General News

Dating app Match has launched a timely feature for these times. “Dates” allows users to share their social distancing practices and what they feel comfortable with from video chats to meeting in person.

The spread of the coronavirus has impacted societies across the globe and forced people to stay in their houses instead of gathering together, which has impacted dating. Many singles turned to dating apps for connection and to meet people virtually, and a number of apps launched video chat features to keep people connected. Match however is being proactive as we start to go out by offering tools to help people navigate meeting each other in person, since there are different levels of comfort people have right now in getting together.

Tinder’s popular original interactive series Swipe night will debut In India this month, almost a year after its initial U.S. debut.

India’s Tinder subscribers were supposed to see Swipe Night earlier this year in the spring, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed the premiere until now according to Gadgets 360. The premise of the series centers around the apocalypse, and Tinder didn’t think it was the right time for the subject. India is still dealing with 90,000 new cases of the virus each day, more than any other nation, and is one of the hot zones for virus spread, along with the U.S.

Dating app Match has debuted a new feature called Vibe Check in April, allowing users to connect instantly via in-app video chat.

The Vibe Check icon appears when two people like one another or start messaging each other and after each agrees to the terms and conditions of Vibe Check, according to Match. When they are in the messaging center, they can select the video icon on the top right corner of the screen, which gives them the option of starting a live video chat with that match right away. Their match can either accept the invitation and begin chatting, or they can decline if it’s not a good time. 

OkCupid Study on Politics and Dating

Image: OkCupid

If you’re looking to improve your dating options, you might want to register to vote, at least if you’re an OkCupid user. 

The famously provocative dating app conducted a study among its users and found that they tend to be more politically engaged, and therefore want their dates to be too, especially during an important election year in the U.S. A whopping seventy-six percent surveyed said that how their dates lean politically is important. OkCupid users consider voting a very important practice – and over 500,000 of its users said they wouldn’t consider dating someone who didn’t vote. 

Ninety-one percent of women and 89% of men surveyed said they are registered to vote. In fact, the study found that registered voters on OkCupid are 85% more likely to get a message than non-registered voters, which is one of the reasons OkCupid now offers a voting badge feature to attach to your profile for easy identification. Registered voters are also 63% more likely to get a match.

OkCupid Voter 2020 Badge

Image: OkCupid

Several popular dating apps including OkCupid, Tinder and Bumble are encouraging their users to vote through in-app promotions, according to The Hill.

As election season in the U.S. gets underway, many grassroots organizations are asking volunteers to make sure all eligible people, especially first-time voters, register to vote. Many non-profit groups are hoping to capture the attention of young people and get them excited about voting, and one of the strategies is to engage dating app users.

Popular feminist dating app Bumble is preparing for an initial public offering early next year, and is reportedly talking with banks about the plan.

The timing is still tenuous, but it was reported by Bloomberg News that the company’s valuation could be between $6 billion to $8 billion dollars. Bloomberg also noted that private equity firm Blackstone Group bought a majority stake in Bumble last year, when it was known as MagicLab. Blackstone valued the company then at $3 billion.

MacigLab was recently rebranded as Bumble by its new CEO and Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, who took over after Andrey Andreev resigned. Herd has made some changes including significant rebranding and folding in gay dating app Chappy to its signature Bumble dating app. Popular dating app Badoo, also founded by Andreev, is part of the Bumble suite of apps.