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.
Category: JSwipe
Mark Zuckerberg Let Tinder Get Special Access to Users’ Data
FORBES – Nov 8 – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg considered entering the online dating business as far back as 2014, but he put the idea on the back burner, instead giving Tinder special access to its users' data, leaked emails between top executives show. The leaked correspondence is part of an ongoing lawsuit between Facebook and Six4Three, a now-defunct app developer that sued Facebook in 2015 for restricting user data access, alleging the actions were uncompetitive. The correspondence shows how perilously close Tinder came to losing key access to Facebook user information that helped Tinder grow rapidly in its early years, when members often used their Facebook logins to access the app. When Facebook further restricted the kind of information third-party apps could access after the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in March 2018, Tinder's app crashed. Tinder was on Facebook's radar in 2013. Zuckerberg wrote in January 2014 to two executives: "Tinder's growth is especially alarming to me because their product is built completely on Facebook data, and it's much better than anything we've built for recommendations using the same corpus." In 2014, Facebook announced it would start preventing third-party app developers from having access to data on users' friends, including birth dates, photos and pages they liked. The company gave a May 2015 deadline for developers to comply with its new set of access rules. However, Zuckerberg made some companies and apps an exception. Tinder was one. Facebook agreed to give Tinder a special data-sharing agreement, internally known as "whitelists," if the dating app shared trademark rights on "MOMENTS." which was the planned name for a photo app that Facebook wanted to launch, an email exchange in March 2015 showed. When asked about this agreement in 2018, a spokeswoman for Tinder said: "Tinder never received special treatment, data or access related to this dispute or its resolution." Other dating apps that had whitelist agreements with Facebook include Bumble, Badoo, Coffee Meets Bagel, Hinge and jSwipe.
Findings From JSwipe’s First Singles Study
PR NEWSWIRE – Oct 2 – Jewish dating app JSwipe has released its first report on Jewish singles and Millennials. The full report is available here. ~80% of respondents say it's important to date or marry someone Jewish. 54% says their family would react negatively if they married someone who wasn't Jewish, while 40% say their families would be neutral, 47% would ask someone to convert for them if it got serious.
Q&A With David Yarus, Founder of JSwipe
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS – July 30 – JSwipe is a Tinder-like app for Jews.
Q: What have you learned since you founded JSwipe in 2014?
A: I have developed a much deeper understanding of the millennial Jewish experience. They are the least traditionally religious generation in recent history. What I've learned is that there’s a disconnect between them and what I call "Big Jewish", the governing bodies of the Jewish world, which are run primarily by our grandparents' and parents' generations.
Q: What is the disconnect between Big Jewish and millennial Jews?
A: I believe it's because Big Jewish is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into what's essentially the Jewish Oldsmobile, to try to push it forward and appeal to us, while Jewish millennials want the Jewish Tesla.
Q: What are some characteristics that might define Jewish Tesla?
A: My core struggle is a question that I was only recently able to express: what is the role of particularism in universalism? I went to Jewish day school, shul every Friday night, Shabbat, kosher, the whole shebang. I went on Birthright, I learned in Israel, I did all those things. It's important for me to be Jewish, but also important to be part of the broader society as a whole, and I’m not always sure how to balance those things.
Man’s $10K Quest to Find Mom a Mate Gets an Online Dating Boost
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
Why People Pretend to Be Jewish on JDate
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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The Rise of Niche Dating Apps in Tinder Era
VOGUE 
– Feb 12 – In an increasingly crowded market, a new generation of niche apps are going a step further by homing in on specific requirements that narrow down the dating pool drastically. "I've found that people from similar backgrounds tend to stick together," says Lydia Davis, founder of Toffee, the world's first dating app for the privately educated. Davis set up Toffee in 2018 with the aim of connecting people on the posher end of the spectrum. In nine months, the app has gained 25K subscribers in the UK and there are plans to expand into new markets including Australia, India and Nigeria. "In the UK, 8% of people are privately educated but in Australia that number is 35%. In India, it's 38%. The Inner Circle, an exclusive dating app launched in Amsterdam in 2012, is now active in 30 cities and has 1.4M members. Users are screened using their Facebook and LinkedIn before being allowed to join, though the required criteria remains a closely guarded secret. Not so with Luxy, a dating app for the super-rich where users are encouraged to verify their income by submitting their tax returns. Location and lifestyle are also important factors for niche dating platforms. In 2006, sisters Lucy Reeves and Emma Royall set up Muddy Matches, a dating site for "country-minded people". In fact, there's a dating app for everyone. Twindog is for dog lovers, Bristlr is for those with facial hair, Gluten Free Singles, JSwipe, Hater, a dating app that determines compatibility based on the things people hate, Donald Daters, etc.
by Radhika Seth
See full article at Vogue
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Spark Networks Reports First Half 2018 Results
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
The Success Of JSwipe
by Laura E. Adkins
See full article at Forward.com