Category: Hinge

Online Dating Is About to Radically Change

Posted on December 23, 2024
A woman using a smartphone with a text overlay promoting Bumble's Private Detector feature, emphasizing user control and safety.

CNN – Dating apps are on the cusp of a major transformation. Personalized chatbots dating other chatbots on your behalf. AI concierges fielding questions about potential matches. Advanced algorithms predicting compatibility better than ever before. At its investor meeting, Match Group teased plans to use AI to improve user experiences and help make better connections. Hinge will offer more personalized matching, smarter algorithms that adapt to users and better understand them over time, and AI coaching for struggling daters. AI is going to transform the dating app experience, taking it from a do-it-yourself platform to an expertly guided journey that leads to far better outcomes and much better value. Bumble uses AI in safety features like its Private Detector – an AI-powered tool that blurs explicit images – and Deception Detector, which identifies spam, scams and fake profiles. Similarly, Match Group offers tools like buttons that say “Are You Sure?” to detect harmful language and “Does This Bother You?” to prompt users to report inappropriate behavior. Startup Rizz is experimenting with chatbots that help respond to messages. During Match Group’s investor day, Hinge’s CEO, Justin McLeod announced plans to build the “world’s most knowledgeable dating coach.” Hinge has seen a higher number of matches and subscription renewals with its improved AI algorithm among early test groups.

by Samantha Murphy Kelly
See full article at CNN

Mark Brooks: Large incumbent dating companies are sitting pretty because of large troves of data that can be used to inform AI to help move people towards finding better matches, improve their dates, and then make better decisions about what to do next.

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Hinge Fights Dating App Burnout With Serendipitous Love Stories

Posted on December 19, 2024
It's Funny We Met on Hinge

ADWEEK – Hinge’s new campaign, “It’s Funny We Met on Hinge,” features real couples who unknowingly crossed paths before meeting on the app, addressing dating app fatigue and promoting authentic connections. Running from December to March, the campaign coincides with a peak period for dating apps. Hinge launched the One More Hour program to combat loneliness, granting $1M to groups fostering in-person connections, and introduced the Your Turn Limits feature, which reminds users to respond to matches.

by Brittaney Kiefer
See full article at AdWeek

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Match Group Faces Pressure to Revive Tinder Amid Investor Scrutiny

Posted on December 12, 2024
Logo of Match Group

BNN BLOOMBERG – Match Group faces heightened expectations at its investor meeting, with analysts and activist investors demanding a clear turnaround plan for Tinder, which has struggled with declining subscriber growth despite recent updates. The company’s market value has fallen by $41B since 2021 due to frequent leadership changes and limited product innovation. Activist investors, including Starboard Value, are pushing for growth and have proposed a sale if improvements fail. Tinder’s new CEO has a limited window to demonstrate progress as analysts call for a credible strategy to stabilize user trends by 2025. Other concerns include capital allocation, growth for Hinge, and expansion in Asia, but Tinder remains the primary focus as Match works to restore investor confidence.

by Natalie Lung
See full article at BNN Bloomberg

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‘It Feels Like Admin’: Why Are People Falling out of Love With Dating Apps

Posted on December 10, 2024
Dating apps

THE GUARDIAN – ~1.4M people in the UK left online dating in the past year, as experts say users view it more as a chore than a social activity. Ofcom’s 2024 Online Nation report reveals a 16% decline in the use of the top 10 dating apps between 2023 and 2024. Tinder saw the largest drop, losing over 500K users since May 2023, while Bumble and Hinge lost 368K and 131K, respectively. Researchers at the University of Leeds’ Centre for Love, Sex, and Relationships (CLSR) attribute the decline to user fatigue and a sense of detachment from reality. Natasha McKeever, a lecturer at CLSR, notes that virtual dating feels more like a task than a social experience. Another factor is the monopolization of dating apps; Match Group accounts for over half of the 7.27M users of the top 10 apps in 2024.

by Raphael Boyd
See full article at The Guardian

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Q & A With Hinge CEO

Posted on December 6, 2024
Portrait of a man with a beard, wearing a dark hoodie over a light shirt, standing in front of a wooden background.

