Category: All Worldwide (non UK/Euro/US)
China’s Millennials Are Mourning the End of an Era in Online Hook-up Culture
QUARTZ – June 25 – Tencent, the Chinese technology giant that operates messaging app WeChat, has shut down an anonymous chat function, called "drift bottle". On drift bottle, users could "throw" bottles containing either a text or voice message into a virtual ocean or "pick up" floating ones. The function allowed users to stay anonymous, but people could also exchange contact details through the bottles. Tencent announced in December that it would suspend drift bottle on both QQ Mail and WeChat, after it found that users had been spreading pornography or soliciting prostitution on the platform. In April, the company said it would officially shut down the chat programme on QQ Mail on June 24. It has not said whether drift bottle would be resumed on WeChat. For many of China's Internet users, particularly those born in the 1980s, drift bottle was a go-to-place for finding either friendship or romance online. With the rise of local dating apps and social networks such as Momo and Weibo, drift bottle is now largely an object of nostalgia for China's Internet users.
Japanese Sign up for DNA Matchmaking as Country Faces Demographic Crisis
TELEGRAPH.CO.UK – June 22 – One critical new criteria for finding the perfect partner was recently added to Japan’s fast-paced dating world, with the launch of a new service that promises to find love based on DNA compatibility. Created by the dating company Nozze., which operates 21 branches across Japan, DNA Matching works with scientists at a Tokyo laboratory in order to decode the science of attraction and find the perfect match for its clients. Earlier this week, new government figures revealed that almost half of Japanese singles who wished to marry were unable to find a suitable partner, with 60% admitting they were not doing anything to change the situation. Satoru Fujimura, PR manager of Nozze., said: "We believe 50% of a person's attraction to another person is due to DNA. And the other 50% is environment. We believe that people with the most different types of DNA (HLA) make the best couples."
Tinder’s “Festival Mode” Is Now Live in Australia
by Astari Mudana
See full article at HappyMag
Two-thirds of Korean Singles Have Negative Opinion of Online Dating
KOREA BIZWIRE – June 19 – A recent survey by Duo matchmaking agency has revealed that 6 out of 10 unmarried men and women think negatively about dating online. 83% of women thought online meetings were a poor way of starting a relationship, compared to 47% for men.
With a New Campaign, Bumble India Pushes Bizz
In India, the Online Dating User Base Triples in 2018
LIVEMINT – June 11 – Dating companies believe that the growing demand for online dating in India is driven by its female population. Executives overseeing dating apps peg the dating app market to be valued at $100M in the next five to eight years. A Google report released this May said dating searches are catching up with matrimony queries, with a 40% increase over the past year. TrulyMadly has 5M users in India and is recording 300K-500K messages exchanged and 15K mutual matches per day. But women only comprise 20% of the profiles at best. "Since customizing the product for India in Sep 2018, we have witnessed an overwhelming response with active female users on the app tripling," said Melissa Hobley, CMO of OkCupid, an app that has ~1M users in India.
People Want Gay Marriage to Be Legal in India: Study
Lebanon’s Decision to Block Gay App Slammed by Amnesty
ALBAWABA – June 4 – Lebanon's decision to block Grindr was slammed on Wednesday by Amnesty International as "a deeply regressive step, and a blow" for the human rights of the local LGBTI community. The app was blocked following an order by the country's telecommunications ministry issued on Friday. A decades-old law in Lebanon punishes sexual relations "contrary to nature" with up to one year in prison.
Lunch Actually Launches Elite Dating Service
by Alanna Tan
See full article at Vulcan Post