Category: Hinge
3 Things Match Group CEO Amanda Ginsberg Wants You To Know
THE MOTLEY FOOL – Sep 15 – Match Group CEO Amanda Ginsberg highlighted some key aspects of the dating company’s growth strategy during its Q2 earnings call.
- Tinder’s torrid growth continues Direct revenue in the Q2 for Tinder was up 136% YOY, subscribers grew 81%, and ARPU [average revenue per subscriber] rose 33%. Gold subscribers surpassed 50% of total Tinder subscribers in the Q2.
- An intriguing acquisition Hinge is an early stage, innovative product that is showing great momentum in the U.S. Over the past year, Hinge’s monthly downloads have increased by 400%. It caters to people in their 20s, so, Match Group believes that Hinge pairs well with Match.com, which tends to resonate more with people in their 30s and 40s.
- A massive opportunity in international markets Match Group sees a massive opportunity in certain Asian, North African, and Middle Eastern markets that have very young and highly mobile-savvy populations and plans to build share there over time, either organically or through M&A.
HBO Documentary – “Swiped: Hooking Up In The Digital Age”
BROADWAY WORLD – Aug 30 – In the new documentary, New York Times bestselling author Nancy Jo Sales, investigates the online dating industry's impact on gender issues, examining how it has changed the way people date, mate and think about the apps on their phones, and explores how the act of swiping affects the ability to find true and lasting connections. Directed and written by Sales, the film debuts on Sep 10, exclusively on HBO. The film features interviews with, among others: Jonathan Badeen, co-founder and CSO of Tinder; Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of Bumble; Justin McLeod, founder and CEO of Hinge; and Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group.
Political View Is Important In Dating, Survey Finds
INDEPENDENT.CO.UK – Aug 17 – Hinge is one of the first dating apps to integrate politics into its algorithm. If users choose to state their political beliefs, it will feature prominently on their profile under the 'virtues' section, in which users also state their education level and height. There are four options for them to choose from: 'liberal', 'moderate', 'conservative' and the ambiguous-yet-intriguing 'other'. According to Plenty of Fish, the majority of singles (59%) won't start a conversation with someone who's dating profile promotes an opposing political view. The survey also revealed that 44% of singles said they wouldn't date someone who voted for Trump.
by Olivia Petter
See full article at Independent.co.uk
Is Match Becoming Un-Hinged With Its Latest Acquisition?
THE MOTLEY FOOL – July 24 – The latest service to join Match is Hinge, a site that once billed itself as the "anti-Tinder" because it focuses on relationships instead of hookups. The purchase leaves Bumble as the only major dating app not owned by Match, and the two are currently suing each other. Match has acquired dozens of services over the past nine years and in the past three years spent $610M acquiring different brands, about equal to its cumulative operating earnings for the same period. While none of the deals have seemed to have gone like a bad date, the rise in Match's cost of revenues has outpaced its revenue increases due to acquisitions like POF and Pairs. Last year, revenue from North America, which contributes 56% of Match's total, grew 9% as a result of more people signing up for Tinder. Yet North America ARPU was flat. The deal for Hinge gives Match a 51% stake with the right to purchase the rest of Hinge within the next year. Though Hinge doesn't disclose the number of users it has, undoubtedly individuals using dating apps have accounts at multiple sites, so Match is paying for members it likely already owns. Match's total subscribers hit 7.43M in the Q1, up 26% YOY, and some of them have to be Hinge members, too. Making another acquisition might put another dating app into Match's diverse collection, but it doesn't really do anything to bolster what is making money for it, namely Tinder.
by Rich Duprey
See full article at The Motley Fool
IAC CEO Joey Levin: We Bought Hinge To Disrupt Ourselves
CHEDDAR – July 13 – At first glance, Match Group's acquisition of dating app Hinge, known as the "anti-Tinder," doesn't seem to make much sense. But for parent company IAC, the more competition – even internally – the better. "We have always disrupted ourselves, and we like to disrupt ourselves," explained Joey Levin, CEO of IAC. "So when we see something that says it's the anti-something-we're-doing, if it's a good business, it's a good management team, it's a good story, it's a good product, that's something we're interested in doing. We like competing with ourselves."
by Conor White
See full article at Cheddar
Hinge Releases “Most Compatible” Feature
YAHOO LIFESTYLE – July 11 – This new feature recommends one highly compatible match every day. The app selects the matches based on algorithms that suss out users previous actions on the app and their interests. Hinge's latest feature comes on the heels of Match Group's purchase of a 51% controlling stake in the app in June. It also comes over a year after the company moved away from swiping.
Match Group Update: Tinder Gold Is Getting Even Shinier
SEEKING ALPHA – July 10 – June has been a busy month for Match Group. The company announced that it had acquired a controlling stake in Hinge, and also introduced several new features for Tinder, with several more currently in the works. Tinder Picks is a new feature available exclusively for Tinder Gold subscribers. Picks, which mimics rival app Coffee Meets Bagel, presents users with four profiles daily based on factors such as education, interests, and swipe history. Loops feature, which it had previously tested in Canada and Sweden, allows users to post two-second, looping videos to their profiles in lieu of a static photograph. The company is testing a "Places" feature, which allows users to see potential matches who frequent similar bars, shops, and other locations. In Q1 '18, Tinder added 368K subscribers and delivered its best average revenue per user (ARPU) growth in two years. According to Match CFO Gary Swindler, Tinder's ARPU in Q1 grew 37% year-over-year. The company's ARPU as a whole reached $0.58 in Q1 – well above the $0.53 that it achieved in 2017. With such fantastic economics and a sticky user base, Match Group is significantly undervalued as a company. Yet, shares remain depressed amid negative sentiment surrounding Facebook's entry into online dating.
by Mike Berner
See full article at Seeking Alpha
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Facebook Acknowledges It Shared User Data With Dozens Of Companies
CNET – July 1 – Facebook has admitted providing dozens of tech companies with special access to user data after publicly saying it restricted such access in 2015. It continued sharing information with 61 hardware and software makers after it said it discontinued the practice in May 2015. Facebook granted a special "one-time" six-month extension to companies that ranged from AOL to UPS to dating app Hinge so they could come into compliance with the social network's new privacy policy and create their own versions of Facebook for their devices. Data shared without users' knowledge included friends' names, genders and birth dates. Facebook said it has ended 38 of the partnership and plans to discontinue seven more by the end of July. The disclosure was part of Facebook's second attempt to address questions posed to Zuckerberg in April by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Hinge CEO On Online Dating Business
CNBC – June 25 – Justin McLeod, Hinge founder and CEO, discusses the Hinge app as well as his thoughts on the dating app landscape.
Q: How is Hinge different?
A: We have a product team that really focuses on helping our users get out on first dates. Users have to fill out a deeper profile. Because people use the app much more interactively, we can learn their taste much better and match them up with people they are really going to like.
Q: How much do you charge?
A: $8 per month for premium subscription, but there is a free option as well.
Q: What is the difference between free and paid?
A: Premium members can send unlimited number of likes and are able to filter by religion, etc.
Q: What is the % of free vs paid users?
A: Free 85%, 15% paid.
Q: What do you think about Facebook dating?
A: Our demographic (millennials) are using Facebook less and less so Facebook is not a thread to our business.