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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.
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.
Snapchat can survive, but it can't do it alone
Snap Inc. co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel kicked off the first-ever Partner Summit last week in Los Angeles with a sort of syrupy soliloquy about how the Snapchat camera "lets natural light from our world penetrate the darkness of the internet." He went on to say the internet was "started as a military research project" and, therefore, "it's just not our natural habitat." The point Spiegel was trying to make (I think) is that building a platform like the internet is a collaborative process. And he sees Snapchat as a world where good things can happen, but he doesn't want to build it alone.
Snapchat Stories are coming to Tinder
Tinder ditched its Moments feature in 2015, but that doesn't mean the popular dating app is done with giving users access to ephemeral (aka disappearing) content. Later this year, those of you on Tinder can start posting Snapchat Stories directly to your dating profile, Snap announced today at its Partner Summit in Los Angeles. Thanks to Snap Kit, which lets third-party apps use Snapchat's augmented reality camera, you'll be able to use send Snaps to a new "My Tinder Story" option right inside the app. That means you'll have to use Snapchat if you want to use this feature, as the Tinder app will only be used for viewing, rather than publishing, your Snaps.
Tinder ditches its hidden desirability scores
Tinder has revealed that it no longer relies on its top-secret "Elo" desirability score to create matches. Instead, it apparently uses a new algorithm that sounds very similar to the old one, with the most important parameter being how much you use the app. Despite saying "the case has been solved," Tinder didn't really describe exactly how the new system works, leaving jilted users to (once again) speculate on why they're failing to, well, score.
Tinder adds a ‘Spring Break’ mode for college spring flings
Looking for a fling over your spring break? Tinder has college students covered. The dating app is introducing a new feature called Spring Break mode that will allow prospective matches to display where they will be traveling over break. The mode will have more than 20 popular destinations to choose from and will be available to college kids students using Tinder U. Spring Break badges can be displayed from March 4th through March 31st.
Bumble Spotlight makes you the center of attention for 30 minutes
If you're still looking for a date before Valentine's Day, Bumble may be able to help. The company announced a new feature called Spotlight that puts you front and center whenever people in your area open up the app. Once activated, you'll get 30 minutes of line cutting and will be seen by far more Bumble users than you would during a normal swiping session.
UK to question Tinder, Grindr over age checks in dating apps
Tinder and Grindr are about to face close scrutiny over their age policies. The UK's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Wright, plans to ask the dating app giants about their age verification and safety systems after a Sunday Times report revealed dozens of incidents of sexual assault and exploitation against children who managed to sign up for the app, including over 30 instances of rape. He wanted to know what tools Tinder and Grindr had in place to "keep children safe from harm," and vowed "further action" if the dating services didn't provide adequate answers.
Tinder settles lawsuit over age discrimination
Mature romantics just caught a break. Tinder has settled a lawsuit accusing it of age discrimination for charging the 30-and-up crowd double to subscribe to its premium Tinder Plus service. The Match Group-owned brand will pay $17.25 million in cash and in-app features (such as $25 checks, Super Likes and Plus/Gold subscriptions) to users who had to pay $20 per month instead of the $10 offered to younger customers. Tinder will also have to stop charging general age-based rates in California, although it will have the option of discounting service for people 21 or younger.
Tinder test lets you share Spotify clips with matches
Tinder is experimenting with allowing daters to share music via Spotify right inside their conversations. The feature, first spotted by the blog MSPowerUser and confirmed by TechCrunch, is taking place in a number of markets around the world and Spotify appears to be the only streaming service involved in the test. Users already had the ability to select an "anthem" and share their most played artists by linking their Spotify account to Tinder.
Facebook collects user data from apps like Tinder, OKCupid and others
A new report from German company Mobilsicher, an outlet dedicated to info on mobile security, has detailed some information about how certain apps share user information with Facebook, BuzzFeed News reports. The group tested the Android version of a number of apps -- including Tinder, Grindr, OKCupid, health-related apps like Pregnancy+ and MigraineBuddy as well as religion-focused apps such as Bible+ and Muslim Pro, among others -- and it found that personal information was being collected from those apps via Facebook's SDK. That information could include IP addresses, the app in use, the type of device and users' unique Advertising IDs, info that's transferred as soon as a user opens the app.
Dutch court rejects man’s attempt to change legal age for Tinder
Last month, Emile Ratelband, a motivational speaker from the Netherlands, asked a Dutch court for a legal age change. His argument was that while he was technically 69 years old, he felt 20 years younger, and that age difference was hurting him both in his work life and on Tinder. But the court has now issued its ruling, and Ratelband will have to remain 69 in the eyes of the law.
Tinder's Swipe Surge tells you when there's a rush of potential dates
If you've used dating apps long enough, you know it tends to be easier to find a potential match at certain times than others -- you might have better success on Friday night than Wednesday afternoon, for example. And Tinder wants you to capitalize on that. It's testing a Swipe Surge feature that alerts you when there's a rush of activity in your area, increasing the chances of both finding a match and striking up a conversation. People who've joined the Swipe Surge will bump to the front of the queue, and you'll even know who's currently active.
After Math: They're on the move
With the president's made up migrant caravan crisis having mysteriously vanished now that the midterms are over, it's time to take a look at the other movers and shakers from the industry this week. Volkswagen announced the development of a $23k Tesla rival, China has developed security cameras can now ID people by their gait, and Google's built a computer model to guess which restaurants will give you the runs.
Dutch man hopes legal age change will get him more Tinder matches
People have surely resorted to some interesting tactics in order to score a date on Tinder, but Emile Ratelband, a motivational speaker from the Netherlands, is taking a peculiar route. Ratelband claims that though he is 69 years old, he feels 20 years younger, and his actual age is making it difficult for him to find matches on the dating app. So now he has filed a lawsuit to get his age legally changed. "When I'm 69, I am limited," Ratelband said. "If I'm 49, then I can buy a new house, drive a different car. I can take up more work. When I'm on Tinder and it says I'm 69, I don't get an answer. When I'm 49, with the face I have, I will be in a luxurious position."
Tinder borrows Bumble's women-message-first feature
If Tinder was hoping to bring its feud with Bumble to a quick end, it's not helping matters. It has been testing a "My Move" feature in India that gives women more control over conversations. If women enable the feature in their settings, only they can start a conversation after a match -- you know, like Bumble. Tinder had launched the feature in the country as it needed to draw more women to the app by making them feel safer, the company's Taru Kapoor told Reuters. India also uses the in-app messaging more than anywhere else, so it's an ideal testing ground.
Bumble forges ahead with Tinder countersuit while pursuing an IPO
Earlier this year, the Match Group, which owns the dating service Tinder, filed a lawsuit against rival Bumble, alleging that the company had infringed on patents and misused intellectual property. Just weeks later, Bumble countersued the Match Group for accessing trade secrets fraudulently. Now, Bumble has filed court paperwork for the lawsuit while "actively pursuing an IPO," CEO Whitney Wolfe told TechCrunch. We've reached out to Bumble for a comment.
Tinder's curated 'Top Picks' list is available worldwide
In June, Tinder announced that it was testing a feature that provides Gold members a list of their top matches. Now, Top Picks, as it's called, is available to all paying Tinder Gold subscribers worldwide. The highlighted profiles, which are refreshed daily, are chosen based on a user's profile information and swiping behavior. While non-paying members will receive one Top Pick daily, only Gold members will have access to multiple picks. Subscribers can also buy additional picks if they want more options.
A date with my Tinder data
I was on Tinder for almost four years. I'm no longer single, but Tinder and its parent company, Match, still have data on me. I didn't delete my profile -- I didn't even think to -- so using GDPR to request what information they had on me was more exciting, or at least more personal, than doing so for other tech companies and services. On the dating apps, I swear I'd tried to keep it classy. I didn't succeed. According to other writers' requests, asking for your data from Tinder leads to varied results, but with FOI requests and GDPR a persistent issue for all tech companies, the dating app thankfully packages everything into a pretty easy to understand and navigable HTML file.
