Match Group is expanding its portfolio with the acquisition of Hyperconnect, a popular South Korean social media company. Match Group purchased the company for $1.7 billion in stock and cash, according to an announcement made by the companies.

Match Group CFO Gary Swindler said in an interview with CNBC that the move to acquire Hyperconnect positions Match Group for further growth, as social discovery apps are a new way for people to connect beyond dating apps. Virtual connections have been in increasing demand since the start of the pandemic, with people isolated in their homes and feeling disconnected. Social discovery apps have been hugely popular and are expected to grow at a faster rate than dating apps, particularly in Asian markets, according to Swindler. 

Dating app Snack is marketing itself to a new generation of daters and is building excitement with $3.5 million in funding, according to Tech Crunch.

The app is modeled after TikTok and Instagram, placing short form video as the centerpiece rather than profile pictures. Instead of swiping, each user has a feed they can scroll through to see what other users have posted. When you like a video, you are able to comment, and if two users like each other’s videos, then DMs open up for them to message over the app.

Match Group shared its fourth quarter earnings this week, offering investors some cautious optimism on what to expect in 2021. 

Last year the company saw record highs in new users and activity, but faced with economic recessions and a global pandemic, revenue growth remained uncertain. The company delivered slightly better than expected results for the last quarter of 2020, with revenue of $651.4 million for the quarter, up from $547.2 million. Analysts had been projecting $649 million according to Market Watch. Match Group also reported net income of $140.6 million, up from $94.7 million this time last year. 

This is a summary of the awards and their recipients for the 14^th annual Dating Sites Reviews Choice Awards. These awards honor the best dating apps and sites of 2020 in 11 different categories and where handed out starting this new year in January and continued through to February 14^th (Valentines Day). The dating services listed below are the ones worth checking out in 2021 for those interesting in participating in online dating to find a partner.

Our top award is the Single's Choice Award which is decided by our readers. To participate all you had to do was cast a vote in our poll which ran from October 1^st 2020 until December 31^st 2020. The poll asks you to recommend your choice for the top dating service (app and/or site) from a selection of the ten leading dating services on the internet which we have an editorial review for. The top three dating services who receives the most votes will be the recipient of a Gold, Silver, and Bronze award.

Single's Choice Award

Recipient Tinder

The recipient of the Gold Single's Choice Award for 2021 is Tinder. Tinder is a juggernaut that cannot be stopped. Adults that range in age from 20 to mid 30s are their most popular user. This is thanks in part to Tinder staying on top of the features most important to young tech-savvy adults. It's also helps that the people behind Tinder can react quickly to new trends and issues like the current pandemic. Very quickly after governments had told people to stay home did Tinder come out with a new virtual video chatting date feature.

For full award information see the article: 2021 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award

Recipient POF

The Silver Single's Choice Award recipient for 2021 is POF (or Plenty of Fish). While Tinder is for younger adults, POF is most popular with singles who are between 30 and 50. With a streamlined interface and to the point feature set, it's easy to see why it has remained the go to dating service for people with busy lives.

For full award information see the article: 2021 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award

Recipient eHarmony

The recipient of the Bronze Single's Choice Award for 2021 is eHarmony. It has been a few years since eHarmony has been one of the top 3 dating services with the last time being in 2018. Since then the service has changed ownership and has gone under a huge interface and backend update which has been warmly received by their users and I am sure partly responsible for the resurgence of it's popularity.

For full award information see the article: 2021 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award

Image: Bumble

Female-forward dating app Bumble said it will ban users who engage in body-shaming on the app.

The company said that it’s employing an algorithm that identifies and flags users engaging in derogatory language that is “fatphobic, racist, or homophobic,” according to The Guardian. Once these accounts are flagged, moderators will analyze the conversation to determine whether the user violated the new policy. If they are determined to have used inappropriate language, they will receive a warning, and if they engaged repeatedly in such language or hateful rhetoric, they will be banned.

The numbers of people in India turning to online dating has soared since the start of the pandemic. As they have been forced to stay at home and limit their interactions, many are trying dating apps for the first time to connect and meet new people. 

Dating app QuackQuack has been one of the fastest-growing dating apps in India, though it competes with giants like Hinge, Tinder and Bumble who are pouring resources into marketing efforts in the country. Still, QuackQuack saw a 300 percent increase in sign-ups that took their user base to 11 million in 2020, mostly due to people in smaller cities and towns eager to try the service. 

In fact, over seventy percent of new sign ups on QuackQuack in 2020 were from smaller cities and towns, a change from previous years. Over the past year, they added 3.4 million new users according to India New England News.