TECH CRUNCH – Clarifai has now deleted 3M OkCupid photos and the AI models trained on them. This is the first clear confirmation that the data was actually used for facial recognition training. The deletion follows the FTC case against OkCupid and Match Group, which settled without admitting wrongdoing.
TECH CRUNCH – Hinge CEO Justin McLeod is stepping down to launch Overtone, a new AI-driven dating product backed by Match Group, which will take a major ownership stake. Incubated inside Hinge, Overtone aims to use AI and voice tools to create more personal, thoughtful connections. McLeod joins other founders like Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe Herd in pursuing standalone AI matchmaking concepts as Gen Z grows increasingly disillusioned with traditional dating apps. Meanwhile, Hinge continues to lean into AI under incoming CEO Jackie Jantos, whose new features have already lifted user engagement. McLeod will remain an advisor through March as Hinge stays on track for $1B revenue by 2027.
TECH CRUNCH – Facebook Dating, launched in 2019, actually has a sizable user base. Meta reports 21.5M daily active users across 52 countries. The in-app feature, not a standalone product, is gaining traction among younger users, with 1.77M aged 18–29 in the U.S. Facebook has publicly addressed the fact that it struggles to keep Gen Z and young millennials on the platform, yet the company said last year that daily conversations on Facebook Dating in the 18-29 demographic spiked 24%. Facebook Dating remains free, relying on data monetization.
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TECH CRUNCH – TeaOnHer launched in the Apple app store this week and is an app designed for men to share photos and information about women they have supposedly dated. It has exposed users' personal information, IDs, and selfies, TechCrunch confirmed. TeaOnHer is a response to the app 'Tea' (6m users) that allows women to post about the men they date. Tea had a data breach with 72k images, selfies, IDs, and also 1M private messages. TeaOnHer now ranks No.2 in Lifestyle apps on iOS.
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Curated by the Courtland Brooks team
TECH CRUNCH – People are increasingly meeting partners on platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook meme groups, not dating apps. These spaces allow for organic interaction based on shared interests, often leading to deeper connections. Users already know each other's humor, values, and quirks before any romantic intent. Unlike dating apps, where interactions can feel forced or transactional, these platforms offer a slower, more natural build-up.
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Curated by the Courtland Brooks team
TECH CRUNCH – Azar, a random video chat app owned by Match Group, has facilitated ~100B global chats and is now entering the U.S. market. Targeting mostly Gen Z users, it seeks to revive the popularity of random chat platforms like Chatroulette and Omegle, but faces challenges due to the negative reputation of these apps, including safety concerns. Azar employs AI and human moderators to prevent inappropriate content, distinguishing itself from its predecessors. Though not a dating app, some use it for that purpose, and its real-time translation feature connects users across languages. CEO Linda Kim believes their focus on safety will help Azar succeed in the U.S.
TECH CRUNCH – Lex, a social and dating app for the LGBTQ+ community, has been acquired by 9count, a mobile app conglomerate led by former Musical.ly CEO Alex Hofmann. Founded in 2019 by Kell Rakowski, Lex originated from a popular Instagram page and focuses on providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ users. The acquisition will allow Lex to roll out new features faster and enhance content moderation. 9count, known for apps like Wink, aims to build niche social networks for specific communities rather than large-scale platforms. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
by Amanda Silberling
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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
TECH CRUNCH – Match Group, responsible for apps like Tinder and OkCupid, is boosting its AI efforts. They've hired former Zynga executive, Mark Kantor, to spearhead innovations. Kantor's team, named ASL (Art x Science Lab), will delve into generative AI to improve user experience. Initiatives include an AI-driven photo selector for Tinder and the potential for AI-generated dating bios.
TECH 
CRUNCH – Teaser AI is a new dating app developed by the team behind Dispo, a photo-sharing app. The app allows users to chat with AI versions of potential matches before swiping right or left. The AI tries to imitate users' personalities based on their answers to personality questions and their chat interactions. The goal is to provide an icebreaker for conversations and facilitate in-person meetings. The app limits AI conversations to five back-and-forth messages and prevents unsavory or overly intimate interactions. Teaser focuses on anti-ghosting and encourages users to have meaningful conversations. The app also offers a subscription option with additional features. While the concept is intriguing, some users may find the AI conversations less engaging over time. The app is still new, and user behavior may evolve.
TECH CRUNCH – A former president at musical.ly (now known as TikTok), Alex Hofmann, helped build an app that could compete with social giants like Meta, YouTube or Snapchat. After ByteDance acquired musical.ly for ~$1B in 2018, Hofmann left the company to become an investor, but he soon decided he wanted to make apps again. He founded 9count, the parent company of apps like Everland, Helpline, Juju and the friendship-making app Wink, which has millions of users. Wink connects people without regard to location. "It was interesting that some of the 18+ users asked us, 'Oh, it would be great if I could look for people in my city,'" Hofmann said. "So that was one of the reasons for launching the dating app Spark." On Spark, users can see people around them all at once in a grid, kind of like on Grindr. But unlike Grindr, they can only receive messages from people if they've both "sparked" each other. Spark has already "soft-launched" in hundreds of countries, climbing to #1 in the iOS app store in Ireland and the Netherlands within a day.
