Category: Manhunt
Gay Dating Apps Join Health Experts to Fight Hate Speech and Racism
PRESS RELEASE – Building Healthy Online Communities, a consortium of HIV and STD prevention organizations, has released a report with the results of its "NiceAF" campaign's research to combat online hate speech and racism. The report contains recommendations for apps and sites to take, based on input from ~5.5K users. BHOC worked with Adam4Adam, Daddyhunt, dudesnude, Grindr, GROWLr, Jack'd, Manhunt, SCRUFF, and POZ Personals to recruit its users to share their ideas. BHOC asked users to suggest and then rate a number of steps that apps should take to reduce discrimination and hate speech. The full report is available at NiceAF.org.
Manhunt Hacked, Thousands of Accounts Stolen
TECH CRUNCH – Apr 15 – Manhunt, a gay dating app that claims to have 6M male members, has confirmed it was hit by a data breach in February after a hacker gained access to the company's accounts database. The hacker downloaded the usernames, email addresses and passwords for a subset of our users. Manhunt was launched in 2001 by Online-Buddies, which also offered gay dating app Jack'd before it was sold to Perry Street in 2019 for an undisclosed sum. Just months before the sale, Jack'd had a security lapse that exposed users' private photos and location data.
STDs On The Rise, And Dating Apps May Be Paying A Role
USA TODAY – July 11 – Syphilis is on the rise and public health experts think it can be attributed at least partly to social media. Infection rates are the highest they have been in 20 years, said David Harvey, the executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors. From 2014 to 2015 alone, the number of syphilis cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rose by 17.7%, from 63K to 75K. It is important for dating apps to promote STD awareness and prevention, says Philip Chan, the director of the HIV/STD Testing and Prevention Services at the Miriam Hospital Immunology Center in Rhode Island. Tinder has a "Safety Tips" section under the app's "Settings" that discusses protection measures. Gay dating apps in particular are starting to do more of this, he said. Grindr has a "Sexual Health" section on each user's profile where the user can list HIV status and the last time they were tested. Manhunt partners with Manhunt Cares, an organization that provides health resources for its users and the LGBTQ community at large.
by Sarah Toy
See full article at USA Today
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Online Buddies Has A New CEO
OPW – Nov 23 – Online Buddies has appointed Hector Camacho as their new CEO. Hector worked with Online Buddies for 5 years as their Director of Advertising from 2007 thru 2012. Now he’s back as their CEO, after the CEO of 8 years Adam Segel left the company in April. Online Buddies runs Manhunt, and the gay dating apps Jack’d and Dandy.
Full Disclosure: Online Buddies is a prior client of Courtland Brooks.
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Post by Mark Brooks @ Courtland Brooks.
Jack’d – First Gay App On The Apple Watch
NEWNOWNEXT – Apr 23 – Online Buddies, Jack'd's parent company, has launched the Apple Watch app extension. The new Jack'd Apple Watch app features default responses and emojis for quick responses, bookmarked favorites, and full profile options with multiple public and private photos. Online Buddies also owns Manhunt, and a new dating app – Dandy.
by Dan Avery
See full article at NewNowNext
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This post also appears on Wearable.ai.
Craigslist: A Dangerous Way For People To Seek Relationships
WASHINGTON POST – Apr 20 – David Messerschmitt, the intellectual-property lawyer, was found stabbed to death inside a room at a hotel in Washington after he had posted on Craigslist seeking sex with men. Craigslist grew to be one of the largest players in online dating for men. The secrecy meshed well for men in the closet or those seeking immediate sex. "That was exciting. That was discovering. That was also very dangerous," said Mark Brooks, a longtime online dating consultant and president of the Internet Dating Executive Alliance. Although Craigslist's anonymity can make it a draw for predators, Jonathan Crutchley, a founder of Manhunt, said all online dating sites have deceptive users looking to commit crimes. "It's the dark side of the business, but it's the truth."
by Dan Morse & Mary Pat Flaherty
See full article at Washington Post
Manhunt Name Change
OPW – Apr 1 – Jonathan Crutchley, the co-founder/co-owner of Manhunt comments on Facebook…
"So I go visit the Manhunt.net web site, just to make sure it's still there. What do I find? It has been renamed Womanhunt.net, and there are all these pictures of sexy ladies in lingerie. Have we been hacked?? Vandalized? No, no, my customer service guys tell me. It's a joke. April Fool! Somebody should have told the boss ahead of time!"
Jack’d CEO Adam Segel About Changing Times
NEXT MAGAZINE – Aug 29 – Jack’d has polled its 5M users recently. 80% of their users are ages 18 to 25. 40% of them are actively looking for long-term relationships, according to the poll. “What we found was surprising”, said Adam Segel, CEO of Jack’d. “I’m 42, and when I was growing up, you couldn’t think about getting married. We were meeting in bars where all the windows were blacked over.” He noted that people write a lot about themselves on Jack’d. They write about concerts, books they’ve read, musicians they’ve liked. It then leads to entirely different opening lines.
by Benjamin Lindsay
The full article was originally published at The Next Magazine, but is no longer available.
Online Buddies Bought Gay App Dandy
WINDY CITY TIMES – Sep 10 – Online Buddies, parent company of gay dating site Manhunt.net and social-dating app Jack'd, announced the acquisition of the gay mobile app Dandy.
by Andrew Davis
See full article at Windy City Times
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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.