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.
Category: Outlets – Business Insider
Billionaire Investor Peter Thiel Is Reportedly Pouring $1.5M Into a Dating App for Conservatives
BUSINESS INSIDER – Early Facebook investor Peter Thiel is reportedly pouring $1.5M into "The Right Stuff", a dating app for conservatives. John McEntee, Trump's former political aide, is behind the project. It will launch first in Washington DC this summer and will initially be invite-only.
by Katie Canales
See full article at Business Insider
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Dating App Executives Are Hoping for a Post-Omicron ‘Summer of Love’
INSIDER – Gary Swidler, Match Group's CFO and COO, said summer 2022 could finally be "that summer of love." Swidler made the comment during an earnings call, but clarified his projection in the Q&A. He said that Match Group anticipates daters to return to pre-Omicron habits, but not pre-pandemic behaviors once Omicron's impact fades.
MatchGroup Accuses Muzmatch of Free-Riding
BUSINESS INSIDER – MatchGroup is suing Muslim-oriented dating startup Muzmatch in the UK. Match accused Muzmatch of "free-riding" off its reputation, alleging the app copied the look and feel of its logo and apps and used the word "Match" and "Tinder" in its SEO and meta tags to boost traffic. It claims users could confuse Muzmatch for its own services. Match Group has previously sued Bumble and threesome app 3nder, now called Feeld. Muzmatch's founder Shahzad Younas claimed Match's legal action came after he turned down four acquisition offers from Match in 2018 and 2019. When acquisition talks failed, Match purchased a different Muslim dating app, and sued his firm, the filings stated. The two-day UK trial took place on Monday 17 and Tuesday 18, and the judge expects a decision will be made in six weeks.
Evolving OkCupid in India
BUSINESS INSIDER – Aug 11 – Virtual dates became an acceptable way of dating. In 2020 OKCupid rolled out its redesign globally called Stacks which is a new matching system that consolidates multiple discovery methods into one, making it even easier to find the type of person users are looking for.
Anukool Kumar is Marketing Director for OkCupid in India: We've seen women discovering their independence and extending that security to choosing relationships that see them as more than just a horoscope or radius of a roti. More women are opening conversations. The new Stacks discovery experience shows matches in a focused, thoughtful way, and gives daters the choice of dating 'online', 'recommended' (a stack of recommendations based on preferences), 'nearby', and 'match %'. Globally, there's been a 30% increase in messages sent. since 2020. OkCupid has 20 sexual orientations, 22 gender options and over 60 identities, making it truly inclusive.
Canadian Relationship App Couply Won Collision 2021 Pitch Competition
BUSINESS INSIDER – June 30 – The Canadian relationship app Couply won the 2021 pitch competition hosted by Collision, a Toronto-based technology conference attended by thousands of industry giants. Founded by Tim Johnson and Denesh Raymond, Couply is a free relationship app designed to inspire couples to deepen their connection with fun features like personality quizzes, which then help aid the process of planning dates that are mutually enjoyable. Since its launch in December of 2020, Couply has grown from a few downloads a day to 1K downloads a week, with its daily download rate doubling each month as a result of word of mouth.
Men Are More Likely to Feel Comfortable Dating in the Current COVID-19 Climate
BUSINESS INSIDER – Apr 23 – A Morning Consult poll said 49% of US adults feel safe going on a date right now. Men in the survey felt ten percentage points more comfortable dating at the moment than women. 54% of men in the US said they would feel comfortable dating right now compared to 44% of women who said the same.
The CEO of Hinge Predicts a Relationship Boom This Summer
BUSINESS INSIDER – Apr 12 – Hinge had a surprisingly successful 2020. CEO Justin McLeod expects to see more users looking for long-term relationships. He also thinks quick, preliminary video dates will become a permanent part of dating, post-pandemic. According to Hinge's Q4 2020 results, the company tripled its revenues compared with 2019. Its global downloads rose by 63%. Hinge's growth outstripped Tinder, Badoo, Bumble, Happn, and Plenty of Fish.
by Isobel Asher Hamilton
See full article at Business Insider
Tinder Is Giving out 1K Free COVID-19 Tests to Encourage People to Go on Dates Again
Bumble Boost Is Getting Revamped
