Tinder

Tinder has added new profile stickers to celebrate Pride month, and as young LGBTQIA+ daters become the fastest-growing user base on its platform.

Young users can now add “My First Pride” as a sticker to help them connect with others attending Pride-related events, according to The Advocate. “Came Out Online” is another sticker specifically honoring younger Tinder users who first came out on a dating app or social media platform.

In fact, Tinder’s new Future of Dating Report found that 54 percent of LGBTQIA+ singles between the ages of 18 and 25 come out on dating apps first, and to friends and family later. The study also found that young singles say their sexual identity and gender identity have become more fluid over the past three years.

According to a new study from Tinder, Gen Z singles say that they are changing a lot of the norms surrounding dating and relationships that were popular with previous generations.

The Future of Dating Report found that 75 percent of Gen Z respondents feel that they are challenging these norms that were “passed down to them,” according to Mashable. Tinder also noted that Gen Z, specifically users aged 18 to 25, make up more than half of its user base.

For one, Gen Z daters choose to respond quickly to messages as opposed to previous generations who would delay for fear of looking too eager. Instead of waiting for “the perfect time” to respond, 77 percent of Tinder users now respond to a match within 30 minutes, and 40 percent respond within five minutes, according to Relevant Magazine.

Dating app Tinder announced it will be removing social media handles from user profiles and has revised community guidelines to prevent users from advertising and self-promoting. It will also request that users not share private chats in public settings.

The dating app company said in a press release: “Tinder is not a place to promote businesses to try making money. Members shouldn’t advertise, promote, or share social handles or links to gain followers, sell things, fundraise, or campaign.”

Self-promotion has become an issue on its platform according to Engadget. To curb this kind of behavior, the company said it will be removing social handles from public profiles and prohibit the sharing of other promotional information such as links to online stores or websites.

Shares of Match Group stock rose following the company’s second quarter forecasts, despite the decline in earnings for Q1.

Match Group reported EPS (earnings per share) of 42 cents, beating the consensus of 41 cents, per Reuters. It’s also a 5 percent increase from the same period last year. Revenue however was $787.12 million for the quarter, below the expected $793.87 million, and a 2 percent decline from the same time last year according to Yahoo! Finance.

Paying app users decreased by 1.1 percent to 15.87 million, according to Yahoo!, but revenue per payer actually increased to $16.26, up from $16 in the last quarter, a hopeful sign.

Match Group has announced it will shut down operations for its apps in Russia by the end of June, including Tinder.

According to Reuters, the move is due to the ongoing human rights violations happening in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in early 2022.

"We are committed to protecting human rights," Match said in an annual impact report published on Monday. "Our brands are taking steps to restrict access to their services in Russia and will complete their withdrawal from the Russian market by June 30, 2023."

European police agency Europol has said that dating apps were among online platforms being “hijacked” by nefarious actors for human trafficking, who were capitalizing on the unstable environment in the country. This announcement also drew attention to human rights violations happening among Ukrainian refugees, according to Reuters.

Tinder has announced the launch of its new Photo Verification feature, which includes an AI-powered update and video selfie requirement.

According to Tech Crunch, the new Photo Verification is to help users prove they aren’t a bot or catfisher on the dating app by taking video selfies that can be analyzed by AI against their photos. Previously, users were required to take a selfie as instructed by the app to compare against a profile photo, but Tinder is strengthening its process even further by requiring the video selfie, so there is no room for error.

The process for verification requires the user to complete a series of videos responding to questions or prompts, and then the AI tool scans the videos and compares them to the photos the user wants to include in their profile to see if they match. The AI tool uses 3D mapping of facial geometry for both the video and photos, according to Tech Crunch.