Category: Outlets – Mashable

Grindr And Other Dating Apps Are Discussing Ways To Add STD Notifications

Posted on June 4, 2018

Dating apps general pic1MASHABLE – May 31 – Grindr and other gay dating apps are exploring ways to add the ability for people who test positive for an STD to notify partners using the app. Jack Harrison-Quintana, director of Grindr for Equality said, "Grindr works very closely with Building Healthy Online Communities on several initiatives including STD related notifications." Grindr recently launched several features around HIV testing reminders and HIV status sharing. The app Adam4Adam already includes a link on its Health Resources page to "STD notification services for partners and tricks," which directs to InSpot.org. Daddyhunt plans to release a new version of its app this summer that will include an option to log the date of a user's last STD test, and receive testing reminders every three months. Daddyhunt's General Manager, Casey Crawford, said that it is also in preliminary discussions about including partner STD notification resources as part of an upcoming user interface redesign.

by Rachel Kraus
See full article at Mashable

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Summarized by the IDEA team

Blaming Dating Apps For The Rise Of STDs Is A Sex Panic

Posted on May 28, 2018

Dating sites stdMASHABLE – May 26 – STD rates have risen in the U.S. over the last 10 years and reports drawing the line between STDs and dating apps have also proliferated on the news. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in Sep 2017 that rates of syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea infections have increased for the third straight year. "I think there are lots of different, simultaneous influences, such as a decrease in condom use, an increased rate in screenings and a decrease in sexual education ," said Dr. Heidi Bauer, the California Department of Public Health's (CDPH) chief. But Dr. Bauer does maintain that dating apps and social media may play a role. According to her reports on California, there's been a 40% increase among syphilis cases in men who have sex with men who report meeting their partners on the Internet; for heterosexual syphilis cases, that increase is 10%. And while app-users were more likely to have STDs than those who didn't use apps, they were also having more sex overall. Those who use the apps would probably still be having more sex even if apps weren't around.

by Rachel Kraus
See full article at Mashable

Summarized by the IDEA team

Survey: Bumble Is Definitely Not A Hookup App

Posted on April 23, 2018

Bumble logo whiteMASHABLE – Apr 24 – According to Bumble's recent survey, 85% of respondents are looking for marriage or a boyfriend/girlfriend. Less than 4% of men and less than 1% of women on the app "are looking for a hookup," and 25% of users say they "went on a first date with someone they met on Bumble in the last month." Tinder unveiled similar data last year that claimed its users were more interested in finding serious relationships than were non-users of online dating tools.

by Laura Vitto
See full article at Mashable

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Summarized by the IDEA team

Tinder Users Locked Out Following Facebook Restrictions Changes

Posted on April 5, 2018

Tinder facebookMASHABLE – Apr 4 – On Wednesday, Tinder users were complaining that they were locked out of their accounts, blaming Facebook. Accessing Tinder requires logging in with a Facebook account. So, when changes are made to how third-party apps interact with Facebook – as Zuckerberg recently announced was about to happen – something went wrong with that integration. "Facebook Permissions," read the apparent error message. "Tinder requires you provide additional Facebook permissions in order to use a Tinder account. This information is used to create fuller profiles, verify authenticity and provide support." Following the prompts didn't resolve the issue, and users were quick to blame Facebook.

by Jack Morse
See full article at Mashable

Update from CNBC: Tinder acknowledged the issue but did not cite Facebook as the cause. The error appears to be fixed.

