Seniors are a growing demographic of online daters, and they are flocking to popular dating apps, including Tinder, according to a recent study.

Independent insurance group Choice Mutual found that about one third of seniors who have dated in the last five years have looked to dating apps to meet people. In addition, two thirds of those using dating apps have found relationships with someone they met through the platforms, according to Forbes. 

Some top choices of apps were Tinder, Match and Hinge, with 35 percent of respondents saying Tinder was the platform where they met the person they were dating. Twenty-eight percent said they had the best luck on Match, 25 percent had found someone either on Hinge or Plenty of Fish, and 24 percent had found their significant other on Bumble.

Dating app Snack has announced it is looking for young Gen Z investors with the launch of its new Gen Z Syndicate on AngelList. 

According to Tech Crunch, this move opens funding to Gen Z community members, the app’s target audience. The company hopes to attract influencers, creatives, and young entrepreneurs to participate in the company’s $2 million ask alongside angel investors and other funding sources, giving them a stake in the app.

Snack is setting this up as a SAFE (small investment future equity), which means its offering is based on future growth, and the company is allocating a certain amount to create its own Gen Z syndicate.

Tinder Are you Sure?
Feature for sending Messages

Image: Tinder

Dating app Tinder unveiled a new feature as part of its effort to step up safety measures on its platform. “Are You Sure?” or the AYS? feature will deliver a pop-up to question a user before they send a potentially harmful message.

According to Mashable, AYS? utilizes AI in real time to detect inappropriate language, based on what users have reported to Tinder in the past. When a user types a message that is flagged or noticed by the AI, an AYS? prompt will automatically appear before the user can press “send.” According to Tinder, in early tests this feature reduced harmful language in messages by as much as 10 percent. The company also said that members who saw this pop-up were less likely to be reported for sending inappropriate messages, an indication that it could curb this behavior.

The goal with using an AI-driven feature is that it will improve and become more effective in countering harmful messages over time as it gathers more input.

Dating app Mingle2 announced that it will be rolling out in-app background checks, adding a new level of safety for its more than 39 million users.

The app has partnered with RealMe, a security tool that aggregates publicly available background information on over 275 million people in the U.S., presenting the findings in one report for easier reference. The new integrated feature provides Mingle2 users with insight into sex offender status, marital status, lawsuits, and criminal records of potential matches. 

According to the company’s press release, RealMe’s integration will allow Mingle2 to validate and verify user profiles to ensure safer interactions for people while using the app. Members will also be able to see a person’s Reputation Profile, where the background information is shared. 

Dating app Bumble exceeded analysts’ expectations when the company reported its first quarter earnings, with revenues and new subscriber numbers significantly higher than what was initially predicted.

Revenue for the dating company rose 43 percent from the same quarter in 2020 to $171 million, up from $79.1 million this time last year, beating expert estimates and even the company’s own predictions. According to Marketwatch, Bumble shared that the number of total paying users also rose significantly, up 30 percent to 2.8 million compared to 2.2 million from the first quarter of 2020. 

This past quarter was also good for Bumbles other dating brands like Badoo. Revenue for them increased year-over-year to $58.1 million.

Raya Bans Kate Haralson

Image: Twitter

Celebrities are making their way onto dating apps, but lately it isn’t going so well. Actors Ben Affleck and Matthew Perry were matched with young female users of Raya, who outed them on social media. 

According to The Los Angeles Times, Affleck was matched with podcaster and actress Nivine Jay, who thought his profile was a fake account and posted a TikTok saying so, but then added a video Affleck sent her over Instagram saying, “Nivine, why did you unmatch me? It’s me.” She poked fun at herself for not recognizing his account as real, but over 8 million people saw her TikTok and went after the actor, making fun of his private plea.

Jay told media outlets that she’d meant to make fun of herself for not believing Affleck could be on Raya, and that she didn’t think he should have been shamed for it. She told E! “l was making fun of myself for thinking he was a catfish and it was just supposed to be funny.”