LINKEDIN – Linda Kim has announced her departure as CEO of Hyperconnect, the video technology company acquired by Match Group in 2021. Kim had led Hyperconnect through its integration into Match Group and most recently oversaw products including Azar and Hakuna. She announced the move on LinkedIn, where she described her tenure as one of the most rewarding chapters of her career.
MASHABLE – Archer, the gay dating app launched by Match Group in 2023, will shut down on June 17. The closure follows Match’s recent $100M investment in gay app Sniffies and signals a shift in focus within its LGBTQ+ portfolio. Archer positioned itself as a more relationship-oriented alternative to hookup apps and reached ~685K downloads in its first year, but struggled to gain meaningful scale in a market dominated by competitors such as Grindr.
FORTUNE – Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff revived the company’s canceled Tinder internship program, receiving ~30K applications for 27 positions. The internships will begin June 1 and run through August across engineering, product, design, marketing, and analytics teams. Rascoff said the company is increasing investment in early-career hiring and Gen Z talent, despite broader cuts to internships and entry-level hiring across the tech sector. He also said Match Group plans to hire more workers who are already experienced using AI tools in daily workflows.
REALITY DEFENDER – Reality Defender announced the formation of its Ethics Committee focused on AI-generated media detection and governance. The founding members are:
The committee will address issues including false positives, privacy, authentication, access to flagged content, and the use of AI detection verdicts in legal and regulatory proceedings. The company develops real-time detection tools for AI-generated voice, video, image, and text content.
BUSINESS INSIDER – Spencer Rascoff said Gen Z finds traditional dating apps intimidating because they feel too structured and “like a job interview.” Speaking during Match Group’s earnings call, he said younger users want low-pressure, more natural ways to meet people. In response, Match Group is adding features focused on real-life interaction. Hinge is testing a “Direct to Date” feature that encourages users to meet immediately after matching, while Tinder has started hosting in-person dating events and added interest-based features like music and astrology modes.
REUTERS – Match Group reported a strong Q1 2026, with revenue up to $864M (+4%) and profit rising 42% to $167M. Growth was driven mainly by Hinge, which saw 28% revenue growth, while Tinder showed early signs of recovery. Tinder’s registrations returned to YOY growth in March for the first time in nearly two years, with improving engagement and retention. New features and product changes are starting to stabilize the platform, especially with younger users. Overall, paying users declined 5%, but revenue per user increased. The company is streamlining operations, cutting costs, and investing in higher-growth areas, including a $100M stake in gay dating app Sniffies.
WIRED – Match Group invested $100M in Sniffies, taking a large minority stake with the option to acquire it fully later. The move has unsettled users, who fear the niche, anonymous cruising app could lose its distinct, sex-positive culture under corporate influence. While CEO Blake Gallagher says the partnership will focus on safety and growth without changing the platform’s identity, many users remain skeptical.
BLOOMBERG – Seattle-based Sniffies (3m MAU) has a real-time map for gay hookups and is web-only due to app store content restrictions. The news caused Grindr shares to fall 2.5%. Match’s stock was little changed. Last Match purchased HER app. Match is winding down its existing Archer app, which it launched in 2023 to serve queer men. It will focus instead on supporting Sniffies.
TECH CRUNCH – Clarifai has now deleted 3M OkCupid photos and the AI models trained on them. This is the first clear confirmation that the data was actually used for facial recognition training. The deletion follows the FTC case against OkCupid and Match Group, which settled without admitting wrongdoing.
FINANCIAL TIMES – Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff says attracting female users is a “priority focus” in the push to turn around Tinder. Tinder has fallen from a peak of 65.4M monthly active users in 2021 to 50.5M last year, according to Sensor Tower. Match Group does not publish a gender breakdown of users on its apps, but Sensor Tower estimates around 75% of Tinder’s users are men. Since taking over, Rascoff has introduced a series of new features, including double dates, video calls, and shared-interest matching (such as music taste), aimed at attracting younger Gen Z users and women. He said the decline has improved from -11% annually to -8.5%, with a goal of stabilizing growth by the end of next year.