TECH CRUNCH – Feb 8 – Tinder will launch a series of new features based on location in 2018. Match Group has been fairly vague on what these new features will entail, having only described them as something that will blur the "distinction between digital and real-life dating, and dating and simply engaging in your social life." Tinder remains one of the biggest drivers of revenue for Match Group, accounting for ~30% of its parent company's revenue in 2017.
Category: Tinder
Tinder Partners With Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras
Match Group Q4 Financial Results, Revenue Up 28%, Loss $9M
PRESS RELEASE – Feb 7 – Match Group now has ~7M subscribers across its businesses and 3M at Tinder alone. Total Revenue grew 28% YOY to $379M, driven by 24% growth in Average Subscribers to 7M and a 4% increase in ARPU. Operating income was $128M, an increase of 13% YOY, while Adjusted EBITDA increased 20% over the prior year quarter to $153 million. Net loss of $9M, driven by the inclusion of $92M of discrete tax charges related to U.S. tax reform. Excluding these discrete tax charges, Match Group would have reported net income of $83M.
Court: Dating Services Can’t Charge Older Folks More On Belief They Are Wealthier
SF GATE – Jan 29 – Tinder Plus costs $19.99 a month to customers over 30 and $9.99 or $14.99 for younger customers. The company said its research showed that younger customers had less money and were unlikely to enroll without discounts. Some age-based price differentials may be justified by social policies or economic realities, like movie discounts for children or seniors, said the Second District Court of Appeal in LA. But the court said a pricing system based entirely on a customer's age amounts to "prohibited arbitrary discrimination" under California law. The 3-0 ruling was written by Brian Currey, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge temporarily assigned to the appeals court.
Judge Recommends Dismissing A Lawsuit Against Tinder, Says App Never Promised To Stay Free Forever
LEGAL NEWSLINE – Jan 29 – A Florida federal judge has recommended that certain counts of a class action lawsuit against Tinder over allegations of misleading business practices be dismissed. Judge Andrea Simonton made the recommendation in a case filed by plaintiff Billy Warner, individually and on behalf of others. In 2014, Warner downloaded the free Tinder app. In 2015, Tinder began charging users $2.99 per month for Tinder Plus in order to get more "likes" for dating matches, which Warner paid. He alleges he was then asked to pay $19.99 a month for Tinder Plus. The defendant alleges that the plaintiff's claim under the Florida Free Gift Advertising Law fails because there is no allegation that the Tinder app was ever anything but free.
by Angela Underwood
See full article at Legal Newsline
Congratulations To Our 2018 iDate Awards Winners
OPW – Jan 26 – The 2018 iDate Awards winners were announced and provided trophies at a ceremony during iDate (Internet dating conference) this week. The iDate Awards are the dating industry's most recognized awards, highlighting the best and most innovative aspects of the business.
The 2018 winners are:
Best Dating Site
eHarmony
Best Dating Coach
Carmelia Ray
Best Product Design
Diolli
Best Dating Software & SAAS Provider
Dating Pro
Best Mobile Dating App
The League
Best Matchmaker
Gillian McCallum (Drawing Down the Moon)
Most Innovative Company
eHarmony
Best New Technology
iSpingle.com
Best Payment System
CCBill
Best Affiliate Program
LoveMe
Best Marketing Campaign
Tinder
Best Up and Coming Dating Site
SingleWomen.international
Best Niche Dating Site
Single Muslim
Tinder’s Lack Of Encryption Lets Strangers Spy On Users’ Swipes
WIRED – Jan 23 – Tinder's mobile apps still lack the standard encryption necessary to keep photos, swipes, and matches hidden from snoops, according to researchers at Tel Aviv-based app security firm Checkmarx. Just by being on the same Wi-Fi network as any user of Tinder's iOS or Android app, the researchers could see any photo the user did, or even inject their own images into his or her photo stream. And while other data in Tinder's apps are HTTPS-encrypted, Checkmarx found that they still leaked enough information to tell encrypted commands apart, allowing a hacker on the same network to watch every swipe left, swipe right, or match on the target's phone nearly as easily as if they were looking over the target's shoulder. Checkmarx says it notified Tinder about its findings in November, but the company has yet to fix the problems. To fix it, Checkmarx says Tinder should not only encrypt photos, but also "pad" the other commands in its app, adding noise so that each command appears as the same size or so that they're indecipherable amid a random stream of data.
America’s Love-hate Relationship With Tinder
RECODE – Jan 6 – Millions of Americans use social media daily. But that doesn't mean they love it. Some of the most-used social media products in the world – Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram – are also some of the ones that Americans have strong negative feelings about, according to a recent Harris Poll survey. Tinder was also largely disliked. ~43% of people want it to go away.
by Rani Molla
See full article at Recode
Tinder User Says Age Bias Suit Deserves Second Chance
LAW360 – Jan 10 – A Tinder user asked a California appellate panel on Wednesday to revive a class action accusing Tinder of discriminating against people ages 30+ by charging them a higher price to use premium features. Allan Candelore accused Tinder of violating California's Unruh Civil Rights Act by treating customers differently based on their age. Tinder charges users age 30+ $19.99 a month for Tinder Plus, while younger users pay $9.99. Tinder's attorney argued that is because young people generally earn less, not to discriminate against an older population. Such a pricing differential has never been found to violate the Unruh Act, he said. The 55-minute arguments on Wednesday dove into where to draw the line for exemptions to the Unruh Act; comparisons between Tinder's pricing and senior citizen or child discounts.
Tinder And Instagram Blacklisted In Appthority Q4 Enterprise Mobile Security Pulse Report
BUSINESSWIRE – Jan 9 – Appthority, the global leader in enterprise mobile threat protection, released its Enterprise Mobile Security Pulse Report for Q4 2017, which details the apps most frequently blacklisted. For iOS devices, Tinder made the list of most blacklisted apps, joining WhatsApp Messenger and Pokémon GO, which topped the list for the second consecutive quarter. For Android, the top blacklisted apps were WhatsApp Messenger, Facebook Messenger and Instagram, all new to the list from the previous quarter. Enterprises blacklist apps for a range of security concerns, including security policy compliance and concerns about data handling.