Types (Niche)

Popular gay dating app Grindr has issued a warning to its users in Egypt after reports surfaced that police were posing as potential matches to target and arrest LGBTQ+ people.

While homosexuality is not illegal in Egypt per se, according to Associated Press, authorities frequently prosecute the LGBTQ+ community, and specifically gay men, on the grounds of “morality laws” such as “debauchery” and “violating public decency.”

The warning comes as human rights groups, media and activists have noticed authorities cracking down on the LGBTQ+ community in Egypt via digital platforms such as gay dating apps. According to The Hill, the U.S. State Department acknowledged this in a report they issued in 2021 citing “credible accounts of violence ‘targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons and use of the law to arrest and prosecute arbitrarily such persons.’”

A group of conservative Catholics based in Colorado spent millions to buy tracking data from dating apps to identify gay priests, and then shared the information with regional Bishops.

The Washington Post, which broke the story, noted that the purchasing and use of the data is legal, and is “emblematic of a new surveillance frontier in which private individuals can potentially track other Americans’ locations and activities using commercially available information.”

The Post heard audio recordings of executive members discussing the organization’s mission and this particular project. Jayd Henricks, the group’s president, did not respond to questions from the Post, but instead posted an article on the website First Things saying he was proud to be part of the group, and that the purpose was to “help the Church be holy…” He also wrote that the group has conducted other research, but did not provide details.

Dating app Grindr closes out 2022 on a high note, reporting a 34 percent increase in year-over-year earnings to $195 million, showing a positive outlook for the coming year to investors since the app went public.

According to Fast Company, monthly average users rose to about 12 million, up from 11 million at the same time last year. Paying users also grew from 703,000 to 873,000 over the last year.

This was the company’s first earnings report as a public company, and with the impressive numbers, shares more than doubled throughout the trading day, according to Fast Company. The article was quick to point out that the dating app industry in general is still volatile despite earnings, as shown by Bumble’s fluctuating share price and secondary stock offering, as well as the recent Match Group dip. Since Grindr’s report came out, the company’s stock has gone down.

Match Group, parent company of popular dating app Tinder, is in talks to purchase a strategic stake in Shaadi, an India-based online matchmaking service.

The Economic Times first reported that the two companies were in talks, and that Match Group was looking to buy out Shaadi’s institutional stakeholders, but few details have emerged.

According to Ink 42, this latest development comes after Match Group has refocused its efforts and brought on a new executive team to run Tinder, which last year saw its first quarter of revenue decline since the company went public. Match Group has set its sights on the fast-growing Asian market, especially India and its large under-30 market.

Actor Rebel Wilson has announced the launch of her new dating app Fluid, designed to help daters find relationships that are about “love with no labels.”

The dating app allows users to set up their profiles without having to identify the gender or sexual preference of their potential partners, or to define themselves by a limited number of categories. According to Wilson, the app’s algorithm factors in the profiles you are spending more time on and serves up other profiles based on those, rather than filtering out potential matches according to sexual and gender preferences, allowing singles more opportunities to explore different types of relationships.

“This is the first dating app where you don’t have to actually define yourself or tick a box to say ‘I’m straight, I’m gay, I’m bisexual,’ and you don’t have to describe what you are looking for,” the Pitch Perfect star told People Magazine.

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.