Category: Tinder
It’s Time For Dating Apps To Move Away From Facebook Sign Ups
by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable
See all posts on Tinder See all posts on Hinge
See all posts on Bumble See all posts on The League
Tinder And Bumble Will Never Be A Match
by Emily Bary
See full article at MarketWatch
Bumble Responded To Match Lawsuit With An Ad
TECH CRUNCH – Mar 20 – Tinder's parent company Match Group is suing its competition Bumble, accusing the app of stealing trade secrets and patents. The complaint also says that Bumble has rolled out two new features that were "learned of and developed confidentially while at Tinder". Bumble is responding with a full-page ad in the New York Times, "We swipe left on your multiple attempts to buy us, copy us, and now, to intimidate us." The ad goes onto say that Bumble isn't afraid of aggressive corporate culture. "That's what we call bullying, and we swipe left on bullies," it says, noting the thousands of users the company has blocked for "bad behavior."
by Fitz Tepper
See full article at Tech Crunch
Match Group Is Suing Bumble For Patent Infringement
RECODE.NET – Mar 16 – Match Group is suing Bumble for infringing on two of its patents, including a design patent for Tinder's now-famous swipe-to-connect feature, according to the suit. Match also claims that early Bumble executives Chris Gulczynski and Sarah Mick, who both previously worked at Tinder, stole "confidential information related to proposed Tinder features," including the idea for a feature that lets users go back if they accidentally skip someone, according to the suit. Tinder and Bumble have a long and interesting history. Most recently, Match made an offer to buy Bumble last summer for $450M, according to TechCrunch. One source tells Recode that Match is still interested in acquiring Bumble, which means this lawsuit may very well be a bargaining chip – albeit an unfriendly one. Badoo is Bumble's majority owner, with a 79% stake.
by Kurt Wagner
See full article at ReCode
Tinder: We Don’t Ban Transgender Users
TMZ – Mar 15 – The statement was made in reference to the lawsuit filed by a user against them. "We do not ban users from Tinder due to gender identity, which is why Tinder offers ~37 gender options," Tinder's spokesperson said. The user's attorney Ben Meiselas says Tinder's missing the real issue, which is "that Tinder is banning users who are reported by other users because they identify as transgender or gender nonconforming in their profile." He adds if Tinder is really concerned about inclusivity, it should have no problem agreeing "to an injunction that would change its algorithm and require employees to stop banning transgender users for terms of service violations because of how they identify. We ask that Tinder stipulate publicly to this relief."
Tinder’s Feed Is Now Rolling Out To Users Worldwide
THE VERGE – Mar 14 – Tinder's new chronological Feed of recent match activity is rolling out to all users worldwide. It shows recent matches, their latest photos, and new Spotify "anthem" choices added to their profiles. Everything is listed in order beginning with the most recent changes to a profile. Users are able to comment on individual items in the feed, giving swipers an easier way of firing off a first message. When it was testing the Feeds feature in December, Tinder also included recent Instagram uploads in the timeline. But that part has seemingly been removed from the proper global worldwide.
A Portland Transgender Woman Has Sued Tinder For Deleting Her Profile
WILLAMETTE WEEK – Mar 14 – Tinder has deleted her dating profile after she added details about her legal sex work ("camgirl on the side. preop trans woman") and transgender identity to her profile's bio. The company didn't respond to her questions about why her account violated the app's rules. Other transgender women have alleged on social media that Tinder deleted their profiles without explanation.
Interview With Lubo Smid, CEO Of STRV, The Cheaky Developers Behind Tinder’s Apple TV App
OPW INTERVIEW – Mar 14 – STRV is a cheaky development company that developed the Apple TV app for Tinder. Bear with us, this story is interesting. STRV is based in Czech Republic and is a top-tier mobile and web application designer & developer. Clients include Microsoft, Hallmark, Lufthansa and dating companies such as JDate and Christian Mingle.
What is the STRV founding story and what does STRV stand for?
After cementing our reputation as the leading digital product agency in the Czech Republic, we decided the timing was ripe to hit the competitive US tech scene in 2012. Over the past six years, STRV, a play on "strive," which has come to define our tireless drive to develop innovative apps, has transformed into one of the most well-respected design and app development studios in the US, working with a number of Fortune 500 companies and established brands, including Tinder, Spark Networks, Christian Mingle and JDate. We have also developed and scaled a trio of our own dating and social networking apps — Surge, Grizzly and Zoe — which are geared toward the LGBT community.
How many team members do you have and where are you based?
Over the past six years, we grew from a small team of 20 to a powerhouse of ~170 people. Our team is primarily based in Prague and Brno in the Czech Republic. We also have offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City.
What are the biggest obstacles startups are facing when hiring a development agency? How are you different? What makes you stand out?
Our focus is our work. Too often startups spend a lot of time getting hung up on hammering out a plan of action rather than diving in and getting things done. At STRV, we just want to get to work and deliver the best possible products for our clients. It’s as simple as that. We also pride ourselves on being proactive, which has landed us some pretty lucrative contracts over the years. Our work with Tinder is a good example. Tinder's CEO, Sean Rad, casually mentioned at a tech conference we were both at that he'd love to someday develop an app for Apple TV. Sean's a busy guy, and we asked if we could help him out and were told "thanks, but no thanks." That, however, didn't stop us from developing our own Tinder MVP for Apple TV and presenting it to Sean and his team in just a couple of months. And guess what? We got the job! Perseverance is what propels us forward.
Tinder doesn't usually hire external developers but made an exception with STRV. How come?
We decided to surprise him. We didn't have a contract, but we had a vision and decided to take a chance. The Tinder team was so impressed with our code (and initiative) that they give us a contract to help develop their Apple TV app. Our team relocated to LA for the project and worked alongside Tinder's dev team. It was the first time Tinder agreed to work with an external team, and we couldn't be more humbled by the experience.
How was your experience working with the Tinder team?
Our cooperation with Tinder has been fantastic and long-lasting. Both teams learned so much from each other. In fact, after months of working side-by-side, our devs felt right at home in Tinder's Hollywood headquarters. Many personal friendships have also come from this amazing partnership.
Tinder's former CTO Ryan Ogle has recently visited you in Czech Republic. What other projects have you been working on with Ryan?
After five years at Tinder, Ryan along with a few other early Tinder people, decided to launch their own startup, Arimus, which recently rolled out a B2B social network platform, called Ripple. Ryan turned to STRV for development help for this as well as another project his company is planning to bring to market later this year. We really love working with him. We share a lot of the same passion and drive for success.
What other dating projects have you worked on, and what kind of dating apps would you most like to innovate on in 2018?
We recently established STRV Labs, a new division that will focus solely on bringing new innovative apps to market. Our first really successful in-house project, a gay dating and social networking app called Surge, has grown tremendously since launching in 2014. Over the last 18 months, we've added two other dating apps geared toward the LGBT community, Grizzly and Zoe. Our goal right now is to continue to grow these apps and respond to the evolving needs of our user base. However, if we are presented with another opportunity for developing a new dating app, we will certainly explore the idea.
Tinder Takes Age Discrimination Case To Calif. High Court
LAW360 – Mar 13 – Tinder filed an appeal to the California Supreme Court this week following a ruling in January that the app discriminated against people older than 30 by charging them higher prices. In a petition to the state high court, Tinder said the Jan. 29 ruling "sharply diverges" from decades of case law that says "benign and widely accepted age‐related business practices" do not flout California discrimination law.
by Bill Donahue
See full article at Law360