Category: Reporters – Aisha Malik

Tinder Rolls out Mandatory Face Verification for New Users in California

Posted on July 1, 2025
An illustration featuring a person with a stylized face surrounded by an oval frame, with text promoting a new biometric Face Check requirement for new users, emphasizing the importance of preventing fraud and verifying identities on a dating platform.

TECH CRUNCH – Tinder will now require new users in California to complete a facial recognition scan called “Face Check” to verify their profiles, aiming to fight bots and impersonation. Users must take a short video selfie, which is used to confirm their identity and detect duplicate accounts. Verified users get a badge. The selfie is deleted, but an encrypted face map is stored. This system is already active in Colombia and Canada. It’s separate from Tinder’s ID Check, which verifies government ID and age.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Bumble to Lay off 30% of Its Workforce

Posted on June 26, 2025

Bumble incTECH CRUNCH – Bumble is laying off 30% of its workforce (~240 jobs) as part of a restructuring plan to focus on product and technology. The company expects to save $40M annually and reinvest most of it into development. It will incur $13-$18M in severance-related costs in Q3 and Q4 2025. This is Bumble's second major layoff in two years – the last was in February 2024, cutting 350 jobs. Despite weak Q1 earnings, the company raised its Q2 revenue forecast and saw its stock rise 20% after the layoff announcement. Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd returned as CEO in March 2025. Match has also laid off staff amid slowing user growth.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

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New Dating App “After” Launches in Austin to Combat Ghosting

Posted on September 27, 2024
Logo of the dating app 'After'

TECH CRUNCH – A new dating app called After launches in Austin, Texas, aiming to reduce ghosting by requiring users to explain why they unmatched someone before continuing to swipe. After nudges users to respond to messages, and if they don’t, the match expires. The app focuses on accountability, offering closure for unmatched users and limiting inactive matches. It also includes features like dating guides, mood check-ins, and operates on a freemium model. After plans to expand throughout Texas before reaching other states.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Twitter’s Former Head of Trust & Safety, Yoel Roth, Joins Match Group

Posted on March 12, 2024

Match Group Yoel RothTECH CRUNCH – Yoel Roth, former head of Trust & Safety at Twitter, has joined Match Group as VP of Trust and Safety. Roth, who faced harassment at Twitter, will now focus on ensuring safety across Match Group's dating apps, including Tinder and Hinge. With experience in handling online abuse, Roth aims to enhance user protection, particularly against scams and fraud. He also advocates for collaboration with app stores to improve safety measures. His move comes at a time when online dating safety is a growing concern, with a recent Pew Research study showing declining trust in the safety of online dating.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Dating App Blush Launches With $7M in Funding

Posted on February 8, 2024

Blush dating app logoTECH CRUNCH – Invite-only dating app Blush has raised $7M in seed funding to scale and expand its platform. Founded in Oct 2023 by Matthew Alfin, Blush is currently operational in LA and plans to extend to cities like Miami, New York, Chicago, and Austin. It matches users based on shared favorite local venues, aiming to make online dating more personal and connected to real-life experiences. Blush also hosts private community events for members and offers zodiac compatibility charts. Future plans include broadening its reach and introducing an AI dating coach to provide personalized dating advice.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com

Tinder Will Remove Social Handles From Profiles

Posted on May 15, 2023

Tinder for social media2TECH CRUNCH – Tinder is updating its community guidelines in a bid to keep the dating app safe and respectful. As part of the updates, Tinder will automatically remove social handles from bios and discourage users from posting private conversations with their matches on other platforms. In addition, Tinder is making it clear that an account should be for a single person, and that users in poly and open relationships should create separate accounts for each partner.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Tinder Rolls out New Safety Features, Including an Incognito Mode

Posted on February 7, 2023

Tinder invisible modeTECH CRUNCH – One of the new features is called "Incognito Mode" and is a step up from fully hiding your profile. Members can still swipe, but only those whom they've Liked will see them in their recommendations. The feature is designed to allow users to control who sees them while scrolling through profiles on Tinder. Incognito Mode is a premium feature available for Tinder+, Gold and Premium members. Tinder is also launching a new "Block Profile" feature that allows users to choose who they want to see on Tinder. In addition, Tinder is making it easier for users to report bad behavior by introducing "Long Press Reporting", which lets people tap and hold offensive messages, launching the reporting flow directly in the chat. Last, Tinder is updating its "Does This Bother you?" and "Are You Sure" prompts to include more language that it classifies as harmful.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Executive Shake-Up at Match Group

Posted on January 27, 2023

Match GroupTECH CRUNCH – Match Group is bringing on former VP of Product at Snap Will Wu as its new CTO in a newly created role. Wu will oversee product innovation across Match's portfolio of apps. Match says Wu will now work directly with its executives to launch new features, emerging technologies, and innovative products. Gary Swidler, who was previously the COO and CFO of Match, will become the president and CFO of the Group. In addition, Malgosia Green, who was previously CEO of Plenty of Fish, will become CEO of Match Group Asia. Hesam Hosseini, the CEO of Match and Affinity brands, will become CEO of Evergreen & Emerging Brands. In this position, Hosseini will oversee Match, Meetic, Plenty of Fish and OkCupid, in addition to emerging brands such as The League, BLK and Chispa. Last, Justin McLeod, the founder & CEO of Hinge, will now report directly to Kim.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Relationship App Sparks Helps Couples Plan Dates

Posted on October 21, 2022

Sparks screenshotsTECH CRUNCH – Sparks is an app for couples looking to introduce new and fun experiences to their lives. The Barcelona-based startup, which exhibited as part of the Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt, debuted as an MVP in May 2021 and officially launched this week. The startup was founded by CEO Ankit Nayal, who came up with the idea for Sparks after reflecting on his relationship with his partner. He found that he and his partner were often too busy to find things to do together. Nayal decided to create an app focused on helping couples enhance their relationships by finding new experiences, whether it's choosing a new movie, recipe, game, restaurant or vacation. The startup is looking to raise a pre-seed round in Q1 of 2023 and plans to use the funding to add more features to the app.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

Hinge’s Latest Feature Aims to Help Users Spark Conversations About Self-care

Posted on May 17, 2022

Hinge selfcare promptsTECH CRUNCH – Hinge is introducing a new "Self-Care Prompts" feature that is designed to inspire initial conversations between matches about self-care priorities. Hinge's in-app prompts are conversation starters that users answer as part of their profiles and are displayed to potential matches. There are 15 new self-care prompts that users can answer and add to their profiles.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

See the top news on Hinge