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Category: Uncategorized

Steven Bartlett Backs Hati, a Dating App With £48 Revenue

Posted on February 27, 2026
hati dating app

BUSINESS CLOUD – Dating app hati, founded in 2025 by Zaahirah Adam, secured a £150K investment from Steven Bartlett on Dragons’ Den despite generating just £48 in revenue at the time of filming. The app replaces text messaging with five-minute phone calls, uses voice and video profiles instead of static photos, and requires friend verification to reduce catfishing. Adam initially sought £150K for 5% (a £3M valuation), but after other Dragons declined over low traction and easy replicability, she agreed to give Bartlett 30% for the same investment.

See full article at Business Cloud

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Three Day Rule Is Using AI for Matchmaking to Help Users Find Love

Posted on February 27, 2026

NBC NEWS – Three Day Rule, a new matchmaking app, uses an AI-generated algorithm to pair clients. Wired reporter Molly Higgins shares her experience with NBC News’ Ellison Barber, outlining the service’s strengths, drawbacks, and what it could mean for the future of dating apps.

See full article at NBC

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Online Dating Jobs Listing Update – February 2026

Posted on February 25, 2026
job offers

OPW – An update to the online dating jobs listing is live here.

Below, see a couple of this month’s most interesting offers:
HubPeople – CRM Manager
Bumble – Associate Director of Lifecycle Marketing
Ditto AI – Head of Community
Grindr – Director of Government Affairs
Match Group – Sr. People Director
Muzz – Country Marketing Lead
ParshipMeet Group – Vice President Data & AI
Social Discovery Ventures – Chief Legal Officer
Tinder – Sr. Director, Communications (Americas)
Together Light – Director of Marketing

Do you have an idating industry job offer that is not included? Please, send it to tips@onlinepersonalswatch.com and we will add it to the list.

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Reminder: LTR Edition 49 Happening This Wednesday, February 25th

Posted on February 24, 2026

OPW – This is a reminder that LTR Edition 49 will take place this Wednesday, February 25th, at 12:00 PM EST. In this edition, Mark Brooks will sit down with Matthew Gain, CEO of ParshipMeet Group, to discuss the company’s portfolio of brands, current market challenges, and the key opportunities shaping the next few years in the dating industry.

Then, Mark will interview Eric Straus, former CEO and Founder of Cupid.com and now President of Transworld Business Brokers in Manhattan. They will cover Eric’s exit from Cupid.com and explore how dating companies can position themselves for acquisition, navigate the sale process, and identify the right buyers.

If you hold a full-time leadership role at an online dating, social discovery, or matchmaking company, you are welcome to join LTR events for free.

This LTR is kindly sponsored by HubPeople.ai, LeadThink and Courtland Brooks.

Promotional image for LTR US featuring Matthew Gain, CEO of ParshipMeet Group, and Eric Straus, former CEO/Founder of Cupid.com, in front of an audience.

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Dating App ‘Advocate-Influencer Marketing’, by Courtland Brooks

Posted on February 23, 2026
influencer marketing

OPW – At Courtland Brooks we approach influencer marketing with care and intention. We find storytellers who get a brand’s mission, nurture those relationships, and help them become genuine advocates. The results are ads that do not look like ads; they’re videos that actually live in the creator’s story, feel real to their audience, and inspire them to take the next step instead of just scrolling past.

Here are some examples:

  • Chad Foster for Christian Filipina: https://youtu.be/l4-4X6XYyW0?t=25
    Most creators hesitate to promote dating apps, but we have a way to turn skepticism into genuine advocacy. When we tapped travel content creator Chad Foster, he wasn’t convinced he was the right fit for CF, thinking whatever he’d produced would feel forced. But we guided him to create videos that felt personal, which led him to sign up as a member, and over time, he became a full-pledged advocate (extending his initial 3-month collab agreement into a long-term partnership that continues to this day). His videos went from simply mentioning CF to featuring success stories of couples to his own experience using the service. 

  • Province Smile for Christian Filipina: https://youtu.be/0JgdFb5Iu4E?t=120
    A dating app’s biggest advocate is often the one whose own story proves the platform works. Jason of Province Smile didn’t just talk about CF; he lived it and made a channel that was sort of a love letter to his wife, whom he met on CF. We brought him to the Philippines for a sit-down with CF’s relationship experts, produced a deep-dive episode on the dating process, and met with other YouTubers alongside his then-fiancée to help their story reach more people looking for the same serious relationship while giving CF more exposure across multiple platforms.

