Category: Outlets – Tech Crunch
Grindr Sends HIV Status To Third Parties, And Some Personal Data Unencrypted
TECH CRUNCH – Apr 2 – Grindr is under fire again for inappropriate sharing of HIV status with advertisers and inadequate security on other personal data transmission. Norwegian research outfit SINTEF analyzed the app's traffic and found that HIV status, which users can choose to include in their profile, is included in packets sent to Apptimize and Localytics, services for testing and improving mobile apps. The company's CTO said that "the limited information shared with these platforms is done under strict contractual terms that provide for the highest level of confidentiality, data security, and user privacy." Also, the SINTEF researchers found that precise GPS position, gender, age, ethnicity, relationship status, language and others are sent over HTTP to a variety of advertising companies.
Bumble Is Suing Match For $400M For Fraudulently Obtaining Trade Secrets
TECH CRUNCH – Mar 28 – Two weeks ago Match Group sued Bumble for patent infringement and misuse of intellectual property. Bumble has now filing a separate lawsuit accusing Match of multiple improprieties in regards to interactions between the two companies over the past few months. The lawsuit acknowledges that Bumble and Match Group were in acquisition talks over the last 6 months. Bumble alleges that once Match Group found out there were other companies also interested in either investing in or acquiring Bumble, Match Group filed their aforementioned lawsuit to make Bumble less attractive to those other companies. Secondly, Bumble alleges that during the acquisition process Match Group fraudulently requested that Bumble provide "confidential and trade secret information" which Match Group said they "needed to provide a higher offer for Bumble". Bumble alleges that no subsequent offer came, and Match Group instead requested and obtained this information solely for "the financial benefit of its dating app businesses". The lawsuit requests relief in the form of monetary damages, which Bumble estimates at $400M.
by Fitz Tepper
See full article at Tech Crunch
How Raya’s $8/Month Dating App Turned Exclusivity Into Trust
TECH CRUNCH – Mar 24 – Raya is less like Tinder and more like a secret society. It costs a flat $7.99 for everyone, women and celebrities included. Launched in March 2015, Raya has purposefully flown under the radar. No interviews. Little info about the founders. In late 2016 it quietly acquired video messaging startup Chime, led by early Facebooker Jared Morgenstern, without anyone noticing. He'd become Raya's first investor a year earlier. The app has reportedly attracted celebrities like DJs Diplo and Skrillex, actors Elijah Wood and Amy Schumer and musicians Demi Lovato and John Mayer, plus scores of Instagram models and tattooed creative directors. Raya users can now see nearby people on a map when GPS says they're at hot spots like bars, dance halls and cafes.
Bumble Responded To Match Lawsuit With An Ad
TECH CRUNCH – Mar 20 – Tinder's parent company Match Group is suing its competition Bumble, accusing the app of stealing trade secrets and patents. The complaint also says that Bumble has rolled out two new features that were "learned of and developed confidentially while at Tinder". Bumble is responding with a full-page ad in the New York Times, "We swipe left on your multiple attempts to buy us, copy us, and now, to intimidate us." The ad goes onto say that Bumble isn't afraid of aggressive corporate culture. "That's what we call bullying, and we swipe left on bullies," it says, noting the thousands of users the company has blocked for "bad behavior."
by Fitz Tepper
See full article at Tech Crunch
Bumble Is Becoming The LA Clippers’ Jersey Sponsor
TECH CRUNCH – Mar 6 – Bumble's logo will now appear on the jersey of the LA Clippers. The multi-year, eight-figure partnership comes a little over a year after the league announced a program to include sponsored patches on team's jerseys. So far about 20 teams have inked deals with sponsors, including tech companies like Stubhub, Fitbit and Rakuten. Bumble says they will work with brands that have strong female representation in executive management.
Senator Calls On Tinder To Fix A Security Flaw
TECH CRUNCH – Feb 15 – Oregon Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter demanding that Tinder resolve some security issues that allows would-be attackers to view nearly everything about a user's Tinder experience via an attack over unsecured wifi. As the security firm Checkmarx explains: "The vulnerabilities, found in both the app's Android and iOS versions, allow an attacker using the same network as the user to monitor the user's every move on the app. It is also possible for an attacker to take control over the profile pictures the user sees, swapping them for inappropriate content, rogue advertising or other type of malicious content." Tinder response: "We've recently updated our mobile app and web platforms to encrypt profile images, in addition to swipes and other data which were previously encrypted. We are constantly improving our defenses in the battle against malicious hackers. However, we do not go into any further detail on the specific security tools we use to avoid tipping off would be hackers."
Facebook Should Actually Be Tinder Too
Tinder Is Launching A New Location-based Feature Set This Year
TECH CRUNCH – Feb 8 – Tinder will launch a series of new features based on location in 2018. Match Group has been fairly vague on what these new features will entail, having only described them as something that will blur the "distinction between digital and real-life dating, and dating and simply engaging in your social life." Tinder remains one of the biggest drivers of revenue for Match Group, accounting for ~30% of its parent company's revenue in 2017.
Bumble Is Hiring An Editorial Director To Build Out Its Media Brand
TECH CRUNCH – Jan 10 – Bumble is hiring Clare O'Connor as its first Editorial Director, who will work directly with CEO Wolfe Herd and Bumble's content team to develop editorial content for their new arm called Bumble Media. O'Connor most recently was a staff writer at Forbes where she covered woman entrepreneurs, workplace equality, and diversity in tech and Silicon Valley. Outside of written editorial content Bumble will also invest in original video content spanning a range of format and genres. This video effort will be led by TV producers Erin and Sara Foster, who together are Bumble's Heads of Creative. The video below made by Bumble is a good example of what this may look like.