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Summarized by the IDEA team

Why Ashley Madison Still Isn’t Dead

Posted on April 5, 2018

Ashleymadison app screenshotMASHABLE – Apr 3 – Ashley Madison now claims 191k daily active users. The company is also armed with an audit from accounting firm Ernst & Young, which verified 5,673,024 real accounts were registered in 2017 and that the ratio of active paid users male to female was 1 to 1.13. "~60% of our traffic is organic," said Ruben Buell, president and CTO of Ashley Madison's parent company Ruby Life. The company hired a new chief privacy officer and chief security officer who have been in charge of building a new cybersecurity framework. The site is introducing two-factor authentication in the coming months. The company has made more of an effort to cater to women, such as through marketing campaigns glorifying female users rather than male. The company currently has 153 employees in their offices in Toronto and Cyprus and plans to reach 173 by the end of the year.

by Kerry Flynn
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Summarized by the IDEA team

It’s Time For Dating Apps To Move Away From Facebook Sign Ups

Posted on March 22, 2018

Facebook data breachMASHABLE – Mar 22 – Since news broke about Cambridge Analytica's "hijacking" of 50M Facebook users' data in a bid to influence the U.S. election, people are thinking about deleting Facebook. But deleting Facebook will also prevent them from accessing their existing Tinder account. They can sign up for Tinder using phone number. This will, however, create an entirely new profile. With Bumble, it's a little different. Bumble currently requires you to have a Facebook account in order to sign up for the app. But, if users deactivate their Facebook, they can still keep Bumble profile and access it as usual. That access will end, however, if they log out of Bumble. Bumble is less than a couple of weeks away from releasing an update that includes a non-Facebook login. User of The League would need to upgrade to a membership option if they want to cut ties with Facebook. Hinge also insists on users having a Facebook profile. far too many dating apps are tethered to Facebook. It's high time they offered users another way to sign up.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

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Summarized by the IDEA team

The Inner Circle Has A Team Of Moms Who Give Out Advice On How To Meet People

Posted on March 20, 2018

Theinndercircle logo 2017MASHABLE – Mar 16 – At dating app The Inner Circle, users can get an answer from an impartial judge via the app's customer support team – which just happens to be a group of young mothers who work part time. By design, the six Amsterdam-based women who approve new users and handle support inquiries are all partnered women with children who offer their insights "from the perspective of people who conquered the dating game." The Inner Circle launched first in Europe back in 2013, before making its way to the U.S. last year. Users are accepted (or denied) based off their presence on at least three social accounts.

by Laura Vitto
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Summarized by the IDEA team

With “Apply To Date” Singles Can Now Play Their Own Game Of The Bachelor(ette)

Posted on March 19, 2018

Applytodate logoMASHABLE – Mar 18 – Apply To Date lets singles build a shareable webpage that's a little bit like a dating resume. The webpage has its own shareable URL that daters can add to their tweets, Snapchat stories, and Instagram bios. At the top of the page, there's a button that allows people to ask them out. There's an introduction, followed by more background, a chance to list what they're looking for. At the top and bottom of the page photos from Facebook or Instagram will be shown, and links to social media accounts.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

Summarized by the IDEA team

LinkedIn Stalking Is Low Key The Biggest Thing In Online Dating

Posted on March 9, 2018

Linkedin stalkingMASHABLE – Mar 9 – LinkedIn has become a valuable resource for online daters. While LinkedIn doesn't have the best in privacy protection, users can choose to remove their profile from public view, so people can't reach it via search engine. Or they can choose to hide their picture, job title, your education, etc., from people who aren't connected to them on the social network.

by Peter Allen Clark
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Summarized by the IDEA team

Joan Ball Invented Online Dating

Posted on March 9, 2018

Derny stitekMASHABLE – Mar 9 – A group of men at Harvard get credit for the first computerized dating service, called 'Operation Match.' But it was actually a woman in England who first devised a way to determine compatibility using a computer. Joan Ball founded and ran the St. James Computer Dating Service, which she later re-named Com-Pat (short for "computerized compatibility). She translated survey answers about what a prospective lover did not want in a partner to punch cards, which she ran through a time-shared computer. Her program would reveal the "match" in the system, and people using the service would receive the name and address of whoever they had been paired with. She made the first match-by-computer in 1964 – a year before Operation Match at Harvard was up and running.

by Rachel Kraus
See full article at Mashable

Summarized by the IDEA team