MASHABLE – Apr 8 – Hinge is launching "Date From Home," a feature where users can easily tell someone whether they're ready for a virtual date. Hinge recently added a pop-up message to the app, advising its users to date at home. It points out that 70% of its members are down for a "digital date," over a platform like FaceTime or Zoom. While matches are messaging each other, the 'Date from Home' menu will appear and ask if they're ready for a digital date. Responses will remain private until both users are ready, and the feature will notify them. Then it's up to the users to take it from there.
Category: Reporters – Anna Iovine
Report: Dating Site & Ad Tracking
MASHABLE – Feb 11 – A new report from Ghostery, which creates products to detect and block data trackers, reveals which dating sites are using ad trackers. A data tracker is a snippet of code that companies such as Facebook and Amazon can implement onto other sites. Ad trackers on dating sites, for example, retarget the user on other websites. If a user goes to Match.com, the next time they go on Facebook they may be served an ad for Match.
There’s Still no Good Dating App for Non-monogamous People
MASHABLE – Feb 5 – One in five Americans have engaged in consensual non-monogamy. And yet, there are no good dating apps for non-monogamous people. Many of the apps used by the non-monogamous community are "trash" or solely for sex, said Steve Dean, online dating consultant at Dateworking.com, a dating coaching and consulting business. Dean, whose been non-monogamous for the past nine years, referred to one called Pure, as "Uber for sex." Feeld is another one that falls into the hooking up category. Then there is #open, an app that claims to be an inclusive community for any type of user. 94% of the app's 40K users report they prefer some form of open relationship, according to #open's cofounder Amanda Wilson. The most "mainstream" app that provides a tailored experience to non-monogamous people is OkCupid. In 2016, OkCupid added a feature for polyamorous couples. It subsequently replaced its "open relationship" status option with the term "non-monogamous." Dean said OKC is the best app for non-monogamous people right now, but technical changes have made it "virtually useless." This is because a 2017 change that filtered out unwanted messages had an adverse effect.
by Anna Iovine
See full article at Mashable
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Hinge’s Founder Leans Into Data to Set the Dating App Apart From Other Apps
MASHABLE – Dec 3 – Hinge, which at one point called itself "the relationship app," is one of the many apps now owned by the Match Group but still strives to set itself apart. Its founder, Justin McLeod, set out to make an app less shallow than Tinder – but with a younger demographic than eHarmony and Match. Hinge ditched swiping in 2016 and charged seven dollars for the app to weed out non-serious users. By 2017, the mandated membership fee was gone, but they did not go back to the swipe model. After being acquired by Match Group, Hinge went through another rebrand that included a design makeover and a new tag line, "Designed to be deleted." Hinge has been fine-tuning their algorithm and figuring out what leads to better matches. Using data to help users get into relationships is partially the inspiration behind Hinge Lab, the app's new data department. Hinge Lab is like personal trainers at the gym.