Technology

Researchers from the University of Texas in Dallas, Stanford and Columbia Universities have developed a new dating app algorithm that they say can improve match rates up to 45 percent.

Their study was published in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management by authors Dr. Ignacio Rios from the Naveen Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas, along with Dr. Daniela Saban of Stanford University and Dr. Fanyin Zheng of Columbia University.

“One of the biggest issues is how to decide which profiles to show to each user in order to ensure that they will get meaningful matches,” Rios told the University of Texas Dallas news. “In many dating apps, we see a lot of frustrated users because they struggle to find a match that leads to a longer-term relationship. This is partly because of inefficiencies in how these apps work.”

Since Tinder was banned in Pakistan, young singles are flocking to private Facebook groups to meet others to date, even though Facebook Dating is not available in the country.

One of the most popular Facebook groups is Two Rings, a volunteer-run matchmaking group that does not charge its users any fees. It currently has about 228,000 members, and at least 335 couples have found spouses through the group, according to news source Rest of World.

"Instead of waiting on their parents or family to find somebody, they are actually now doing it all on their own," a cofounder of a Facebook dating group for graduates of some of Pakistan’s premier business schools told Business Insider.

Google has reached an agreement with app developers who sued over unfair Play Store practices, including charging a 30 percent commission on all in-app purchases. Part of the settlement requires Google to pay developers $90 million in lost revenue over the years, including Match Group.

According to Tech Crunch, in addition to the $90 million payout, Google will be revising its Developer Distribution Agreement to allow developers to contact users outside of the app, and to be more transparent with annual reports detailing app removals and account terminations, for example. In addition, Google will add a new “Indie Apps Corner” to its Play Store to highlight apps made by smaller startups and independent developers, who often get overlooked for the big players.

The settlement doesn’t resolve a larger problem of allowing developers to use third party payment systems and cutting Google Play and Apple Stores out of these commissions, which currently is not allowed in either store. Match Group and others have sued both Apple and Google for the right to have their own in-app payment system without forcing users to go through the stores, and for having to pay a percentage of every purchase to the tech giants.

Image: Bumble

Dating app Bumble is rekindling its “Stand for Safety” initiative in India to help combat online abuse.

According to Business Today India, the company released a guidebook created in partnership with the Centre for Social Research (CSR), a non-profit, and Nyaaya, an open-access digital resource center that educates people about their rights. The guide will “drive awareness around digital safety and support the community in recognizing and combating online abuse, bullying, and discrimination.”

Bumble decided to relaunch the initiative after conducting a survey across India on the scope and effects of online harassment. The company found that 50 percent of respondents had seen hateful online content, and around 40 percent have faced hate speech and bullying in regard to their particular community, or to their physical appearance.

Hinge announced that it has launched a new feature called “Dating Intentions” to encourage users to be more honest and upfront about what kind of relationship they are looking for.

According to Tech Crunch, the feature allows users to select a dating goal from a drop-down menu, which will be displayed in their profile. Some options include “life partner,” “long-term,” “open to short-term,” “short term, open to long-term,” “short term,” and “figuring out my dating goals.”

Online daters have grown increasingly frustrated with forming relationships that go nowhere, or that are layered in ambiguity. Some find it difficult to ask their dates what they are looking for in a relationship in the early stages, which leads to a lot of misunderstanding and heartache down the line, after they’ve invested emotionally in the relationship. Hinge hopes the new feature will help alleviate that, or at least help spark a conversation before the first date so both parties know what to expect.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is suing Match Group for hindering its investigation into OkCupid. The dating app, owned by Match, shared a user’s photo with facial recognition company Clarifai.

According to Bloomberg and BiometricUpdate.com, the FTC found that Clarifai was using the image without the user’s consent or knowledge, violating Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The government agency also said that it filed the lawsuit because its investigation was being “stonewalled by Match Group.” OkCupid originally shared the image with the AI company back in 2014.

OkCupid user Jordan Stein, whose image was shared without her knowledge or consent, brought a lawsuit against Clarifai as a result, but in March of last year, a judge ruled that Clarifai could not be sued for violating Illinois’ law because it was out of its jurisdiction.