sex
Latest
Tinder rebels against Google Play app fees by taking direct payments
Tinder is exploring a different approach to fighting app store fees -- it's simply ignoring what the store operators want. The dating giant has introduced a default payment process into its Android app that skips Google Play's system entirely, instead taking payments directly. And if you go this route, you lose the option of switching back to Google Play after the fact.
CES 2020 will allow sex tech on a trial basis
At least one sex tech product caused a stir at CES last year. As you might remember, the company Lora DiCarlo had a Robotics Innovation Award for its Ose "blended-orgasm machine" revoked and then reinstated. This year, likely hoping to avoid another debacle, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) says it will allow tech-based sex products.
Tinder Lite brings the dating app to countries with limited data
Tinder is finally ready to take the wraps off its lightweight dating app. The company has formally unveiled Tinder Lite for Android, a version of the service designed for areas with limited data and lower-cost phones. It still has the familiar swipe-based matching, chats, "super likes" and paid features like seeing everyone who has liked you. For the most part, it's just a leaner app that should perform better in less-than-ideal conditions.
UK design student creates a smart chest binder for trans people
A UK design student created a smart wearable that could make chest binding safer, easier and more comfortable for transgender men and non-binary people. Chest binding is the act of flattening one's breasts using a tight garment in order to make the chest appear more masculine. While it can have immense mental health benefits, it can take a physical toll. Many people have reported broken ribs from too-tight wraps, and binding can be especially difficult in the summer, when the wearer is at risk of overheating. With this garment, called Breathe, Loughborough University industrial design student Miles Kilburn hopes to address many of those of common issues.
Tinder will let you list your sexual orientation in your profile
With the arrival of Pride month, dating app Tinder is making moves to be more welcoming to LGBT users for the event and beyond. In collaboration with GLAAD, the company has announced it will now let users list their sexual orientation in their profile.
Sex, lies, and surveillance: Something's wrong with the war on sex trafficking
Silicon Valley's biggest companies have partnered with a single organization to fight sex trafficking -- one that maintains a data collection pipeline, is partnered with Palantir, and helps law enforcement profile and track sex workers without their consent. Major websites like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and others are working with a nonprofit called Thorn ("digital defenders of children") and, perhaps predictably, its methods are dubious.
Grindr's owner gave staff access to sensitive user data
When the US pushed Grindr's owner to sell the app over national security concerns, it made only vague allusions to what might have prompted the decision. Now, however, the situation is clearer. Reuters sources have claimed that Beijing Kunlun triggered alarms after it gave engineers in Beijing access to Grindr's database for several months. While there wasn't evidence that the company misused the data, the tipsters believe the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) was worried that the Chinese government could comb the database to find info on US intelligence and military personnel.
Match app adds an offline dating coach for your online dating woes
Online dating is its own big, scary jungle, and often users are left on their own when it comes to problems like ghosting or mixed signals in texts. Match thinks it can help users navigate that jungle -- by offering some human assistance. The online dating site is launching a new service, AskMatch, that will connect its paid users to a dating coach for a chat over the phone. The service is launching in New York City this month, with the goal of expanding nationwide by 2020.
Tinder preps 'Lite' version of its dating app for data-limited areas
Add Tinder to the growing list of tech giants launching lightweight apps to reel in more users. As part of an earnings call, Match Group divulged plans for a Tinder Lite app that would be smaller and better-suited to area where cellular data "comes at a premium." CEO Mandy Ginsberg made no mention of features or a release date (other than "soon"), but did point to Southeast Asia as a high priority when there's an influx of young people into packed cities.
Google will roll out ambiguously gendered emoji to Android Q
The variety of emoji has skyrocketed from 176 since the initial release of the symbols back in 1999, to more than 3,000 today. During that time they've steadily become more inclusive, expanding to feature same sex couples, redheads, female scientists and people of every skin tone. Now, Google is adding 53 gender ambiguous characters, according to Fast Company.
CES re-awards revoked robotics prize to women's sex toy
There was outrage and disbelief earlier this year when the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) -- the organization behind the major CES annual tech show -- revoked its Robotics Innovation Award from women's sex toy Osé.
Riot Games staff walk out after sexism lawsuits result in forced arbitration
More than 150 employees from Riot Games walked out of the League of Legends publisher's offices in Los Angeles yesterday to protest forced arbitration and sexist culture, and say they are prepared to take further action if the company does not commit to meeting their demands by May 16th.
Tinder wants to help you find a Bonnaroo boo
Tinder is rolling out a new feature for summer music festival-goers looking for romance. The popular hookup app announced a "Festival Mode" that will let users sort through matches who are attending the same music festival. If you opt-in, your Tinder profile will receive a badge identifying you to other festival-goers.
India lifts ban on TikTok
An Indian state court moved to lift a nationwide ban on the popular short-form video app TikTok. A nearly week-long ban in India on the app is now reversed, lawyers involved in the case told Reuters on Wednesday. Google and Apple removed the app from its stores in India last week after a high court in Tamil Nadu called for its removal, saying it was exposing children to sexual predators and pornography. The ban in India was a major setback for TikTok, due to India being its largest user base with nearly 300 million users. ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, estimated in a court filing that the ban was losing the company nearly $500,000 a day.
Bumble will use AI to detect unwanted nudes
Artificial intelligence will soon weed out any NSFW photos a match sends to you on Bumble. The dating app that requires women to make the first contact said it is launching a "private detector" to warn users about lewd images. Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd and Andrey Andreev, CEO of the dating app parent company that includes Bumble, Badoo, Chappy and Lumen, made the announcement Wednesday in a press release.
UK’s porn age verification law to go into effect on July 15th
Following numerous delays, the UK's age verification law for pornography sites will finally go into effect on July 15, according to the government. Under the law, people in the UK will have to go the extra mile to prove that they are over 18 years old in order to access online pornographic material. Checking a box or typing in your birthday will no longer suffice; users will have to enter their credit card, passport number, mobile phone number or buy an age verification pass from a local shop.
Google blocks TikTok downloads in India over pornography concerns
Today, Google blocked TikTok downloads from its Google Play store in India, and Apple has been asked to do the same. The move comes after India's federal government sent a letter to the companies requesting that they abide by a state court's decision to ban the popular video app. India's concern is that TikTok encourages pornography and makes child users vulnerable to sexual predators, Reuters reports.
Sony clamps down on sexual content in PS4 games
Many have suspected that Sony was implementing strict rules on sexual content in PS4 games, and those hunches have just been validated. The company confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that it created its own guidelines for sexual material in games, overriding rating systems like the ESRB's and PEGI's. The move will help developers "offer well-balanced content" that doesn't "inhibit the sound growth and development" of young people, according to a spokeswoman. She didn't outline the rules or say when they took effect.
The UK’s porn license plan remains a mess
In the end, we 'll be left with a system that can't work, run by a company that doesn't want it to work, and that won't protect the very people it's intended to protect.
OhMiBod's next remote-controlled vibrator promises to last a lot longer
Sex toys have come a long way since the early days of crudely-shaped, buzzing hunks of plastic. They're sleek, discreet and boast all kinds of features designed to give your sexy time a techy twist, from connected cameras to VR compatibility. But these additions can often come at the expense of battery life, and no-one wants to run out of juice in the middle of playtime. Enter the Esca 2, the second iteration of the Bluetooth-enabled interactive vibrator, which boasts a larger battery capacity.
