PR NEWSWIRE – June 7 – Match Group is working with the UK government to promote COVID-19 vaccinations across its brands including Tinder, Match, OurTime, OkCupid, Hinge, and Plenty of Fish. The apps will run ads for the UK government's Hope Campaign, share vaccine resources, and offer vaccination badges for singles to display on their profiles, as well as free "Super Likes" and other boost-type features for UK users who say they are vaccinated. Members will start seeing the banners and incentives starting this week, and the campaign will run throughout the month of June.
Category: Match Group
Do Dating Companies Delete Users’ Data?
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.
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Former Match Group’s Employees Spar Over Handling of Sexual-Assault Allegation
WALL STREET JOURNAL – May 29 – When Greg Blatt announced his plan to resign as Match Group CEO in 2017, the company presented the transition as orderly and planned well in advance. Privately, executives at Match Group and IAC expressed concerns that a sexual-assault allegation against the CEO might become public and discussed how long to say the transition had been in the works, according to documents filed this week in a lawsuit the companies have been battling in New York state court. "The company has nothing to hide," a spokesperson for IAC said in a statement. A lawsuit filed in 2018 over Tinder's valuation included a claim from Rosette Pambakian, a former Tinder VP, that Mr. Blatt groped and harassed her at a company party in Dec 2016. The suit says Match Group knew about the allegation but played it down to keep Mr. Blatt in place as he worked on the valuation. Mr. Blatt has said in a defamation lawsuit against Ms. Pambakian that the incident was consensual. Match Group fired Ms. Pambakian in 2018. She filed a wrongful termination suit against Match Group and IAC in California state court, saying that the firing was connected to her going public with her sexual-assault allegation. Match Group has denied that claim.
How Match’s Black and Hispanic Dating Apps Are Helping Close the Vaccine Gap
S’More: “Tinder-fication” of Online Dating Is Over
FORBES – May 26 – New data gathered by the dating app company S'More suggests that putting chemistry ahead of "hotness" and relationships over casual encounters may become the new norm in online dating, and some of the biggest players in the industry are getting in on the trend. S'More survey found that physical attraction was no longer rated as the most important factor when searching for a potential match. "Covid-19 certainly changed the equation," says CEO Cohen-Aslatei. "But beyond that, our data shows that people are starting to expect more from dating apps. They want real connections, not the fake photos and hyper-sexualization that has characterized so much of online dating over the past decade." S'More has developed a suite of features aimed to reduce the superficiality of online dating, and slow down the process. For one, users aren't able to view a clear photo of a potential match until they have had a meaningful conversation with that person. S'More is not alone in its effort. Tinder and Bumble recently added games to their video product, MeetMe added blurred video dating, and Chispa, a Match Group app for Latino and Latina singles, connects daters based on answers to trivia games. MuzMatch, a Muslim-focused dating app, also lets women keep their profiles blurred from men.
Match Group Teams up With White House to Promote COVID-19 Vaccines
PR NEWSWIRE – May 21 – Tinder, Match, OkCupid, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, BLK, Chispa will give vaccinated U.S. users dating "Boosts". U.S. users will get vaccination badges to display on their profiles, as well as free "Super Likes" and other boost-type features. The campaigns will launch in the coming weeks and run until July 4th.
Does Banning People With Felonies From Dating Apps Make Anyone Safer?
by Keri Blakinger
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Inside Match Group, Julia Estacolchic Uses Her Background to Drive Change
DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL – May 18 – Julia Estacolchic joined Match Group in 2017, the same year Chispa, a dating app for U.S. Latinx singles that she leads, was launched. In that time, it has garnered ~4M downloads. However, during the pandemic, Estacolchic has helped turn the brand into a tool that can help change the Latinx community. The app saw 85% YOY growth from 2020. During the pandemic, she developed new partnerships that would grow the app and use it as a call to action. During the most recent elections, a heavy emphasis was put on Latinx voters. In a team effort, Chispa partnered with political nonprofit Voto Latino to launch an initiative that would help connect people based on their political leanings and provide them with the info they need to cast their votes. Looking ahead, Estacolchic said there are more initiatives in the works, including one to build a more female-focused platform.
by Kevin Cummings
See full article at Dallas Business Journal
Upward Dating App Debuts Sermon Series
PR NEWSWIRE – May 18 – Today, Upward, the newest dating app from Match Group for young Christian singles, officially launched their Sermon Series on the Upward Blog. Upward has collaborated with notable pastors from across the country to produce exclusive sermons on hot button subject matters that Gen Z & Millennial Christians face in today's world. Upward's Sermon Series are now available to users and non-users alike via the Upward Blog. Upward is the number one downloaded Christian dating app in the U.S. for Christian singles in 2020.
Match Group Q1 Results – Revenue up 23%
MATCH GROUP – May 4 – Total revenue grew 23% YOY to $668M. Operating income was $189M, up 38% YOY. Adjusted EBITDA was $230M, an increase of 32% YOY. Average Subscribers increased 12% to 11.1M, up from 9.9M in the Q1 202. Tinder Direct Revenue grew 18% YOY, driven by 15% Average Subscriber growth, and ARPU growth of 4%. Non-Tinder brands collectively grew Direct Revenue 30% YOY, driven by ARPU growth of 18%. For Q2, the group expects total revenue of $680 – $690M, representing 22%-24% YOY growth.