Mobile

The Meet Group, parent company of dating apps like MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, GROWLr and LOVOO, has partnered with personal safety app UrSafe to offer users an array of new security options when they date. 

Through the “Date Night” feature on these dating apps, users will be prompted to opt in for a free 60-day premium subscription to UrSafe’s features, including Follow Me, Check In, Hands-Free SOS, and Fake Call. According to URSafe's press release, Follow Me and Check In allow the user to share locations with a trusted friend or family member while on the date, and the Hands-Free option lets users set personal trigger words that activate different responses within the app immediately, even if the user isn’t holding or touching their phone. Depending on the level of alert, UrSafe will connect the user to friends and family, or the authorities if needed. Fake Call can be activated as well, in case the user needs an “out” during the date. 

The app industry saw revenue spike to $50.1 billion for the first two quarters of 2020, in part due to people isolating at home to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Dating app Tinder topped the list of non-game app revenue earners.

This marks a 23.4% increase from the first half of 2019 according to Tech Crunch, compared with a 20% increase for the same time period between 2018 and 2019. The data seems to also point to a growing new user base. First time app installs were up 26.1% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same time period in 2019, and reached a total of 71.5 billion downloads.

Topping the non-game app list was dating app Tinder, followed by YouTube, and popular social apps TikTok and Tencent. Netflix was the fifth-highest earner.

Beijing-based social app Momo is the latest company to see its revenue fall for the first quarter of 2020 due to the economic repercussions of a global pandemic. Interestingly, while other social networks and dating apps have seen an increase in users over the same period, Momo reported a decline there, too.

According to PanDaily, Momo’s net revenues decreased by 3.5% year over year to $3.59 billion Chinese yuan. The bulk of the revenue  - 64.9% - came from live-streaming services on Momo and its popular dating app Tantan. Tantan on the other hand reported an increase in revenue in the first quarter of 29.3 percent from Q1 of 2019. Tantan contributed 10 percent of Momo’s overall revenue for Q1 of 2020.

People around the world continue social distancing as COVID-19 spreads, and as a result, dating apps are seeing a surge of activity among users.

A new study by Dating.com found that there has been an 82% increase in dating app usage since the beginning of March, showing how much people have come to rely on dating apps for connection and meeting people virtually.

The study also looked at where that usage spiked over the month of March when more people than ever began to isolate to stop the spread of the virus, to see how it correlated with positive cases of COVID-19 around the world. The United States takes the lead as the most active country for online dating, notably as the country’s positive cases have significantly increased and it has become the global hot spot of the pandemic.

We might be social distancing, but rest assured - singles are looking to dating apps to keep their love lives going during the coronavirus pandemic. 

A recent survey conducted by Dating.com found that there was a spike in dating app activity among users in countries around the world as the coronavirus becomes widespread. As many as 82 percent of singles are turning online as they self-quarantine in their homes.

From those surveyed, more than 50 percent of daters said that they would be interested in conducting online dates to get to know people they’ve met online to avoid spreading or catching the virus. Thirty percent of those surveyed said that they are going to just stick with messaging and chatting with matches using their dating apps until they are able to meet up in person. Notably, only 5 percent of singles reported that they are going to stop dating altogether until the virus passes.

For the past several months, protests have been breaking out on a regular basis in Hong Kong, thanks to young student activists who want to maintain the city’s democratic leanings over the more oppressive mainland Chinese government’s rule. But along with the students who are moved to action, dating culture in Hong Kong is also changing as a result of the protests.

Many daters use popular dating apps like Momo, Tantan or Tinder to connect with each other, and aren’t afraid to list their political feelings in their profiles or when they message other daters. (Adding a yellow ribbon to your profile means you sympathize with protestors while a blue ribbon means you support the police and the mainland Chinese establishment.) Some are even posting photos of themselves at protests as a way to attract potential dates with the same political leanings.