  • Camp Throuple for BiCupid: https://www.instagram.com/p/DEqjf4ryUNg/
    Before we started the campaign with BiCupid, they originally only worked with bisexual singles and couples, but that approach didn’t deliver meaningful results. After spending more time understanding the app and its community, we proposed expanding into creators in non-traditional relationships. This shift widened the addressable audience, e.g., Camp Throuple was a strong fit because their content on TikTok and Instagram both normalizes non-traditional relationship structures and signals where people like them can actually find others. Since the partnership started, their BiCupid videos have so far reached 5M+ views across platforms and have been generating sales to this day.

  • El Guapo for Christian Filipina: https://youtu.be/yvBbilTrQ2o?t=4571
    Our creators advocate for our brands. Because they trust us, they proactively integrate the platform into their livestreams or post about it on their Instagram stories (that are not part of their agreed deliverables). El Guapo, for example, talks about CF on his livestreams, which leads to real-time conversions as viewers feel like they are getting personal recomendations.

  • Gena Tew for PositiveSingles: https://youtu.be/PlRLtE-_YdA?t=262
    Sensitive topics like dating with HIV require trust and authenticity, so with Gena’s dedicated episode for PS, we didn’t “script” her story. We let her share her own journey: the losses, the stigma, and the community that helped her heal. We worked with her to ensure PositiveSingles was naturally integrated as the supportive space that made this possible. Because of the trust we’d built, she went beyond the agreed deliverables, too, by linking the platform across her social media platforms, encouraging conversations that have then resulted in sign-ups, engagement, and advocacy that also strengthened PS’s credibility in a very sensitive niche.  

Please see CourtlandBrooks.com to learn more about how to work with us and book an initial paid consult.

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Swept Dating Adds In-App Date Planner and Safety Tools

Posted on February 19, 2026
Logo for Swept Dating

PRESS RELEASE – Swept Dating, a relationship-focused dating app, released an update adding an in-app date planner to schedule and review dates, with feedback used to flag no-shows and repeat ghosting. The update also introduces profile styling options, VPN-based fraud detection, stronger safety controls, and expanded availability across the U.S. and Canada.

See full article at EinPresswire

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Announcing LTR 49 With Matthew Gain, CEO of ParshipMeet Group, and Eric Straus, former CEO and Founder of Cupid.com

Posted on February 17, 2026

OPW – Edition 49 of the LTR (Love, Tech, Relationships) online experience will be on Wednesday, February 25th, at 12 pm (noon) EST (New York time).

In this edition of LTR, Mark Brooks will sit down with Matthew Gain, CEO of ParshipMeet Group, to discuss the company’s portfolio of brands, current market challenges, and the key opportunities shaping the next few years in the dating industry.

Following that conversation, Mark will sit down with Eric Straus, former CEO and Founder of Cupid.com and now President of Transworld Business Brokers in Manhattan. They will cover Eric’s exit from Cupid.com and explore how dating companies can position themselves for acquisition, navigate the sale process, and identify the right buyers.

If you hold a full-time leadership role at an online dating, social discovery, or matchmaking company, you are welcome to join LTR events for free.

Why attend LTR?

🏠 Flexible: Attend from anywhere – no travel required.
⏰ Convenient: Live session. 90 minutes.
💰 Free: No registration fees.

See the LTR Edition 49 speakers and invite page here.

Email mark@courtlandbrooks.com to RSVP.

Image featuring two speakers, Matthew Gain and Eric Straus, at LTR.us event.

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How Match Group Plans to Fix the Dating App Slowdown

Posted on February 16, 2026

YOUTUBE – Match Group CFO Steve Bailey discusses swipe fatigue, AI in matchmaking, and where the company is investing to win new users and regain investor confidence across brands like Hinge and Tinder.

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Kindred Launches Friend-Powered Matchmaking Platform

Posted on February 16, 2026
Logo of Kindred

PRNEWSWIRE – Kindred is a new matchmaking platform that lets singles invite friends to act as digital matchmakers, replacing swiping with introductions through mutual connections. Users create profiles and rely on “validators” – friends or family – to recommend and vet matches within their networks. The free service focuses on intentional dating, avoids paywalls and gimmicks, and complements online matching with in-person events in select U.S. cities.

See full article at PRNewswire

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CasualX Is a No-Strings-Attached Hookup App

Posted on February 16, 2026
CasualX

MASHABLE – CasualX is a dating app focused exclusively on casual, no-strings-attached encounters, positioning itself as an alternative to platforms where users seek serious relationships. It offers standard swiping and a social “moments” feed, manual profile review to reduce fakes, and privacy features like private albums and app locks. The app targets users looking for hookups or friends-with-benefits and gained early traction with tens of thousands of users and high daily match activity.

See full article at Mashable

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CONTACT

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CEO, Courtland Brooks
Publisher, Online Personals Watch
mark@courtlandbrooks.com

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