Dating
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Tinder's parent company sues Bumble over patents
It's no secret that Tinder (or rather, its parent company Match Group) and Bumble are arch-rivals in the swipe-right dating app space, and that battle just escalated. Match Group has sued Bumble for allegedly violating two patents, one for the "ornamental" look of its app and another for the all-important swipe-based system. The Match team wasn't exactly subtle about its claims -- it asserted that Bumble (founded by former Tinder execs) explicitly copied Tinder's core formula with subtle variations on the same interface elements. However, the motivations behind the lawsuit might not be so clear cut.
Tinder rallies support for interracial couple emoji
The official emoji catalog accounts for all kinds of relationships, including same-sex couples and families, but it doesn't reflect interracial couples -- isn't that an odd omission in 2018? Tinder thinks so. The dating site has launched a campaign to officially add interracial couple emoji to the Unicode Consorium's character set. Online dating and interracial couples "go hand in hand," it argued, and that makes the company a prime advocate for greater diversity in chat icons.
US appeals court says Tinder Plus pricing is discriminatory
They say all's fair in love and war, but those that have used Tinder will probably disagree. And that includes Allan Candelore, a man suing the dating app over the pricing of its premium service, Tinder Plus. Candelore and his lawyers argue that charging $9.99 a month to users under 30, and $19.99 a month to those over 30, is age discrimination, and violates two California laws: the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Unfair Competition Law.
OkCupid's dating profiles will soon push for a 'real' name
OkCupid is clearly eager to cast off many dating site traditions. Next on the chopping block: usernames. The service has announced that it will require "real" first names in dating profiles (in a tweet it said "You do not need to use your government name or even your full first name"), starting now with an initial test group and rolling out to everyone over time. As the company explains, it doesn't want the real you to be "hidden beneath another layer of mystique" -- it figures that your profile should offer insight into your personality, not your handle.
OKCupid hopes interest searches will replace swipes in dating apps
The yes-or-no swipe is the de facto way to find matches in dating apps these days, but it has its limits. Do you really want to sift through dozens of people just to find the one or two that share your interests? Even those sites that do offer search tend to focus just on basics like age or relationship goals. OKCupid, at least, thinks it can do better. It's launching a Discovery feature that lets you search for people who share similar interests. If you want to find a fellow geek or won't date someone unless they share your fondness for macramé, you can cut to the chase and find only the matches you care about.
Grindr adds more transgender-inclusive features
Grindr is rolling out new features to be more inclusive of transgender members. User profiles now include a new "identity" feature that includes options for listing gender and preferred pronouns. Members can pick from a list of common gender identities such as "trans man", "woman", "cis man", "non-binary, "non-conforming" and "queer", or specify their own identity if it doesn't appear on the list. Pronouns such as "he/him/his", "she/her/hers" and "they/them/theirs" can also be chosen, or specific pronouns written if not listed. Writing throughout the website has also been updated to include gender neutral terms.
Tinder Gold launches worldwide to reveal who likes you
Tinder has been trying out its Gold subscription service in a handful of countries since June, and now it's launching the experimental tier worldwide. Pay $5 per month on top of Tinder Plus (this price isn't set in stone) and you can find out who likes you without having to swipe through an endless sea of profiles. In that sense, it's more like a classic dating site -- you can go straight to the people who fancy you and match up with the ones who pique your interest. You also get other premium Tinder features like Passport, Rewind and one Boost per month.
Dating app Badoo adds video chat to help you filter out creeps
Dating apps have been slow to adopt video functionality. Big shot Tinder bought a video service in February but hasn't announced plans to add its functionality, while Hinge just included user-made movie clips for profiles -- a feature that Badoo launched last year. Today, the UK-based dating service is taking another step forward and adding video chat straight into the app, so users can move past text and talk in real-time.
Atari partners with LGBT Media to make more inclusive games
Atari is making good on its promise to stake part of its strategy on LGBTQ apps. The company has formed a partnership with LGBT Media, the company behind the social app LGBTQutie, to reach more of the community. The deal will see LGBT Media acquire and "re-launch" Atari's city-building game Pridefest by taking advantage of its connections to the LGBTQ community, including an expansion of the title's social side. Ultimately, the two hope to create a "new standard" for gaming in a demographic that they see as underserved.
Match.com turned its most eligible bachelors into free dolls
Match.com is as synonymous with online dating as Tinder is with casual bonking, but even an established platform needs a good PR push occasionally. In a campaign that would've almost certainly become national news if genders had been reversed, Match.com and PR agency Brands2Life set up a pop-up shop in London's swanky Marylebone area this week, offering free dolls modelled (literally) on the site's most eligible bachelors.
