Dating Services

Coronavirus is affecting everyone around the world, and dating apps are pivoting to address the situation as it impacts their users.

Tinder has already put ads on its app that link to the CDC website with helpful tips on hand washing and social distancing. Grinder has also issued warnings to its users about practicing safe hygiene. 

OkCupid has seen an increase in use and has added some conversational prompts related to coronavirus, since that’s what daters want to talk about the most, especially in areas like New York where the virus has hit hard.

As the coronavirus becomes pandemic, OkCupid users are choosing to search for love and keep on dating.

According to Yahoo Finance, a whopping 92 percent of American OkCupid users said they are willing to date during the coronavirus outbreak. Overall, 88 percent of users across the globe are willing to date at this time. OkCupid also noticed a 7 percent increase of conversations between users in the first week of March, according to an internal questionnaire the company sent to its users. 

It’s important to note, as Yahoo Finance pointed out, that it wasn’t clear in the questionnaire if “going on dates” meant in-person or virtually over an app, through Facetime, Skype, Zoom, or other web-based means. That could be an important distinction. Dating.com surveyed singles during the pandemic and found that as many as 82 percent were turning to dating apps to meet people and go on virtual (online) dates.

Image: hinge

Dating app Hinge wanted to get people meeting IRL back at the beginning of March. This promotional effort offered $100 to users who take a break from the app for one day to go on a date.

For those who wanted to cash in, Hinge required users to go on a date on Friday March 6th and discontinue using Hinge for the next 24 hours. The date the company chose coincided with the National Day of Unplugging.

According to Yahoo! Fianance, users were given a simple set of instructions to follow: log in to the app to set up a date for March 6th. At 4:00pm EST on that day, users were instructed to open their apps and hit “pause your account” before closing the app. Hinge asked that they note the time, because the app will need to be paused for a full 24 hours in order for the user to qualify.

Dating app Tinder raised the alarm for users of its popular dating app as reports of coronavirus spread across the U.S., with confirmed cases in most states.

Tinder has created ads that appear as users swipe through its app, providing links to the World Health Organization’s website with recommendations for preventing the spread of the virus, according to The Hill.

The ad states: "Your wellbeing is our #1 priority…Tinder is a great place to meet new people. While we want you to continue to have fun, protecting yourself from the coronavirus is more important.”

Grindr is set to sell for $608.5 million. The sale comes after the US government expressed national security concerns regarding Beijing Kunlun Tech’s ownership of the gay dating app. San Vicente Acquisition Partners — a group of entrepreneurs and investors in the technology, media and telecommunications industries — will acquire a 98.5 percent stake in Grindr in the deal. 

Kunlun is one of China’s largest mobile gaming companies. The company took a majority stake in Grindr in 2016 for $93 million. In 2018, Kunlun purchased the remaining percentage of the popular dating platform for $152 million. The agreement was met with apprehension on the part of journalists, China experts and former intelligence officials, who suggested that it put the Chinese government in a position to demand sensitive data about the app’s users, including those who are not Chinese citizens.

Dating app Plenty of Fish (or POF for short) is rolling out a new feature in the coming weeks to users that allows them to livestream video chat with potential matches.

The free livestreaming feature called LIVE! Is POF’s way of encouraging its users to “date from a distance” according to their press release. The company partnered with The Meet Group, Inc., a livestream technology service, to create the feature. 

It’s simple to use. There’s a “LIVE!” icon within the POF app that members can tap which takes you to a home page where you can see the most popular livestreams. You can tune in to a stream or create your own. It’s a way to “stay connected and create a sense of community from the convenience of home,” according to the company’s release.