SEMAFOR – Hinge CEO Justin McLeod believes AI will revolutionize online dating, making it more effective than meeting people in real life. AI will enable smarter, personalized matches and provide tools like real-time coaching to help users navigate their dating journey, from writing profiles to planning dates. Despite criticism over paywalls, McLeod clarifies that free features remain unchanged, while premium options aim to enhance user experience without diminishing matchmaking quality. He emphasizes that AI should assist connections rather than distract or replace human interaction.

by Rachyl Jones
See full article at Semafor

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Gen Z Is Breaking up With Dating Apps, Ofcom Says

Posted on November 29, 2024

TinderTHE GUARDIAN – Ofcom reports a decline in the use of top UK dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and Grindr, with Gen Z increasingly favoring real-life connections. Tinder lost 600K users, and Hinge dropped by 131K since 2023. Analysts suggest the novelty of dating apps is fading for younger users, who now romanticize in-person interactions. Apps still appeal to younger adults, reaching 18% of 18-24-year-olds, but challenges like safety concerns and overwhelming choices persist. Match Group acknowledges the shift, aiming to create lower-pressure, more authentic experiences for Gen Z users.

by Dan Milmo
See full article at The Guardian

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New Dating Apps Betting on Matchmaking

Posted on November 28, 2024

Cheers logoBUSINESS INSIDER – Several new "matchmaking" dating apps have launched in the past year, addressing dating-app fatigue. Sitch is an AI matchmaking app launched in New York in November. Cheers is an app that lets friends play matchmaker in a social-media feed, launched in October. Facebook Dating even launched a matchmaking feature last month. Tinder's cofounder and former CEO, Sean Rad, said on a September episode of the 20VC podcast that he had always imagined the dating app moving beyond swiping and into matchmaking. In 2017, Hinge launched a stand-alone app called Matchmaker that lets friends swipe for each other. It appears to have since shut down. Tinder, also owned by Match Group, launched a similar feature in 2023.

Loop is a matchmaking app where everyone can set up their single friends. Only a third of the user base are singles; the rest are friends and family members or even professional or hobbyist matchmakers. Loop launched in 2023 and is currently free for all users.

Arrange should launch in December and will let users link their profiles with a "scout," a trusted friend or family member, who can talk with potential matches ahead of time and vet for compatibility.

Amori is a dating-advice app with characters users can chat with, is experimenting with matchmaking using a personal assistant (though it isn't live within the app yet).

by Sydney Bradley & Daniel Latu
See full article at Business Insider

Match Shares Tumble, Signaling an Opening for Dating Startups

Posted on November 11, 2024

Dating apps many on screenBUSINESS INSIDER – Match and Bumble stocks wavered. Tinder expects another drop in paying users in Q4. A 2024 Forbes Health survey reported 78% of Americans felt exhausted by dating apps. Match Group shares dropped 18% Thursday after Tinder paying users fell 4% to 9.9m in Q3. Hinge Q3 revenue grew 36%. Bumble saw 10% paying user growth to 2.9m. ARPU dropped 10%. Revenue was flat, dropping 0.7% to $274m.

Hinge now limits users' simultaneous match conversations to reduce unanswered messages to help "daters shift their mindset from quantity to quality of matches" and follow through with their matches. This is helping increase response rates on the app.

Earlier this year, Bumble acquired Geneva, a group chat app for niche communities for $17m. Bumble founder and chair Whitney Wolfe Herd said we "will not be a dating app in a few years" but rather for "human connection." CEO Lidiane Jones said the company will "enable the next generation of online-to-real-world connections."

by Dan Latu, Katie Balevic & Sydney Bradley
See full article at Business Insider

Mark Brooks: Dating companies need to persuade the public they have their best interests at heart. User sentiment is changing. We need to solve the continuity problem by broadening our perspective while increasing our sheer utility in dating. AI is the future.

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Match Group Q3 Financial Results

Posted on November 7, 2024

Match Group logo MATCH GROUP – In Q3 2024, Match Group's revenue grew by 2% YOY, reaching $895M. The period saw a 3% decline in total payers to 15.2M, while revenue per payer increased by 5% to $19.26. Operating income fell 14% to $211M due to impairment costs associated with phasing out certain live streaming services, although adjusted operating income rose 3% to $343M. Share repurchases continued, totaling $241M for the quarter.

Tinder's performance showed improvement, with a 4% decline in payers, less than Q2's 8% drop. Hinge achieved significant growth, with direct revenue up 36% YOY and reaching record downloads in the U.S. and Europe. Match Group Asia saw steady growth for Azar, especially in Europe, while Evergreen and Emerging brands continued expanding into specific demographic markets.

Match Group expects Q4 revenue between $865-$875M, with slight growth excluding revenue from discontinued services. An Investor Day scheduled for December 11, 2024, will outline further strategic insights.

See full article at Match Group website

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Hinge’s CEO Tackles Dating App Frustrations

Posted on November 7, 2024

Hinge Justin McLeod 2024NPR – Hinge is experiencing revenue growth, up 36% from last year, as it addresses user frustrations common with dating apps. Hinge's CEO, Justin McLeod, aims to improve user engagement and prevent "dead-end" conversations by limiting new matches until users respond to existing ones, a feature that has increased match-to-date conversions by ~20%. Hinge also plans to implement guidance nudges to help users progress from chatting to in-person dates.

by Darian Woods & Wailin Wong
See full article at WVIK

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