Dating Services

Dating app Grindr has issued a warning to its users who live in or are traveling to Brussels after a recent attack.

Grindr has installed a push notification for users in the area that reads: "Be safe! Violent and homophobic setups have been reported in Brussels," according to Brussels Times.

The gay dating app warned users of homophobic violence in the country after local police confirmed they are investigating whether someone used a fake profile to target and kill a family in a recent home invasion in Ixelles, Brussels. A fifty-seven year-old man was shot dead, and his wife and twenty-two year-old son suffered gunshot wounds after their home was invaded.

The United States military has allegedly run an ad campaign on dating app Tinder in Lebanon warning the app users that it is “fully prepared” to “protect its partners” according to The New York Post.

The news comes as tensions are rising in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war rages on. One journalist Seamus Malekafzali posted on X that he was on the dating app while in Lebanon, but instead of being presented with potential matches to swipe through, he saw an ad from CENTCOM (US Central Command).

The ad he saw read that CENTCOM is: “fully prepared and ready with F-16 Fighting Falcons and A-10 Tudor Bolt supersonic fighters currently in the region,” written in Arabic, along with a photo of an A-10 warplane, according to The New York Post.

Image: Bumble

Bumble has announced it is partnering with the New York Liberty women’s basketball team for the remainder of the season, building on its multi-year deal with the WNBA.

The partnership is intended to “create local opportunities for Bumble users and Liberty fans to connect over a shared love of women’s basketball,” according to Liberty’s website.  New York Liberty became the first team to get a spot in the WNBA Playoffs, and Bumble is serving as sponsor of home games during the first month of games. The dating app company will be hosting a singles event in the arena for fans and Bumble users.

Bumble is also featuring Liberty players in a new social media campaign, where Bumble users can get dating advice from Liberty players (as well as the team’s mascot).

Dating app Hinge has taken marketing its product to a new level by creating an online zine with stories of six real-life Hinge couples. The anthology series is written by literary stars like Roxanne Gay, John Paul Brammer, R. O. Kwon, Isle McElroy, Oisín McKenna and Brontez Purnell, and is titled “No Ordinary Love.”

According to Marketing Dive, the anthology plays into Hinge’s current marketing campaign of “Designed to be Deleted.” The campaign is meant to encourage people to get off the app and meet each other in real life, and that most love stories aren’t linear and straightforward, and that’s okay.

The anthology is live with a dedicated website (no-ordinary-love.co) and will also exist as an 80-page print zine that will be available in New York and London starting September 9th.

BLK, the dating app for Black singles, has partnered with Michelle Obama’s “When We All Vote” non-profit to encourage young Black singles to vote this coming November.

According to Essence magazine, BLK will launch the #ElectionSZN campaign along with When We All Vote, aimed at boosting voter participation and engagement through multiple offerings, including special features, profile badges, and surveys aimed at getting people engaged for the upcoming election.

This move is significant according to Essence, because the Black community historically has faced many barriers to voting and systemic disenfranchisement. And this year, for the first time, a Black woman will be the Presidential nominee for the Democratic ticket.

Dating app Bumble’s share value dropped 30 percent after the company slashed its annual growth revenue forecast in its second quarter earnings report.

According to Reuters, Bumble also fell below estimates for its second quarter revenue. The dating app company reported revenue of 268.6 million, below analyst expectations of $273 million.

This report worried investors who compared Bumble’s second quarter to rival Match Group’s, which reported relatively better revenue numbers driven by robust growth at Hinge and more stability at Tinder.