DAILYMAIL.CO.UK – Feb 3 – Indian dating site Shaadi has caused controversy by insisting that users state their caste or 'sub-community' on their profile. Users who are elite in the caste system would not be offered potential matches from the lowest of the social divisions. Caste discrimination is outlawed in India but it is not yet illegal in the UK. The Equality Act 2010 does, however, prevent discrimination on the grounds of race as well as other 'protected characteristics'.
Category: All Worldwide (non UK/Euro/US)
Tinder Drops Valentine’s Day Related Tweet
by Trisha Semgupta
See full article at Hindustan Times
Chinese Soul App Focuses on Shared Values Rather Than Appearances
by Tony Xu
See full article at Technode
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Credit Suisse Halts Work on Chinese Gay Dating App Blued’s IPO
BLOOMBERG – Jan 13 – Credit Suisse Group AG has stopped working on the upcoming U.S. IPO of Chinese gay dating app Blued. Credit Suisse joins other investment firms, including Citigroup and Bank of America that in recent months have dropped off the U.S. debuts of high-profile Chinese companies. It wasn't clear why Credit Suisse dropped off Blued's IPO, but it did so before the company filed publicly. Founded in 2012 by former policeman Geng, Blued has become an icon for the Chinese LGBTQ community and attracted ~$130M in venture capital as of March last year. Besides providing dating services to 40M users, the app also offers live streaming and connects men who want to become parents with overseas surrogates. Blued has said it's eyeing an IPO ideally in the U.S., which offers a simpler process and deeper capital markets.
by Julia Fioretti & Lulu Yilun Chen
See full article at Bloomberg
One-Third of Chinese Millennials and Gen Z Not Interested in Marriage
RADII CHINA – Jan 4 – According to a report from Chinese dating site Zhenai, 70% of 90s babies are actively searching for love. Among them, 26% expressed an intense desire to get married, but 30% were indifferent to marriage. In fact, the study found that 40% of singles did not want to have a wedding, women more so than men. But love is undoubtedly still on the mind: the survey showed that being single was also the number one worry (64%), followed by being poor (45%) and having no friends (29%).
Momo Has 4 Plans for Future Growth
THE MOTLEY FOOL – Dec 31 – Momo is often called the "Tinder of China" because it owns two top dating apps: its eponymous app and Tantan, a Tinder clone it acquired in 2018. Most of Momo's revenue comes from its core app's live video streaming platform, which lets viewers buy virtual gifts for their favorite broadcasters. A smaller percentage comes from ads, mini-games, and premium dating services. Momo's stock rallied ~50% over the past 12 months, even as it faced Tantan's temporary suspension from Chinese app stores.
- Growing its users and engagement rates
Its monthly active users (MAUs) on its core app rose 3% annually to 114.1M last quarter, marking a slowdown from previous quarters. To bring in more users, Momo launched a new version of its app in August. - Supporting the "healthy" growth of its live videos
Momo is closely monitoring its live video platform to avoid a crackdown by China's cyberspace regulators. - Growing its base of paid users
Its number of paid users, including Tantan, grew 7% annually to 13.4M last quarter. That represents just a tiny slice of its total MAUs, but it's implementing fresh strategies to boost that percentage. - The monetization of Tantan
Tantan grew its paid users 41% annually to 4.5M last quarter. These users pay for premium features like unlimited swipes and more matches. Tantan's total revenue rose 89% annually to 310M yuan ($44M), or 7% of Momo's top line.
AI Finding Role as Matchmaker in Japan
Could Tencent Topple Momo as the “Tinder of China”?
THE MOTLEY FOOL – Dec 25 – Tencent, the Chinese tech giant, has unveiled three new dating apps over the past few months. Tencent rules China's mobile messaging market with WeChat, which serves 1.15B monthly active users. Meanwhile, Momo is the top online dating platform in China. Momo's smaller app, Tantan, is a Chinese clone of Tinder. Momo's core app had 114.1M MAUs last quarter, and 13.4M of them bought virtual gifts or signed up for premium dating services on Momo and Tantan. Tencent recently launched an anonymous video dating app called Maohu, a Tinder-like app called Qingliao ("Light Chat"), and a reboot of its Pengyou ("Friends") app as a social network with an opt-in dating feature. What's Tencent up to? WeChat's MAUs grew 6% annually last quarter, but it's only a matter of time before this ubiquitous "super app" runs out of room to grow in China. Meanwhile, Gen Z-oriented rivals like ByteDance's TikTok and Bilibili are attracting younger users, while WeChat seems shackled to its reputation as an app for older users. Simply put, Tencent needs new ways to reach younger users, and Momo's streak of double-digit revenue growth suggests that online dating is still a fertile market. Investors shouldn't assume that Tencent will crush Momo yet, since Momo still enjoys a first mover's advantage in the market. However, investors should keep a close eye on Tencent's three new apps – and see if they pull users away from Momo and Tantan.
by Leo Sun
See full article at The Motley Fool
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Sugarbook Billboard Ads Removed in Kuala Lumpur
Tencent Launches New ‘Anonymous’ Dating App, Dengyu Jiaoyou
PANDAILY – Dec 17 – Tech giant Tencent has released a video dating app called Dengyu Jiaoyou. The app is only available on third party android stores in China. Tencent has also launched video social chat app Maohu, interest community-based social app Youji, verified user social app Qingliao, and invitation-based social app Pengyou over the past few weeks. The move comes after a decline in daily users and new subscribers onto the popular app, Wechat. Hours spent per month on WeChat fell from 35.4 to 32.4 in a matter of 6 months, from December 2018 – June 2019 according to research company, Quest Mobile. The dismal performance may be attributed to a rising popularity of short-video platforms particularly among Generation Z Internet users.