Image: The Meet Group

The Meet Group, the Pennsylvania-based parent to several dating and social networking apps, unveiled two new sets of features for its flagship dating and livestreaming platform, MeetMe.

The first updates focus on making MeetMe a safer, more welcoming and more inclusive space. The iOS and Android versions of the app now have a more prominent Report Abuse button - the largest, according to CEO Geoff Cook, seen in any major livestreaming app so far. When a user taps the button, a screengrab is automatically taken and sent to the company’s moderation team. The moderators can immediately review both the screengrab and the active livestream in order to take appropriate action.

Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe

Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd spoke out against parent company Badoo in the wake of allegations made by more than a dozen employees that it promoted a toxic work culture, especially for women.

An exclusive by Forbes revealed allegations made by thirteen former Badoo employees who worked at the company’s London headquarters, citing a sexist office culture with drug-fueled parties, employees naming engineering updates after porn stars, and a widely circulated video of an employee receiving oral sex from a prostitute.

Forbes also said the employees specifically named Badoo owner Andrey Andreev, who also owns a majority stake in Bumble, of making derogatory comments around race and physical appearance.

FarmersOnly Dating Site

Well it has been a long time coming at Dating Sites Reviews (which launched in 2003) but our FarmersOnly review is now online and available for viewing. Farmers Only launched in 2005 and when we first looked at it for doing a possible review in 2006, they still had a low number of members, and we had many other dating sites we were looking at for doing reviews as well. Creating a review takes a lot of time and effort since there is a fair bit of research and testing. In 2007 Farmers Only funny YouTube commercials went viral and with that came a lot of media attention and new members. I am not sure why we didn't do a review since then, but we have corrected that mistake and have one now: Farmers Only review.

As with the rest of our reviews, visitors are more than welcome to post their comments on the review and even post their own reviews of the service.

Scruff’s parent company, Perry Street Software, has acquired Jack’d in a deal that is expected to make it the largest fully LGBTQ owned-and-operated software company by both revenue and membership. Jack’d will continue to operate as a standalone app.

“For years, we have admired the diverse and global community on Jack’d. Since its launch in 2010, Jack’d has grown to more than 5 million members worldwide,” said Eric Silverberg, CEO of Perry Street Software. “This acquisition will provide Jack’d members with the same combination of technology and active moderation we have developed at Scruff, so that the Jack’d community members will be protected against harassment, spam bots, scammers, and risks while traveling.”

Image: Rock The Vote

Popular dating app Hinge has announced its partnership with activist organization Rock the Vote in anticipation of the 2020 Presidential election, according to The Hill.

Capitalizing on the high-profile press the company received when Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg revealed that he’d met his husband Chasten on the app, Hinge has decided to throw its app in the political ring.

With the proliferation of retouching apps like Facetune and “pretty” filters on Snapchat and Instagram, we have constant access to an idealized image of ourselves. It’s easy to imagine what we might look like with cosmetic tweaks - a little filler here, a little Botox there, resculpt the nose and suction out that stubborn pocket of fat that no amount of diet or exercise can get rid of.

A new study published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery finds that social media and online dating aren’t just changing how we want to look in the digital realm. They might also have an effect on our openness to changing our appearance in the real world.