Events

Facebook has been forced to delay the launch of its signature dating service in Europe after failing to provide the European Union data regulator with a required assessment of privacy risks to users. 

According to CNet, The Irish Data Protection Commission raised concerns about Facebook’s privacy practices, and whether the company complied with the European Union’s data protection rules, which are more stringent than those in the U.S. 

Under these new rules, companies considered to be “high risk” in the handling of personal information of users are required to conduct a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) prior to being approved. This includes a written report addressing and outlining potential privacy risks, which the agency said Facebook did not provide, even after the agency sent regulators to Facebook’s Dublin office to gather the required documentation, according to Tech Crunch. 

We’ve all seen a rom-com meet-cute. A soon-to-be couple accidentally touches hands while reaching for the same item at a grocery store. Or ends up covered in coffee when one person literally runs into the other on their walk into work. Or gets into an argument during a minor case of road rage. The best meet-cutes in movies happen under dubious circumstances, often at the most awkward or embarrassing moments of the characters lives.

In real life, most of us would prefer to meet our future partners under better conditions, and thanks to online dating, these love-at-first-site meetings are becoming a thing of the past. According to an article published by Stanford University in 2019, matchmaking is now done primarily by algorithms. Today’s heterosexual singles are more likely to meet a romantic partner online than through personal connections. But is that actually what we want?

This is a continuation of our articles about Plenty of Fishes popular single events which are hosted by members. We initially looked at the POF Single Events App (which has since been removed) and the closure of the POF Forums where these events first was support.

These events first got started by users posting in the POF forum many years ago. Plenty of Fish took notice and added event specific categories to the forums and eventually added event features that allowed hosts to create an event and have members join those events. By 2017 POF wanted to move away from the forum (as it was becoming extremely difficult to moderate) and released a separate app that allowed members to find and host events. While the app initially worked well it was not supported much by the development team and was dropped from the app store within 2 years. It also didn't help that the forum continued to support the original POF events which we believe was separate from the POF Single Events App. This meant users looking for single events never really migrated from using the forums to the new app. Also, having 2 separate apps, 1 for dating and 1 for single events made it harder for new POF users to even know that single events hosted by POF members was even a thing.

Host of Ghost Stories: Sydnee Washington

Image: Hinge

Dating app Hinge launched a new podcast in time for Halloween - appropriately called “Ghost Stories.” The podcast aims to try to get to the bottom of why people ghost, featuring real-life participants.

Ghosting happens when the person you’ve been messaging or dating suddenly disappears, not responding to texts or calls, and leaves you wondering what happened. For daters, this is a frustrating experience that begs the question: “did I do something wrong?”

The podcast aims to get to the bottom of why people ghost and offer ways to avoid the experience. Each episode also features a “ghostee” who will be able to confront the person who ghosted them, and therefore get an opportunity for answers.

In time for scary movie season, dating app Tinder has released the first official trailer for its original interactive series ‘Swipe Night.’ Tinder will release a new episode every Sunday beginning October 6^th, with its fourth and final episode dropping October 27^th.

The series will be accessed only over the Tinder app for now, and users will not only get to watch the series but will also play an active role as they make choices to see where the story leads. Swipe Night is about the apocalypse, with the central question being: how would you spend your last few hours on earth, and who would you spend them with?

Popular beauty brand Urban Decay has partnered with dating app Bumble in its latest marketing campaign launch to promote its new line of Naked Honey makeup products.

Urban Decay will give away 1,000 of its new eye makeup palettes over Bumble’s app. The campaign will target users across all three of Bumble’s services – BumbleDate, BumbleBFF and BumbleBiz - to reach the app’s 63 million users. Bumble will also cross-promote the campaign on Instagram.

Urban Decay’s partnership with a female-forward dating app is an extension of its existing Instagram campaign, which featured megastar singer and body-positive advocate Lizzo wearing the new makeup line.