MASHABLE – Hinge has released its first audiobook as part of its No Ordinary Love campaign. Five authors wrote and narrated stories about real couples who met on Hinge, with the couples adding their own epilogues. The audiobook is available on Spotify, Apple Audiobooks, Libro.fm, Libby, Barnes & Noble Audiobooks, and Substack. Written versions are also available on Substack.
MASHABLE – Singles are increasingly meeting through shared hobbies and activities, according to Eventbrite. Events using “meet cute” language grew 117% year over year. Trivia nights, mahjong, birdwatching, Pilates socials, plant swaps and pottery workshops are gaining popularity. Eventbrite also found that 58% of young adults prefer socializing to be a secondary part of an event rather than its main purpose. This suggests that singles favor relaxed settings over formal dating events.
MASHABLE – Ditto has raised ~$9M for its AI matchmaking service, which operates through iMessage and sends verified college students one match each week. The system analyzes user preferences, conversations, interactions and post-date feedback, with Ditto claiming that 65% of matches lead to dates. Founded by Berkeley dropouts Eric Liu and Allen Wang, the company is expanding through campus marketing and in-person events, including run clubs, reading clubs and planned yacht parties across the U.S.
MASHABLE – Archer, the gay dating app launched by Match Group in 2023, will shut down on June 17. The closure follows Match’s recent $100M investment in gay app Sniffies and signals a shift in focus within its LGBTQ+ portfolio. Archer positioned itself as a more relationship-oriented alternative to hookup apps and reached ~685K downloads in its first year, but struggled to gain meaningful scale in a market dominated by competitors such as Grindr.
MASHABLE – Hily is pushing back against the dating industry’s AI trend by promoting “Human Intelligence” (HI) instead. The move comes as apps like Bumble and Tinder invest more heavily in AI features. According to Hily’s August 2025 survey, 69% of Gen Z and 74% of millennials believe AI makes dating less authentic. More than half said they would be less attracted to someone if they thought AI had been used to create their profile. Despite this, many daters still use AI to write bios or suggest conversation starters. Hily says it will use technology where useful, but does not want AI to replace the human side of dating.
MASHABLE – New Tinder users in the UK must complete a facial scan to sign up, using a feature called Face Check. Users take a video selfie, which is checked against their profile photos and used to detect duplicate accounts, after which they receive a verification badge. The requirement is already in place in the U.S., Canada, Australia, India, and other regions. The rollout follows earlier verification steps, including photo, video, and ID checks, and aligns with new UK regulations such as the Online Safety Act.
MASHABLE – Coffee Meets Bagel’s 2025 Dating Realness Report, based on a survey of 1K U.S. daters aged 21–35, finds that most people are serious about relationships. 61% want a spouse and 31% want a long-term partner, but 93% say dating is difficult. The biggest pain points are endless swiping (54%), ghosting or unmatching (47%), and not knowing how to start conversations (43%). 80% are comfortable with AI helping with dating tasks, but 65% would be less likely to engage with someone if they knew that person used AI to write their profile or messages. Emotional connection is a must for 73%, ahead of physical attraction (63%), shared values (59%), and ambition (57%).
MASHABLE – Starting July 25, dating apps in the UK must implement age verification under the Online Safety Act. Feeld will use Yoti to confirm user age via phone number or selfie, without storing personal data. Tinder will require a clear face photo and may request ID if age can't be verified. Bumble says it already enforces strict age checks and uses selfie and ID verification. Hinge will scan a face photo to confirm users are 18+, storing it for up to three months, with results kept for a year. Rollouts in the U.S. and EU may follow based on regional laws.
Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team
MASHABLE – Bumble launches an in-app dating advice hub with content from dating and relationship experts. Themes include being yourself on the app, moving from the app to IRL, self-love, first dates, and connecting with others. Bumble’s press release states that this “marks a broader evolution in Bumble’s approach, blending technology with human insight.”
Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team
MASHABLE – Hinge has launched Match Note, a feature that lets users privately share key details with matches before starting a conversation. This allows daters to disclose aspects like being non-monogamous or sober without making them public on their profile.
