TECH CRUNCH – Score, the dating app for people with good to excellent credit, shut down in early August. Score was supposed to be a pop-up app that lasted 90 days, back in February. However, it received so much user interest that the parent company, Neon Money Club, decided to keep it open for six months. In that time, it attracted 18K users and made 8K matches. According to co-founder Luke Bailey, the app highlighted economic gender disparities, noting millennial men had an 11% higher average credit score than women due to educational costs.
Category: Outlets – Tech Crunch
Dating App Thursday Expands to San Francisco
TECH CRUNCH – Thursday, the dating app, which is available only on Thursdays, has expanded to San Francisco. By limiting access to one day a week, it encourages users to schedule real-life meetups promptly, addressing "swiping fatigue". Thursday limits matches to 10 per day, encouraging serious dating efforts. Users can increase this cap with a subscription. The app also organizes in-person singles events through Thursday Event. Founded in 2021, Thursday is available in six countries, including the U.S., U.K., and Australia, and plans to reach 100 cities by the end of 2024.
Former Clubhouse Employees Launch “Why?!”, a New Social App to Combat Loneliness
TECH CRUNCH – Former Clubhouse employees Maya Watson and Lexi Nisita have launched why?!, a new social app combining messaging, networking, and dating features to address the "loneliness epidemic." The app, inspired by their professional experiences at Netflix and Clubhouse, aims to foster deep, trustworthy relationships through interactive elements like question card games and Facetime-like chats. Why?! recently secured $1.65M in pre-seed funding led by Precursor Ventures, with support from investors including Barclays Black Foundation and Clubhouse's CTO. Currently in private beta, the app plans to officially launch in the fall, with the team focused on expanding its engineering support as it grows.
by Dominic-Madori Davos
See full article at Tech Crunch
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Bumble and Hinge Allowed Stalkers to Pinpoint Users’ Locations Down to 2m, Researchers Say
by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
See full article at Tech Crunch
Date Like Goblins Is a New Gaming-Focused Dating Platform
Tinder’s AI Photo Selector Picks the Best Profile Photos
FTC Study Finds ‘Dark Patterns’ Used by a Majority of Subscription Apps and Websites
TECH CRUNCH – The FTC and international consumer protection networks studied 642 websites and apps offering subscriptions, finding that ~76% employed manipulative "dark patterns" to influence user behavior. These patterns include tactics like sneaking auto-renewals (81%), making cancellation difficult (70%), and using social proof (21.5%) to push subscriptions. The report suggests increased FTC scrutiny of these practices amid ongoing legal actions, highlighting concerns over consumer privacy and fair market practices.
Bumble Users Can Now Report Profiles That Use AI-generated Photos
Pitch Deck Teardown: RAW Dating App’s $3M Angel Deck
TECH CRUNCH – The RAW Dating App aims to shake up the dating scheme by shedding the fake, TikTok-ified, heavily filtered photos and replacing them with a more genuine, unvarnished experience. The app targets young professionals and students, particularly women aged 21 to 27, who seek genuine interactions. The company claims to have raised $3M, though this remains unverified. According to Tech Crunch, the app's pitch deck has notable issues, such as presenting solutions before problems and lacking clear market data, go-to-market strategy, and business model. The competitive analysis is weak, and some slides are poorly defined or titled. Despite these flaws, the solution slide is clear and well-articulated, highlighting the app's approach to solving dating app problems, but the overall presentation needs significant improvement.
Bumble Buys Community Building App Geneva to Expand Further Into Friendships
TECH CRUNCH – Bumble has acquired Geneva, an online platform built around forming real-world groups and clubs. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the announcement comes shortly after Bumble revealed that it would be pursuing acquisitions to drive growth. While Bumble is best known for its dating app, the company recently indicated that friendships could be a bigger focus for the company moving forward. Founded out of New York in 2019, Geneva is all about meeting like-minded people in a given area, whether that's to form running clubs or meetups to talk about the latest books. The company had raised ~$36M.
by Paul Sawers
See full article at Tech Crunch
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com