THE MOTLEY FOOL – Mar 25 – Match Group is launching The Dating While Distancing Hotline, a free service where daters can chat live with an expert for free about concerns they have regarding the current dating scene. Callers can get advice on how to navigate quarantines, setting up successful video dates, and more. Match's advice hotline number is 888-302-6224 and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST.
Category: Match Group
App Annie Announces Top Publishers 2020
PR NEWSWIRE – Mar 24 – In its Top Publisher Award, App Annie recognizes the most innovative and successful publishers around the world. The Top 52 Publishers, as measured by app store revenue estimates in the last calendar year, are from 12 countries. Again this year, publishers from Asia dominate the list. The United States had the most top publishers of any country, with 17. "Dating apps have had strong growth on mobile for the past several years," said Justine Sacco, Chief Communications Officer for the Match Group (IAC). "To have Tinder as the top ranked app of all non-gaming apps globally, proves how central mobile experiences are to our customers and to our success."
Match Dating Patents Under Threat
BLOOMBERG LAW – Mar 17 – Bumble has established a "reasonable likelihood" that it will succeed in invalidating a Match Group patent for computer dating. Patent covers steps that include swiping left or right to indicate disapproval or approval and then setting up communication between the two people if both sides express interest. The patent office is already reviewing the validity of two other Match patents based on Bumble challenges, with decisions expected by the end of the year.
by Susan Decker & Todd Shields
See full article at Bloomberg Law
Match Group Backs US Bill Seen as Privacy Threat
TECHXPLORE – Mar 11 – Match Group publicly endorsed a US bill others in the tech industry fear will erode online privacy and speech in the name of fighting child abuse. "We don't casually lend our support to this legislation," Match Group CEO Shar Dubey said in an online post. "We must balance concerns around privacy with concerns around safety – which sometimes can be in conflict." Lawmakers say the bill – Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (EARN IT) – allows companies to "earn" their liability protection, by gaining certification of compliance from a commission of government, industry, legal and victim group representatives.
Match Group First Tech Company to Back Anti-online Child Abuse Bill
AXIOS – Mar 11 – Match Group will publicly support the EARN IT Act, a bipartisan Senate bill to combat online child sexual exploitation. EARN IT would require tech platforms to comply with government-developed best practices to prevent online child sexual exploitation. If they don't, they would lose some of the liability protections they have under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decent Act.
Match Group CEO Resigns to Prioritize Health
YAHOO LIFESTYLE – Mar 5 – Former Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg shared her "emotional and complex" decision to resign from Match Group, after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene. She explained her March 1st resignation in an essay for Fast Company: "It was an emotional and complex decision. This job has been the most fulfilling and impactful role of my career. But a one-two punch of personal issues forced me to take a step back and reprioritize." Ginsberg explained that after the October tornado, a series of which caused a reported $2B in damages throughout Texas, her family was displaced. Throughout the stress and her nonstop work schedule, Ginsberg missed voicemails from her doctor stating that the FDA had recalled her breast implants, which she got after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene. "This would mean another round of surgery to remove and replace my implants, along with a weeks-long recovery," Ginsberg wrote in Fast Company. "This would be my fourth surgery to prevent breast and ovarian cancer. After sitting down with my husband over the holidays, I knew there was no way I could balance my personal needs and my job as CEO."
Match Group’s Dating Could See Virus Hit
SEEKING ALPHA – Mar 3 – Match Group faces some virus impact in the near term, trimming growth estimates to 14% from a prior 16%. "Fewer people will want to go on dates" and reflects a conservative approach to the virus impact, analyst Brent Thill says.
App Makers Cash in as Southeast Asia Falls for Mobile Dating
Live.me Removed From Google Play
OPW – Feb 27 – Live.me has been removed by Google Play store as part of the broader action against Cheetah Mobile, their parent. See Android Police article. This action means people who already have the Live.me app can't pay. That's not good for some in the dating industry. Live.me powers livestreaming video on Twoo for the Match Group. So this is a concern for the dating industry, and for Twoo.
Match.com Lets Users Alert Friends When Their Date Goes Bad
