FAST COMPANY – Azar, a one-on-one video chat app owned by Match Group, has launched in the U.S., targeting Gen Z users who make up 60% of its global base. The app allows random video chats with paid options for filters like gender or location and has facilitated over 100B chats worldwide. Its launch comes amid rising loneliness in the U.S., but concerns remain about safety, as the platform lacks age verification despite employing AI and moderators.
WAL STREET JOURNAL – Tinder faces slowing growth and investor skepticism. Despite boasting 47M monthly active users, Tinder struggles with its hookup reputation and fake accounts. Match’s recent analyst meeting unveiled a $1.5B buyback, its first dividend, and a forecasted revenue decline for Tinder in 2025 – below market expectations – causing a 6% share price drop. To address challenges, Tinder plans improvements, including biometric verification, AI for better matches, and new features like “double-dating.” While these updates are promising, they’ll take time to yield results. Wall Street remains cautious, awaiting proof of execution.
BLOOMBERG – Tinder is shifting its focus from monetization to improving user experience, aiming to rebuild trust and move away from its “hookup app” reputation. CEO Faye Iosotaluno warned of declining revenue through 2026, with growth expected to resume in 2027 as the platform introduces features like AI-powered recommendations, face-photo requirements, and double-date matches to meet evolving user expectations. While these changes may temporarily reduce its user base, Match also lowered its Q4 revenue forecasts due to currency headwinds, disappointing investors seeking faster progress. Activist investors, including Starboard Value, have pressured Match for growth, even suggesting a sale if turnaround efforts fail, as the company faces management changes and a $41B market cap loss since 2021. Despite these challenges, Match plans to return 100% of free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and buybacks, signaling its commitment to long-term shareholder value.
REUTERS – A U.S. judge ruled that claims accusing Match Group of designing addictive dating apps must be resolved through individual arbitration rather than a class-action lawsuit. The plaintiffs, from several states, alleged the apps prioritized profits over users’ relationship goals and used features to encourage addictive behavior, violating consumer protection laws. Match argued that its user agreements mandated arbitration, a stance the judge upheld, putting the case on hold. The ruling is part of a broader trend, with similar lawsuits targeting tech companies like TikTok and Snapchat for allegedly designing addictive platforms.
BNN BLOOMBERG – Match Group faces heightened expectations at its investor meeting, with analysts and activist investors demanding a clear turnaround plan for Tinder, which has struggled with declining subscriber growth despite recent updates. The company’s market value has fallen by $41B since 2021 due to frequent leadership changes and limited product innovation. Activist investors, including Starboard Value, are pushing for growth and have proposed a sale if improvements fail. Tinder’s new CEO has a limited window to demonstrate progress as analysts call for a credible strategy to stabilize user trends by 2025. Other concerns include capital allocation, growth for Hinge, and expansion in Asia, but Tinder remains the primary focus as Match works to restore investor confidence.
by Natalie Lung
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THE GUARDIAN – ~1.4M people in the UK left online dating in the past year, as experts say users view it more as a chore than a social activity. Ofcom’s 2024 Online Nation report reveals a 16% decline in the use of the top 10 dating apps between 2023 and 2024. Tinder saw the largest drop, losing over 500K users since May 2023, while Bumble and Hinge lost 368K and 131K, respectively. Researchers at the University of Leeds’ Centre for Love, Sex, and Relationships (CLSR) attribute the decline to user fatigue and a sense of detachment from reality. Natasha McKeever, a lecturer at CLSR, notes that virtual dating feels more like a task than a social experience. Another factor is the monopolization of dating apps; Match Group accounts for over half of the 7.27M users of the top 10 apps in 2024.
by Raphael Boyd
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THE GUARDIAN – Ofcom reports a decline in the use of top UK dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and Grindr, with Gen Z increasingly favoring real-life connections. Tinder lost 600K users, and Hinge dropped by 131K since 2023. Analysts suggest the novelty of dating apps is fading for younger users, who now romanticize in-person interactions. Apps still appeal to younger adults, reaching 18% of 18-24-year-olds, but challenges like safety concerns and overwhelming choices persist. Match Group acknowledges the shift, aiming to create lower-pressure, more authentic experiences for Gen Z users.
by Dan Milmo
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BUSINESS INSIDER – Several new "matchmaking" dating apps have launched in the past year, addressing dating-app fatigue. Sitch is an AI matchmaking app launched in New York in November. Cheers is an app that lets friends play matchmaker in a social-media feed, launched in October. Facebook Dating even launched a matchmaking feature last month. Tinder's cofounder and former CEO, Sean Rad, said on a September episode of the 20VC podcast that he had always imagined the dating app moving beyond swiping and into matchmaking. In 2017, Hinge launched a stand-alone app called Matchmaker that lets friends swipe for each other. It appears to have since shut down. Tinder, also owned by Match Group, launched a similar feature in 2023.
Loop is a matchmaking app where everyone can set up their single friends. Only a third of the user base are singles; the rest are friends and family members or even professional or hobbyist matchmakers. Loop launched in 2023 and is currently free for all users.
Arrange should launch in December and will let users link their profiles with a "scout," a trusted friend or family member, who can talk with potential matches ahead of time and vet for compatibility.
Amori is a dating-advice app with characters users can chat with, is experimenting with matchmaking using a personal assistant (though it isn't live within the app yet).
by Sydney Bradley & Daniel Latu
See full article at Business Insider
OPW – On Under the Radar by Money Matters, host Chua Tian Tian interviewed Malgosia Green, CEO of Match Group Asia, about the company's strategy. In Japan, Match Group's Pairs accounts for 1 in 10 marriages with 20M users. The discussion touched on Match Group's Q3 income of $211M and its exit from live-streaming services like Hakuna. Green shared insights into Pairs' success and its potential to replicate the model in other Asian markets.
BUSINESS INSIDER – Match and Bumble stocks wavered. Tinder expects another drop in paying users in Q4. A 2024 Forbes Health survey reported 78% of Americans felt exhausted by dating apps. Match Group shares dropped 18% Thursday after Tinder paying users fell 4% to 9.9m in Q3. Hinge Q3 revenue grew 36%. Bumble saw 10% paying user growth to 2.9m. ARPU dropped 10%. Revenue was flat, dropping 0.7% to $274m.
Hinge now limits users' simultaneous match conversations to reduce unanswered messages to help "daters shift their mindset from quantity to quality of matches" and follow through with their matches. This is helping increase response rates on the app.
Earlier this year, Bumble acquired Geneva, a group chat app for niche communities for $17m. Bumble founder and chair Whitney Wolfe Herd said we "will not be a dating app in a few years" but rather for "human connection." CEO Lidiane Jones said the company will "enable the next generation of online-to-real-world connections."
by Dan Latu, Katie Balevic & Sydney Bradley
See full article at Business Insider
Mark Brooks: Dating companies need to persuade the public they have their best interests at heart. User sentiment is changing. We need to solve the continuity problem by broadening our perspective while increasing our sheer utility in dating. AI is the future.
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