Popular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble and Grindr are building and testing out virtual wingmen and other AI-driven tools on their platforms to help generate icebreakers and offer instant feedback, according to a new feature in The Financial Times.

Grindr chief product officer AJ Balance told the Financial Times that the gay dating app’s chatbot assistant called Grindr Wingman would help users with their dating “pain points,” like helping them initiate flirty conversation via curated prompts based on user profiles and chat histories.

“It’s that friend in the bar who’s helping you to ask someone out — but in the virtual context,” Balance told FT, saying that using AI in this way could help take the hard work out of online dating.

Image: Tinder

Tinder has released new features and added perks in time for college students headed back to campus. The move signals the company’s continued priority to market to younger Gen Z singles.

One interesting perk is that Tinder will offer college students a 50% discount for any of its premium services of Plus, Gold, and Platinum, according to Tech Crunch. This comes after the dating app company has struggled to retain paying users, reporting a loss of 400,000 paying users in the last quarter.

Tinder also announced a series of updates to Tinder U, its in-app feature for college students to find others on their campuses to connect with. One new feature for Tinder U includes new badges to add to their profiles, such as graduation year, major, clubs they are a part of, and their fraternity/ sorority life.

Dating app Grindr has issued a warning to its users who live in or are traveling to Brussels after a recent attack.

Grindr has installed a push notification for users in the area that reads: "Be safe! Violent and homophobic setups have been reported in Brussels," according to Brussels Times.

The gay dating app warned users of homophobic violence in the country after local police confirmed they are investigating whether someone used a fake profile to target and kill a family in a recent home invasion in Ixelles, Brussels. A fifty-seven year-old man was shot dead, and his wife and twenty-two year-old son suffered gunshot wounds after their home was invaded.

The United States military has allegedly run an ad campaign on dating app Tinder in Lebanon warning the app users that it is “fully prepared” to “protect its partners” according to The New York Post.

The news comes as tensions are rising in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war rages on. One journalist Seamus Malekafzali posted on X that he was on the dating app while in Lebanon, but instead of being presented with potential matches to swipe through, he saw an ad from CENTCOM (US Central Command).

The ad he saw read that CENTCOM is: “fully prepared and ready with F-16 Fighting Falcons and A-10 Tudor Bolt supersonic fighters currently in the region,” written in Arabic, along with a photo of an A-10 warplane, according to The New York Post.

A new study from Japan found that one in four married couples under the age of 40 met through a dating app, showing a cultural shift away from friends and family networks.

Japan’s children and families agency conducted a nationwide survey in July of this year, targeting 20,000 people (18,000 married and 2,000 unmarried) between the ages of 15 and 39, according to Japan Times. Researchers found that 25.1 percent of married respondents met their partner through a dating app, compared to 20.5 percent who met them through work, or 9.9 percent who met through school.

The study also found that 57 percent of married respondents said they had used a dating app (even if they didn’t meet their partners with one), compared to only 27 percent of unmarried respondents, according to Japan Times.

Image: Bumble

Bumble has announced it is partnering with the New York Liberty women’s basketball team for the remainder of the season, building on its multi-year deal with the WNBA.

The partnership is intended to “create local opportunities for Bumble users and Liberty fans to connect over a shared love of women’s basketball,” according to Liberty’s website.  New York Liberty became the first team to get a spot in the WNBA Playoffs, and Bumble is serving as sponsor of home games during the first month of games. The dating app company will be hosting a singles event in the arena for fans and Bumble users.

Bumble is also featuring Liberty players in a new social media campaign, where Bumble users can get dating advice from Liberty players (as well as the team’s mascot).