BBC.COM – Jan 19 – Bumble has reinstated its political preferences filter after disabling it "to prevent misuse" in the wake of the US Capitol riots. Following the violence, reports emerged online of some Bumble users switching the filter to find those who had taken part – and report them to authorities. Match Group has banned any users wanted by the FBI in connection with domestic terrorism from all of its platforms.
Category: Outlets – BBC
MeetMe’s Live Video Dating: Dating Online With an Audience
BBC – Sep 2 – On dating app MeetMe, users broadcast live from their phones and then interact with people who tune in. This live vlogging format includes a series of live dating game shows. Livestreamers are paired up to see if there is any chemistry between them. Viewers comment on a "stream" underneath, in real time. MeetMe is part of a suite of dating apps run by The Meet Group. Others include Skout, Tagged (for African-American audience) and Lovoo (an app developed in Germany, which MeetMe bought). Between them they have ~15M users, and on average 180K dating games are played each day, with ~1M people watching the live dates unfold. CEO Geoff Cook describes the platforms as "a public version of speed dating". Plenty of Fish is also currently offering live dating experiences. Badoo has recently experimented with the idea as well.
by Dougal Shaw
See full article at BBC
Mark Brooks: Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group, made a couple of impactful statements in the BBC video interview. Geoff said, "I certainly believe daters no longer have the risk appetite for meeting many different people in person based on something as shallow as a right swipe." This risk, of course, is heightened right now because of covid. However, there's always been additional risks when daters meet in-person for the first time. Especially the risk of disappointment when people have misrepresented themselves in their dating profile and photos. The best thing about video is, video doesn't lie, so when people meet in-person, they're less likely to be disappointed, or catfished. Geoff also stated "…Live-streaming video helps…by really emphasizing personalities" which I think is why this new video dating norm will be here to stay. It's so tough for dating apps to really help people get a sense of chemistry. But with video, users can actually get their first sense of chemistry. That's huge! (Full Disclosure: The Meet Group are a client of Courtland Brooks)
Is Video Dating Here to Stay?
BBC – July 21 – Video dating surged during lockdowns, but how much will the trend stick around in the 'new normal'? A recent survey from Match showed that 69% of users in the US were open to video chatting, whereas just 6% had tried it before the pandemic. There was also a surge in interest in livestreaming dating games, with The Meet Group, a US market leader in the sector, reporting a 95% surge in usage of its products since March. These include video speed-dating events and blind-dating games for users who want to focus on personality rather than looks. Dr Helen Fisher, who works as an advisor to Match Group, says that lockdowns around the world followed a period in which many millennials were already experiencing swiping fatigue. Dating app growth slowed globally in 2019, and Fisher's own research before the pandemic suggested a growing appetite for closer emotional connections developed over a longer period, instead of casual hook-ups. With countries now easing lockdowns, most dating experts think people will quickly return to developing romantic relationships offline, rather than focusing on video-based dating. However, there is a consensus that the trend for video dating won't disappear completely, with many suggesting that video calls in the 'new normal' will form part of a screening process before a first real-life date.
by Maddy Savage
See full article at BBC
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Coronavirus: Tinder CEO Says ‘Dramatic’ Changes to Dating
BBC – May 21 – Coronavirus has had a "dramatic" effect on the way people use Tinder, said CEO Elie Seidman. Tinder has been downloaded ~340M times since its launch in 2012. But the vast majority of its revenues come from just 6M subscribers who pay for the "gold" service. The rate at which it picked up those paying-users declined as lockdown struck. Mr Siedman says we might have to wait two or three financial quarters to see the full economic impact on Tinder, as the scale of the global crisis becomes clear.
Facebook Update Crashes Tinder and Other Rivals
BBC – May 11 – Facebook has apologised after its latest software update crashed rival apps on iPhones and iPads. Tinder, music-streaming app Spotify and video platform TikTok were among those rendered unusable. The problem affected apps that had integrated the "login with Facebook" feature, which eliminates the need for a separate username and password. Facebook said it had "identified the issue quickly and resolved it".
Facebook Releases Couples-only Messaging App
Dating.com Accused of Scamming Users
BBC – Feb 14 – Sacha Cowlam is talking about her month-long trial with Dating.com. In the space of just over two weeks Dating.com took 17 payments of £15.99. Each time she read an email it cost her 10 credits. Twenty credits cost £15.99 and Dating.com set up auto-payment as the default option when she gave her bank details to pay £3 for a month-long trial. Dating.com says its terms and conditions are as clear and transparent as they can be. But at 12 full pages of A4 paper long, they may not be enforceable, says legal expert Gary Rycroft. "Any T&Cs which a company seeks to rely on must be prominent and explained to the consumer in order for it to be enforceable in law. The fact the auto-payment box was ticked as the default option could be another potential breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 because it has a requirement for transparency "which has, on the face of it, been breached".
Lumen, Dating App for 50+ Has Attracted 1.5M Users
BBC NEWS – Jan 1 – Charly Lester founded dating app Lumen in London in 2018, believing she had spotted a gap in the market. She knew lots of people in their 50s and 60s who were just as phone-fixated as the younger generation. Her app has attracted ~1.5M users in less than a year. It's free to join, but the company makes money by charging users for "premium" features. These include the ability to search potential partners with "advanced filters" and the chance to see who has saved you as a "favourite". More established companies also cater for mature daters, like OurTime and Silver Singles. They began as website platforms but have now developed apps. OurTime says it has seen a 146% increase in active users in the past two years, with 63% of joiners registering by mobile.
by Dougal Shaw
See full article at BBC News
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More Millennials Prefer Offline Dating
Tinder Seeks to Tackle Trans Harassment