Verified Twitter users have their very own dating app
Just like the rest of us, celebrities yearn for love too. These days most people seeking romance (and other pursuits) can turn to a dating app. But a traditional Tinder account is just too basic for the rich and famous (especially if they want to hookup with mutually wealthy people). Enter Loveflutter "Blue," the latest premium app aimed at celebs -- only this new dating service comes with a twist. The app exclusively caters to verified Twitter users. Hence its name, which refers to the platform's blue tick community.
Tinder's new 'Gold' subscription shows your likes before you swipe
Tinder is introducing another subscription option, which comes with an exclusive perk to get existing premium members to fork out some extra cash. Tinder Gold gives you access to a new "Likes You" option that basically allows you to browse through all of your pending likes. Think of it as a shortcut that lets you cut out the riff raff and head straight to the people on the app that are interested in you.
'Tinder for friends' uses AI to block flirty messages
Making new friends as an adult is hard, and it's easy to find yourself relying on old college pals and work colleagues to bolster your social life, even if the former live on the other side of the country and the latter are, well, your work colleagues. Many an app has tried and largely failed to address this problem, but as any woman who's been brave enough to seek friends -- genuine platonic friends -- online will know, it's not long before your inbox is inundated with dire pickup lines, weak attempts at 'cheeky banter' and, of course, the ubiquitous dick pic. Enter Patook. Launching globally on July 7 on iPhone and Android, the app claims to make finding new friends easier and less traumatic thanks to an algorithm which detects and blocks flirty language.
Netflix's next original is basically a French 'Black Mirror'
One of the great things about Netflix's global expansion is that it allows audiences to enjoy new movies and TV shows that have been produced in other countries. French subscribers, for example, saw their first local original -- Marseille -- debut around this time last year. Today, as part of a wider statement confirming the creation of 400 new European jobs, Netflix announced that it has greenlit its second French-language TV series, Osmosis. Judging by the show's synopsis, fans of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror could be in for a treat.
The panic and pleasure of online dating as a woman in her 40s
Dating in my twenties and thirties made me feel like Odysseus, trying to choose between dashing myself on the ego-bruising rocks of casual romps or a slow death from unrequited lust for garbage humans. There was the ex who brutally dumped me but wouldn't stop emailing me for months, whose presence at dorky work gatherings made me dizzy; the sociopathic film critic whose shoulder I virtually cried on; the go-nowhere first dates; and the great, wide swaths of time spent single, usually pining after some unavailable director or writer who'd relish my attention and nothing else. And lots of therapy.
There's a secret, celebrity-only version of Tinder
Celebrities have the same needs that the rest of us, they're just wealthier, better-looking and demand more privacy. It's why Tinder quietly set up a special members-only version of its app, called Tinder Select, to keep elite bloodlines in the elite. As the name implies, it's a secret dating world where only the beautiful and the wealthy can connect. Unfortunately, the great unwashed don't have a chance of getting in unless you're invited by a core group of members.
Tinder just bought a Snapchat-like video app
With Tinder's acquisition of collaborative video messaging app Wheel, the swiping app of choice may soon offer more than photos of available people in your area. Tinder expanded beyond dating last July with the introduction of Tinder Social, which connects groups of friends to hang out. As Business Insider notes, Wheel is similar to Snapchat's "Live Stories," which allows users to post to a public feed of themed videos.
Trump or nah? OkCupid now matches partners' politics
OkCupid has refreshed is mobile app with a new look and revised questions and categories to help you find a potential life partner rather than a one-night stand. The app already probed your interests and leanings, but has added 50 new questions including "Is climate change real?", "Do you feel there should be a ban on immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries entering the US?" and just "Trump?"
Dating app makes you call your match to get started
With most dating services, live human interaction is usually the last thing that happens. It's what you get if that back-and-forth messaging actually leads somewhere. In Hotline's newly launched service, however, it's not just prominent... it's mandatory. The mobile app requires that you have a 5-minute voice call with your prospective partner (thankfully, without using your phone number) before you can message them. It's a scary concept if you're shy or hate calls, but the hope is that you'll quickly find out whether or not the real person is as interesting as their profile.
Exclusive dating app 'The League' is now on Google Play
The League, which is often described as an "elitist dating app" and "Tinder for the rich," has arrived on Google Play. If you're wondering why you don't hear a lot of people talk about their experience on it, it's because the service promises exclusivity by having aspiring members go through a rigorous screening process. The team will vet your job, your degrees, your looks and other aspects of your life before you can get in -- and you might even have to deal with a waitlist.
