DATING NEWS – EliteSingles will shut down on April 30, 2026, giving users only a few days’ notice before all accounts, matches, and messages are permanently deleted. The closure is tied to ongoing financial trouble at its parent company, Spark Networks, which has been going through insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings despite recent restructuring efforts. Other Spark platforms like Christian Mingle and JDate are still operating for now, but their long-term outlook is uncertain.
BLOOMBERG LAW – Spark Networks Services GmbH, which operates platforms like Christian Mingle, JDate, and Zoosk, has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the United States to have its German insolvency proceedings recognized. The filing follows a failed restructuring attempt in 2024 and the withdrawal of funding by its main lender, MGG Investment Group. The company intends to sell its assets while continuing to operate during the process.
EIN PRESSWIRE – Jdate has relaunched with a modern interface, smarter matching, free and paid membership options, and new services including dating coaching and professional matchmaking. The update aims to attract younger Jewish singles and move beyond superficial swiping.
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WIRTSCHAFTS WOCHE – The MGG Investment Group has acquired Spark Networks, a German online dating provider, for just over 164K euros, becoming its sole shareholder. This acquisition, sanctioned by the Charlottenburg District Court in Berlin, led to a total loss for the current investors of Spark Networks. Spark Networks, offering niche online dating services such as Edarling, Elitesingles, and JDate, has faced financial difficulties in recent years, with losses exceeding $150M since 2020, partly due to cyber-attacks and fraudulent profile registrations. The company's stock, once priced at 14.80EUR on NASDAQ, was delisted at 13c in September 2023 due to impending insolvency. Facing impending insolvency, a legal submission to the Charlottenburg District Court proposed using the StaRUG law for corporate stabilization and restructuring. This law, introduced in 2021, allows companies to avert bankruptcy through restructuring, even if it adversely affects some creditors or shareholders.
by Florian Weyand
See full article at Wirtschafts Woche
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AVAST BLOG – June 3 – Match Group says that they don't share users' information between sites unless they ask them to, but they also say in their privacy policy that they might share that info for "limited and critical purposes, including for corporate audit, analysis and consolidated reporting, to comply with applicable law, and help keep our users safe." According to the Bumble Privacy Policy, they don't "sell" user data, according to the legal definition of "sell," but they do share demographic data and location with third party advertisers. They also share non-personal data with third parties for "research and analysis." So what happens to all that data when users leave? Unfortunately, the answer isn't so clear, especially for Match Group. But if someone deletes Grindr account, Grindr expunges everything they have about them after seven days. Spark Networks – the owner of Jdate and ChristianMingle – is based in Germany, which means they're subject to the GDPR. They are legally obligated to delete it. Bumble promises to delete users' data starting 28 days after they deactivate it. They say that they retain any information they might need for legal purposes.
See full article at Security Boulevard
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PRESS RELEASE – Aug 27 – Spark Networks, the parent of Zoosk, EliteSingles, Jdate, Christian Mingle, eDarling, JSwipe, and SilverSingles, reported H1 2020 revenue of €103.4, an increase of €54.2M from €49.2M in the H1 of 2019. The increase is primarily attributable to the integration of Zoosk following the Spark Networks / Zoosk Merger in July 2019. Net Loss was €0.4M, an improvement of €4.5M compared to Net Loss of €4.9M in the H1 of 2019. Average paying subscribers increased to 915K in the H1 of 2020, compared to 445K in the same period of 2019.
NY POST – June 18 – Marc Guss has recently offered a $10K reward to whoever can find his mother a match. He is now teaming up with David Yarus, the founder of Jewish dating app JSwipe to help her find the perfect mate. David Yarus plans to blast out the bid to over a million JSwipe and JDate users through pop-up notifications, banners and emails about Guss' proposal. "The goal is for users to help surface either family members, colleagues and friends for ideas for dates," says Yarus.
by Melkorka Licea & Dana Schuster
See full article at NY Post
REFINERY29 – May 13 – For some, it's a numbers game: online dating can be a slog, and joining more than one service increases the pool of perspective matches. "For some reason, a lot of men want Jewish girlfriends," says Toni, a Jewish user, of a trend she's noticed in her own circles since she was in college. "I think it had something to do with sex. Supposedly Jewish women are better sexual partners." Maria Avgitidis, founder and CEO of Agape Match in New York City, remembers a client who said "she only wanted Jewish men because they're really great providers." It's generally a good PR move for any company to land on the side of inclusivity when it comes to religion or ethnicity. Also, allowing non-niche users to join a niche dating site, especially when the niche itself comprises a tiny margin of the larger population, can make a site more profitable. "I think it's beautiful," says David Yarus, founder of JSwipe and Global Ambassador for JDate, of non-Jewish users looking for love on his platforms. "Ultimately, we have been very intentional in fostering more refined, digital dating within the Jewish community or for those who celebrate the Jewish culture. But it's so important that we recognize and honor the universality of the world."
by Rebecca Linde
See full article at Refinery29
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PATCH.COM – Oct 15 – Spark Networks USA, LLC, the parent company of niche dating sites Jdate and Christian Mingle, will pay $500K in penalties and up to $985K in restitution to customers whose subscriptions automatically renewed or whose refunds were denied when they requested them. Spark's dating sites were automatically renewing customer payments, without their express prior consent as required by federal and state law, among other alleged violations of law.
by Emily Holland
See full article at Patch.com
PR NEWSWIRE – Aug 30 – For the six months ended June 30, 2018, total revenue was €53M, an increase of ~26% YOY. The growth was attributable to the 34% increase in the number of average paying subscribers. Spark contributed 91.3% of the YOY revenue increase through the addition of Jdate, JSwipe and Christian Mingle following the close of the Affinitas / Spark Merger in Nov 2017. "Our growth strategy remains focused on EliteSingles, Jdate, JSwipe and Christian Mingle, and the recently launched SilverSingles brand," said Jeronimo Folgueira, CEO of Spark Networks SE. Net Loss was €(1.1)M, a €557K reduction compared to the H1 2017.
See full article at PR Newswire
