MONEYCONTROL – Eyeing the LGBTQIA+ community, Matrimony.com has launched a platform called RainbowLuv which lets users look for serious relationships unlike casual matches offered by online dating apps. The idea came from a member of the LGBT community who went up to the company's chief product officer at a conference urging them to open up matchmaking for the community. The new platform is similar to their other matrimony apps which let users give detailed information for their profile. In addition, users can specify if they are looking for hook-ups or serious relationships. Then there is government-approved ID verification.
Category: All Worldwide (non UK/Euro/US)
Match Group Ups Antitrust Pressure on Apple in India
REUTERS – Match Group has filed an antitrust case against Apple with the competition regulator in India, accusing it of "monopolistic conduct" that forces developers to pay high commissions for in-app purchases. A similar dispute in the Netherlands resulted in a 50M euro fine for Apple and an agreement to allow different payment methods in Dutch dating apps. Apple says in India, 87% of apps on its App Store are those which don't pay any commissions at all.
Founder of Blued Steps Down
SCMP – Ma Baoli is vacating his roles as CEO and chairman. He announced the change with a post to his personal WeChat account. "We have turned ideals into reality and made something impossible possible," Ma wrote, hinting at the difficulties of running a business catering to the LGBTQ community in a country where gay marriage is not legal and the government has taken an increasingly stringent stance against content depicting same-sex relationships. BlueCity grew revenue to reach $107.2M in 2019, the year before going public on the Nasdaq in July 2020, reaching a valuation of ~$800M. However, profitability has proven elusive as the space for LGBTQ groups online in China has shrunk in recent years. BlueCity has not announced a successor for Ma, but a company representative said it would "fulfill its obligation to disclose the information in a timely manner".
Friendship on Dating Apps in India Is the New Trend to Watch out for
NEWS PATROLLING – Indian dating app QuackQuack analyzed its user data and behavior aiming to understand the place of dating apps in terms of friendship. QuackQuack's data and survey show that among the ~22K downloads per day, more and more people are joining the dating app intending to make friends rather than just dating. 41% of the new QuackQuack users are looking to make new friends, and the majority of these people are from tier 2 cities. The majority of users looking for friends are in the age group of 18 to 22. Among the women users, 54% are looking for friends, compared to 40% of men who are interested in making friends.
Newborn Town to Finish Privatizing BlueCity
PANDAILY – The privatization of LGBTQ platform BlueCity is nearing completion. It will be controlled by Metaclass Management, a fund owned by Chinese social networking product developer Newborn Town. The buyer group includes Metaclass Management, BlueCity's founder Ma Baoli, and CDH Investment. According to the agreement, BlueCity will be acquired for $3.20/share and the transaction valuation is $60M. BlueCity's operating income in 2021 was $169M.
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Executives at Baihe Jiayuan Arrested for Embezzlement
SCMP – Fosun International said executives at its Chinese online-dating subsidiary have been arrested for alleged financial embezzlement. Baihe Jiayuan is a merger of two Chinese online dating platforms called Baihe.com and Jiayuan.com, leading to the privatisation of Nasdaq-listed Jiayuan in 2016. Fosun bought ~70% of the merged entity in 2018 for 4B yuan ($593M). The arrests came after rumors surfaced on Chinese social media platform Weibo about the disappearance of Baihe Jiayuan's management team, including its CEO, COO and CFO.
Soul, Chinese Metaverse Dating App, Vies for HK Listing
by Ryan McMorrow, Nian Liu & Hudson Lockett
See full article at Financial Times
Post-COVID Dating in Japan
by Yuya Takahashi
See full article at Nikkei Asia
Apple Now Lets Developers in South Korea Bypass App Store Payments
PROTOCOL – The change is Apple's response to legislation in South Korea that prevents app store operators from forcing developers to use their own in-app payment systems. Now, developers can use alternatives and bypass Apple and Google's 30% commission by accepting money directly from consumers. The law was an amendment to South Korea's Telecommunications Business Act, passed last summer. Apple said developers who choose to use external payment systems won't be able to use features like Ask to Buy or Family Sharing because the company can't validate payments that occur outside the App Store's "private and secure payment system." The company also can't help with refunds, purchase history, subscription management and other issues users may face by using third-party systems.
Survey: 40% of Single Japanese Men in Their 20s Have Never Been on a Date
The responses were:
- Men in their 20s
– No spouse or lover: 65.8%
– Lover: 19.1%
– Common law spouse: 1.5% Spouse: 13.6% - Women in their 20s
– No spouse or lover: 51.4%
– Lover: 27.3%
– Common law spouse: 1.4% Spouse: 19.8%
Part of the reason 40% of the 20-something men, and 25% of the women, haven't ever been on even a casual date is because casual dates themselves are less common in Japan, with the "still getting to know each other" phase often taking place at nominally platonic group events instead.