BUSINESS INSIDER – Indian online dating app QuackQuack surveyed 14K men and women to discover that 12% of daters find true love in dating apps, after a failed relationship. 23% of single parents also found a second shot at love through online dating. According to QuackQuack's founder and CEO, Ravi Mittal, "We currently have ~23M users, and ~12% of these people are divorcees and single parents, all taking a second shot at love. 22% of women above 30 from tier 1 cities mentioned being tired of their singlehood but find traditional dating tough. 13% of single parents prefer online over offline since it gives them a chance to mention their parental status before meeting anyone in person and avoid wasting time with people who are not interested in dating a person with a child.
Category: Outlets – Business Insider
Gen Z Likes Dating Friends
by Daniel Cox
See full article at Insider
Mark Brooks: Does this mean social dating is the future? Most dating apps are focused on introducing strangers. Looks like there is a trend toward people seeking love from within their network of friends.
Replika Is an AI Chatbot That Can Offer Romantic Companionship to Its Users
BUSINESS INSIDER – Replika is backed by Y Combinator, which was once run by OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman. OpenAI created ChatGPT. Insider spoke to a user who said he has real feelings for his companion. He paid for Replika's Pro subscription, which gets users a more intelligent language model and the option to do voice calls, augmented reality, and sexting.
Dating App IRLY Raises $350K Pre-Seed Round
BUSINESS INSIDER – Investors include Chris Kaufman, the co-founder of the sneaker marketplace StockX, and Kevin Edwards, the CEO of the Canadian food-delivery service SkipTheDishes, along with several angel investors. The app, expected to launch early next year, aims to cater to Gen Z, with the possibility for users to video chat, play games, and send each other virtual gifts. The app has brought on the Internet star Cameron Dallas, who rose to fame in the early 2010s on the short-form video app Vine and now has ~25M Instagram followers. He previously co-founded a subscription platform called Fanfix. SuperOrdinary, a beauty accelerator, acquired Fanfix in July in an eight-figure deal.
by Marta Biino
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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
How Filteroff Attracted a $2M Investment From Brewing Giant AB InBev
BUSINESS INSIDER – AB InBev is known for beer brands such as Bud Light, Stella Artois, and Hoegaarden. ZX Ventures, the beverage giant's venture arm, made a $2M investment in Filteroff, a dating app that connects people through digital and in-person events. The companies collaborate on in-person dating events that AB InBev supplies with beer. Filteroff, launched in 2019, hosts virtual speed-dating events through its app, where attendees talk on video chat and have the option to set up a second date later. The app has also started organizing events where singles can meet face-to-face over a beer.
by Alex Bitter
See full article at Business Insider
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Three Former Trump Staffers Are Launching a Dating App for Conservatives
BUSINESS INSIDER – The Right Stuff, a conservative dating app founded by Trump administration staffers John McEntee, Daniel Huff, and Isaac Stalzer, came out of stealth last week via a video posted by the company's spokesperson, Ryann McEnany, on Twitter. On The Right Stuff, users can only identify themselves as male or female, or view profiles without pronouns. Women can earn a premium subscription by inviting friends to the platform, while men have to pay to access premium features, such as viewing more profiles, sending more likes, and seeing all of their likes at once. The Right Stuff is the latest dating app catered to conservatives that has cropped up in recent years. Others include Righter and Donald Dater. Peter Thiel, a billionaire investor and outspoken Trump supporter, was reportedly pouring $1.5M into the app. Thiel has a long history of investing in startups that align with conservative values.
by Samantha Stokes & Lakshmi Varanasi
See full article at Business Insider
OkCupid: Culture of Inclusion Is Key to Innovation
BUSINESS INSIDER – OkCupid has offered more options for LGBTQ communities years before other dating apps. Marcus Lofthouse, its chief product officer, explains how he fosters inclusive innovation. The key is to foster safe spaces for employees and work with people from diverse backgrounds. "We have a historical legacy of being open," Lofthouse said. "We set the pace on things like LGBTQIA+ products and offerings. Other apps look to us."
People Use Tinder to Sell Insurance and Looking for Love on LinkedIn
INSIDER – There are a number of reports online of similar instances where people have said that they used dating apps for purposes other than dates. According to Tinder's community guidelines, promotion or solicitation is prohibited. "It's fine to invite your matches to something that you're doing, but if the purpose of your profile is to advertise your event or business, non-profit, political campaign, contest, or to conduct research, we may delete your account," the rules read. But it appears that there's little regulation of the rule. On the flip side, some people have boldly turned to social media platforms outside of dating sites in their quest for love. Some people have openly blogged about finding their significant other via LinkedIn.
China’s Millennials Are Shunning Marriage at Alarming Rates
INSIDER – As China modernizes, more women are rejecting marriage in pursuit of financial freedom. That's led to a decline in birth rates, which has Chinese authorities concerned. Across the country, social commentators and local governments have publicly blamed the crisis on single women and pushed them toward marriage. Communist party youth wings launched their own matchmaking services this year, helping singles connect via ice-breaker games at official events. But many women in China say they're no longer interested in tying the knot; they see marriage as a potential roadblock to achieving economic independence. In a Communist Youth League survey of 2,905 unmarried youths last year, 44% of urban women aged 18 to 26 said they had no plans to get married, with 25% of men answering the same.
Dating App Scammers Are Rampant
INSIDER – The hit Netflix documentary "The Tinder Swindler," raised awareness about dating app scams, also called romance scams. Romance scam victims lost $1.3B total in the past 5 years, according to the FTC. In January, a man in Denver lost $1.6M after a Hinge match told him to invest it into a retirement account. Another woman gave a Hinge match her $300K in life savings to invest into a cryptocurrency exchange site that turned out to be fake. There are ways to preemptively protect yourself from identity theft and financial fraud, Mark Kapczynski, SVP of strategic partnerships at cybersecurity service OneRep. He suggested removing personal information from Google searches. Even if a dating-app match only has your first name, general location, and picture, they can still track you down with a quick internet search, said Kapczynski. "There are 150 or 200 sites that will have your personal information on them. Google your date and do a reverse-image search. Last, he said look out for certain behaviors, like intense persistence, or asking for money or to meet in a remote location.