Dating app Bumble set the terms to raise as much as $1 billion for its initial public offering. The company is expected to make its stock market debut later this month.

According to Bloomberg, Bumble plans to sell a total of 34.5 million shares for $28 to $30 per share to reach its goal. This information was disclosed earlier this week in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If shares go for $30, Bumble would be valued at over $6 billion including debt after the listing, according to Bloomberg. This is based on the outstanding Class A shares in its listing document.

OkCupid has partnered with vegetarian food brand Sweet Earth to help vegetarians and vegans find love ahead of Valentine’s Day.

The companies will host a virtual event along with Outer Banks actor Chase Stokes, a “flexitarian” who is dating co-star and actress Madelyn Cline, who is vegan, about how to navigate dating when you and your match follow different diets. The Veggie Lovers Virtual Dating Event will take place online on Wednesday February 10th.

OkCupid’s Dating Expert Damona Hoffman will lead the Q&A session along with Stokes to discuss the challenges daters feel when it comes to navigating dietary preferences. Participants can also enter for a chance to win a spot in a private and exclusive speed dating event, according to Veg Times.

Recipient
Plenty of Fish (POF)

The Editor's Top Pick - Over All award recipient for 2021 is Plenty of Fish. This dating service also won our best free dating service award as well. It should be no surprise that POF is a winner of both awards thank to their large member base which makes it easy to find potential partners. In fact, compared to other dating services, you are 2.7 times more likely to have a conversation with another member in the first 24 hours of joining. That is because thanks to free messaging for all members, in one single day more than 17 million conversations happen on POF.

The Norwegian Data Protection Authority has notified dating app Grindr that it could be fined as much as $11.7 million U.S. dollars for sharing the personal data of its users to third parties without their consent. The company has until February 15th to respond to the notice, at which time the Authority will make its final decision.

According to the report from Associated Press, Grindr’s data sharing practice was in violation of European Union privacy rules (GDPR), which requires app companies to let users know how their personal information is being shared as well as obtaining their consent. The Norwegian Consumer Council alleged that Grindr was sharing user information with third party companies so that they would be able to send more targeted ads to users of the app. However, Grindr’s customers weren’t given a thorough explanation of how their data was being used or asked if they consented to sharing it.

A new investment scam targeting dating app users has been detected by Interpol, according to ZDNet.

The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) issued a “purple notice” to 194 member countries, describing a new money-making scheme on dating apps, according to ZDNet. Interpol stated that the scam “takes advantage of people’s vulnerabilities as they look for potential matches, and lures them into sophisticated fraud scheme.”

The scammers have set up fake profiles in apps like Tinder, Bumble, and eHarmony, and match with users who don’t know they are scammers. The scammers then message their targets pretending to be interested in them romantically in order to build trust, occasionally giving them investment “tips” to turn the conversation towards money.

Recipient
Zoosk

The Editor's Top Pick - Paid award recipient for 2021 is Zoosk. With the ongoing pandemic this year and the increased use of online dating services, questions visitors have sent us has solidified our thinking on what makes a good paid dating app. When we reviewed our list of apps to compare and pick our choice, Zoosk came out on top.

With Zoosk's recent acquisition by Spark Networks late in 2019 they have made strides to improve an already good dating service, and have succeeded.