Technology

A new study by eHarmony found that a whopping 90 percent of singles in the U.K. believe they are addicted to dating apps, with as many as 70 percent feeling depressed or anxious after using them.

According to the researchers, almost half (48 percent) said they check their apps as the last thing before going to bed, and roughly 39 percent said they check their dating apps first thing when they wake up. Nearly a third said they check them while at work (with 31 percent of men admitting to this compared to 25 percent of women), and 12 percent admitted to checking their dating apps while on a date.

Researchers also found that 55 percent of U.K. singles believe they spend too much time on dating apps, with an average of 55 minutes per person per day. eHarmony deduced that the average person is having about 6 conversations at any given time, and 8 percent might have as many as 15 conversations at once.

OkCupid is testing ChatGPT questions to provide users of its app, harnessing the popular AI technology for itself.

ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, with millions of people testing its writing skills, so naturally daters are using it to chat with their matches over dating apps. OkCupid has often analyzed user behavior and preferences to choose new features to add, so now the dating app is sharing that it’s been sending out questions formulated not by people, but by the popular AI ChatBot.

According to Tech Crunch, the six questions generated by ChatGPT have already been answered more than 135,000 times, mostly by Gen Z users. In fact, 31 percent of Gen Z users on OkCupid said they don’t think that using AI to create a profile or message someone on a dating app is a violation of trust, according to Mashable.

The questions introduced by ChatGPT include:

Representatives from dating app companies alongside ministers, victim-survivors, government officials and technology companies attended a roundtable in Sydney to discuss safety measures needed for dating apps. They discussed adding background checks and ID verification requirements, as well as increasing transparency and sharing of data between dating app companies.

According to The Guardian, Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said that “there’s no one law that’s going to fix this issue,” placing the burden of responsibility on dating app companies.

The talks were led by federal communications minister, Michelle Rowland and included representatives for popular dating apps such as Bumble and Tinder. She noted the talks were an “important first step,” according to The Guardian. The roundtable was convened after a report from the Australian Institute of Criminology found that three quarters of survey respondents had been subjected to sexual violence on dating apps in the last five years.

Dating app Hinge has introduced a $60 per month subscription plan for “highly motivated daters,” offering the app’s most premium service for a hefty price tag.

The new plan will offer subscribers more exposure and better recommendations for potential matches, according to Bloomberg who broke the story. For example, top-tier subscriber “likes” will be seen before others’ likes, giving them quicker access to people who interest them.

The new tier pricing almost doubles the cost of the existing premium service of $35 per month, but is still well below matchmaking rates, which run thousands of dollars per month. The new plan was mentioned in an earnings call in November, and while the company confirms it will be launching, it has not been officially announced.

Bumble has partnered with Kele Confectionery to offer its users in Singapore the chance to obtain a complimentary bin of treats in celebration of Chinese New Year. In addition, the dating app launched a new video intended to help break down barriers for single women during the holiday, when added pressures are put on them.

Sending a “love letter snack” to the object of your affection during Chinese New Year is an age-old practice in Singapore, and Bumble is hopping on the tradition to spread the love, and to get people to download the app. Since Bumble’s motto is “women make the first move,” the company has been focusing its efforts to appeal to young single women in more conservative cultures in the APAC region, like Singapore.

According to website The Drum, Lucille McCart, APAC communications director of Bumble, said about the promotion: “Our findings in Singapore indicate that cuffing season occurs around Chinese New Year to Valentine’s Day, owing to social pressures around being coupled up during this period. Bumble Love Letters is our contemporary spin on this age-old practice. We want to revive the tradition of initiating a date with treats but also encourage singles to show love to the ultimate date – themselves.”

Major Australian news outlet ABC is providing tips for dating app users to prevent scammers from obtaining their personal information.

A report from the Australian Competition Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch came out that dating app users lost $38 million to romance scammers on dating apps across the country in 2022 alone, alerting officials to a growing problem. Many dating app users have no idea how easy it is to gather information about a person from what they post in their profiles, so ABC obtained tips from security experts to help raise awareness. 

According to associate professor at Central Queensland University’s College of Information and Communication Technology Ritesh Chugh, scammers don’t need access to a lot of information. If they have a couple of pieces, such as your full name or birthdate, that could be enough for them to do some damage. And even if you aren’t posting this information to your profile, there are ways they can obtain it.