Dating Services

The Meet Group, parent to an ecosystem of social networking and dating apps focused on livestreaming, has released financial results for the second quarter of 2019. The Meet Group’s portfolio of brands includes MeetMe, LOVOO, Skout, Tagged, and Growlr.

For Q2 2019, the Meet Group reported revenue of $52 million, an increase of $9.2 million (or 22%) from $42.8 million in the second quarter of 2018. GAAP net income for the period was $2.2 million ($0.03 per diluted share) compared to a GAAP net loss of $0.2 million ($0.00 per diluted share) in the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2019 was $9.8 million, compared to $7.6 million in the second quarter of 2018. Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of 2019 was $8.8 million ($0.11 per diluted share) compared to $6.4 million ($0.08 per diluted share) in the second quarter of 2018. The Meet Group ended the quarter with $26.1 million in cash and cash equivalents.

“Strong execution in video continued to drive our business growth,” said Geoff Cook, Chief Executive Officer of The Meet Group. “We grew revenue 22% from the prior year quarter to a new record high fueled by video revenue growth of 150% over the same period. We increased adjusted EBITDA by 29% and we generated $10.2 million in free cash flow – the highest quarterly free cash flow in our history.”

Image: Bumble

Dating app Bumble is going all-in on its mission to empower women. The latest move is launching a new ad campaign to help combat loneliness, featuring activist and actress Jameela Jamil.

The #askingforafriend campaign launches August 4th in honor of International Friendship Day, and will focus on encouraging Bumble users to build friendships to counter the growing problem of loneliness around the world. According to studies, social media is part of the problem, with one in five people saying browsing through their feeds makes them feel lonely.

Hily Dating App

Hily is a relatively new dating app that is just 2 years old. Hily stands for "Hey, I Like You" and has gathered over 5 million members since launch and is now a top 10 revenue generating dating app in the app stores (iOS and Android). When Hily launched they touted their artificial intelligence (AI) which is designed to help stop scammers and fake profiles being created. Hily also has AI which is used for matching members together. The more you use their app the better the matching will be as Hily will learn what type of profiles you like based on who you view and like. Working on our review we found Hily is geared more to younger adults and has a similar swipe mechanics of liking or passing on matches as other competing dating apps.

Hily is one of the few dating apps doing well that is not owned by a larger online dating company that has multiple brands. Alex Pasykov, and Yan Pronin are the founders and Hily's headquarters is in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For complete details on this dating service including a list of features, pros, and cons of the service, you can read our new Hily review.

App companies are growing frustrated with splitting their increasing revenues with Google Play and the Apple Store, as they continue to pay 30 percent to the tech giants on every transaction made through their app stores. But now, Tinder is offering its customers a direct payment method, a way to bypass Google Play altogether.

The popular dating app is allowing its Android users to enter their credit card information directly into the app rather than using Google Play to buy premium subscriptions like Tinder Gold and Tinder Plus. Once you’ve entered the information, the app automatically defaults to this payment system for all future in-app purchases and renewal fees as well.

According to The Verge, Tinder isn’t the first company to side-step app stores. Epic Games, a popular video game developer, last year released its hit game Fortnite via its own downloadable launcher to avoid giving Google 30 percent of its revenues. Popular music service Spotify has filed an anti-trust complaint against Apple with the European Union for alleged anti-competitive tactics. Apple is now being investigated by the Union for disadvantaging other companies in favor of its own offerings, specifically Apple Music, which competes directly with Spotify. Netflix is also looking at options to avoid the Apple and Google Play stores, especially with Apple now entering the content business.

Image: Tinder

Tinder has announced a new safety feature for those in the LGBTQ community who are traveling abroad.

The new “Traveler Alert” feature allows users to hide their profiles on the app when they feel unsafe traveling in countries and regions that criminalize same-sex acts, according to website Lifehacker. International travelers are subject to the laws of other countries, so it puts LGBTQ folks especially at risk. There are currently 69 countries that persecute same-sex acts, and nine of these allow the death penalty to be imposed, including Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Tinder’s website stated: “It’s important to exercise extra caution if you choose to connect with new people in these countries - as some law enforcement have been known to use dating apps as tools for potential entrapment. Some countries have also recently introduced laws that criminalize communications between individuals on same-sex dating applications or websites and even aggravate penalties if that communication leads to sexual encounters.”

Grindr is turning up the heat for summer with new features and an upgraded premium membership. The new subscription tier, dubbed Grindr Unlimited, will cost users $49.99 per month or $300 up front for a full-year membership.

Grindr Unlimited is being billed as “the most convenient and discreet Grindr experience ever.” In a statement, a spokesperson for Grindr said: “When it comes to your Grinding, every minute counts, and you can’t afford to waste time – or have your clients see you in the grid during dessert.”

Grindr Unlimited comes with all the benefits of Grindr Xtra, the platform’s original premium membership, plus five exclusive perks: