Partnerships

Dating app Hinge has partnered with popular meditation app Headspace to help daters calm their nerves before going on a date. Plenty of Fish also announced their partnership with Shine, a popular self-care app designed by women of color, to help users take care of themselves during this stressful time. Both dating services are owned by Match Group.

The Hinge and Headspace partnership will offer pre-date meditations that Hinge users can access directly at hinge.co/headspace at no cost. Each meditation lasts about six to seven minutes and is intended to address a range of potential pre-date emotions, from “self-doubt” to “negative self-talk” according to Mashable.

The page to access the meditation also includes a link to Headspace’s website, where the company lists resources for help with mental illness through a variety of hotlines, accessible for users around the world. There is also a helpful “how to meditate” guide if you are new to the practice.

Dating app Bumble has announced it will donate a “high six-figure commitment” to the National Domestic Violence Hotline’s new “love is respect” initiative, which aims to empower young people to end abusive relationships. According to news site Built in Austin, the partnership will continue for a three-year period, building on the $100,000 donation Bumble made to the organization back in March. 

When the pandemic progressed and stay at home orders went into effect, many women were placed at risk, because they were essentially trapped with their abusers. Domestic violence is a problem in the U.S., where guns are pervasive and far too often women are the victims in domestic assaults.

Bumble on TikTok

Bumble has turned to TikTok to help drive new subscribers, and has seen its installs increase five times between March and May when their campaign took place. The dating app has also seen its costs per subscriber decrease by 64% since running its direct response ads on TikTok’s platform, according to Mobile Marketer.

Bumble employed influencers to raise awareness of its app, creating content that would attract new users, specifically the younger demographic that gravitates to video-based social media like TikTok. The partnership was a success, with Bumble reporting revenue last month that was second only to dating app Tinder. 

Popular gay dating app Grindr has formed a relationship with UrSafe to offer a range of safety features to its members, in response to concerns raised by users around the world.

According to The Advocate, Grindr users will be able to share their locations with trusted friends and family members and send hands-free SOS alerts to law enforcement officials. The safety app allows users to set up safe words that correspond to different situations that users encounter, from general discomfort to an emergency, triggering the appropriate response almost immediately.

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. 

Bumble and Airbnb announced a partnership to provide a curated list of virtual dates to its dating app users featuring experiences from around the world.

Like most dating apps, Bumble has seen an increase in usage and messaging the last couple of months as people shelter at home in the midst of a global pandemic, and has sought to engage their users through its new video chat feature. The partnership with Airbnb is its latest effort to encourage connection while we shelter at home.

According to Travel + Leisure magazine, some of the date options include going to a speakeasy jazz club in Amsterdam or learning to cook Mexican street tacos with a professional chef, which have relatively low price points for a date ($12 and $9 per person, respectively).