted Dating Safety Tool in Australia

Posted on July 15, 2026
CheckMyDate logo

MIRAGE NEWS – Australian platform CheckMyDate has launched an AI-assisted dating safety tool that searches publicly available online information to help users identify potential warning signs. The service compiles information such as social profiles, professional details and potential photo matches into a single report. The launch comes amid growing concerns about AI-generated fake profiles and romance scams, which cost Australians $28.6M in reported losses in 2025.

See full article at Mirage News

Australia Proposes Dating App Ban for Sex and Domestic Violence Offenders

Posted on July 14, 2026
dating apps

SBS NEWS – South Australia has proposed legislation that would ban convicted domestic violence and sex offenders from using dating apps. Under the plan, offenders would be prohibited from dating platforms for at least 10 years, with the most serious offenders facing lifetime bans. Breaching the ban could result in up to five years’ imprisonment. The government is developing the details of the proposal in consultation with dating app companies, including Match Group, and victim advocates. 

See full article at SBS News