TECH CRUNCH – Apr 10 – Mingleton is a new mobile dating app that uses iBeacon technology to help singles connect only with people in their immediate vicinity. Users sign up with Facebook before being assigned a unique beacon configuration.
Category: Outlets – Tech Crunch
Tinder Hacked By Bots Promoting “Castle Clash” Game
TECH CRUNCH – Apr 2 – A number of Tinder users report being matched with fake profiles of women, who are actually automated bots promoting a mobile game called “Castle Clash.” It’s unclear who is behind these fake accounts, though of course the app developer, IGG.com, is immediately suspect.
Tinder Has Made 1 Billion Matches
TECH CRUNCH – Mar 14 - Tinder is announcing that it has made 1B matches between its users. The company isn’t disclosing how many registered or active users it has.
Dattch, Lesbian Dating App, Launches In SF
TECH CRUNCH – Mar 1 – Aimed exclusively at lesbians, bisexual and/or bi-curious women, the Dattch dating app is now launching in SF. The app emphasises photos, and thus draws comparisons with Pinterest in user interface. Dattch does not emphasise proximity-based social networking. It incorporates Facebook Connect and makes a point of weeding out fake profiles created by straight men. Dattch targeted London and other UK cities initially. Australia is also on its roadmap. The mostly female team has closed a $160K Angel round.
Tinder Is Serious About Expanding Beyond Dating
TECH CRUNCH – Feb 12 – Right now, Tinder‘s focus is on international growth. The app has added 1M new users in the UK in the past two months, with solid growth in Brazil as well. Tinder has also seen more diversity in terms of age. Early on, ~90% of Tinder’s user base was 18-24, but today that age bracket makes up ~50% of the app’s users. CEO Sean Rad believes Tinder could be used for more than just dating. It could be used to set up a job interview in the future.
‘Between’ Pairs Up With Japanese Mobile Giant DeNA
TECH CRUNCH – Feb 10 – DeNa, one of Japan's top mobile Internet company, has invested in Korean startup VCNC to turn its couples app Between into an open platform for third-party developers. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. VCNC has raised $4M so far and Between has been downloaded 5M times. With this investments, couples will see more features to plan activities together and communicate better.
by Catherine Shu
See full article at Tech Crunch
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Twine Canvas Is Like Tinder But Based On Personality
TECH CRUNCH – Feb 1 – Mobile app developer Sourcebits has released a new dating app, Twine Canvas. The app asks users to browse and create “personality canvases,” which is a digital collage of their interests. If both sides of the connection “like” each others canvases, then profile photos are revealed. To create a canvas, users must add photos that don’t show their faces, from the camera roll or Facebook albums.
Hinge Launches In San Francisco
TECH CRUNCH – Jan 17 – Dating app Hinge launched in Feb in Washington. It saw ~25% monthly growth as it expanded to New York and Boston. In Nov it raised $4M. The app looks a lot like Tinder with their swipe to approve or dismiss matches, and the option to chat if users like each other. But Hinge users receive a limited set of potential matches each day to seriously consider each person and check out the profiles rather than photos. Hinge plans to monetize by selling premium services that enhance users’ experiences.
Live Nation Buys Meexo
TECH CRUNCH – Nov 28 – Live music giant Live Nation has acquired Meexo, a mobile startup. The financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed. Meexo's two co-founders will take on new roles at Live Nation Labs. Romain David will lead mobile product and Dav Yaginuma mobile engineering. Meexo had already turned its attention away from the dating app, and after talking to investors David and Yaginuma decided to look at their options, including Exitround.
by Anthony Ha
See full article at Tech Crunch
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Tinder 3.0 With Improved Algorithm And New Features
TECH CRUNCH – Nov 22 - Tinder has launched its 3.0 version with a revamp of its relevancy algorithm and add some key new features including a Tinder “lists”. The “lists” feature allows popular users to sort their scads of matches into lists, like “New York friends,” “LA friends,”"Friends who like the color blue,” etc.