General News

Image: OkCupid

HBO is set to air the eighth and final season Game of Thrones this month. For the show’s devoted viewers, it will be sad to say goodbye, but OkCupid is making sure fans won’t have to suffer alone. Users who publicly answer “yes” to the question “Do you watch Game of Thrones?” will now receive a profile badge prominently declaring their love for the series.

OkCupid predicts the badge will lead to 20% more likes and 15% more conversations for those who have it on their profiles. The idea may sound silly, but Game of Thrones has over 2 million mentions on OkCupid profiles. Shared interests are, if not a predictor of deep compatibility, then at least a good conversation starter. Television is something singles want to connect over.

Tinder made headlines in 2016 when a Fast Company article revealed the dating app’s most closely guarded secret: every user received an internal rating that ranked the most (and least) desirable people on the platform. Then-CEO Sean Rad confirmed the existence of the algorithm, called an “Elo score” in reference to a ranking system used by chess players, but declined to go into detail.

“It’s very complicated,” he said. “It took us two and a half months just to build the algorithm because a lot of factors go into it.”

The story spread rapidly and left many users with a bad taste in their mouths. Dating app users are already subjected to judgement after judgement at each other’s hands - does anyone want to feel judged by the app itself, too? Why should Tinder get to decide who is desirable and who isn’t, or who is and is not out of someone’s league?

Image: Snapchat

Snapchat announced that third party developers will soon be able to integrate its Stories feature into third party apps. Most notably, dating app Tinder will be among the first apps to debut the feature.

According to The Verge, Tinder plans its Stories rollout this summer.

Snapchat Stories is the defining feature of the Snapchat app, where users could post videos and photos that would automatically disappear in 24 hours. The service became incredibly popular after it launched, especially among young people who preferred its platform to Facebook, which at the time didn’t have its own stories feature.

Image: Bumble

In just five years, Bumble has become a dominant voice in the digital space. The company expanded its initial dating-focused product to become a platform for meeting friends and a tool for business networking. Outside of the app, Bumble’s numerous ventures include a startup investment fund, entertainment industry initiatives, pop-up installations and brand partnerships. Bumble has proved it is one of the most ambitious leaders in the dating industry, so few fans - or detractors - will be surprised to hear the company has yet another launch on the horizon.

Bumble’s newest endeavor is Bumble Mag, a lifestyle publication created in partnership with Hearst Magazines’ branded content studio, HearstMade. The first issue features fashion entrepreneur (and real Bumble user) Lauren Chan on the cover and 100 pages of articles about dating, careers, friendship and other topics of interest to Bumble’s 50 million-plus users.

Grindr has come under scrutiny in the last several weeks after Chinese company Beijing Kunlun Tech purchased a majority stake in the popular dating app in 2018. The U.S. government has demanded the new owners give up control of the company.

According to The Washington Post, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government body charged with overseeing security threats to U.S. companies, has declared that the Grindr purchase is a threat to U.S. national security because of the risk posed to the privacy of users of the app.

Every April Fools’ Day, brands vie to nab headlines by pulling off outrageous public pranks. This year’s notable gags include Google claiming to have invented a plant language translator, Spotify giving listeners disco-infused Discover Weekly playlists, and McDonald teasing eaters with milkshake-flavored dipping sauces. But the award for 2019’s most memorable prank goes to Tinder, which shook up the online dating world and inspired heated debate with a faux feature announcement.

A March 29 blog post introduced the world to the Height Verification Badge, a tool purportedly designed to stop “height fishing” and enforce honesty on the dating app. “Height-lying ends here,” proclaims the post. “To require everyone under 6’ to own up to their real height, we’re bringing truthfulness back into the world of online dating.” The post’s guide to using the feature directs users to input their real height and submit a screenshot of themselves standing next to a commercial building for comparison. Fake screenshots show an error message instructing a dissembling user named Tyler to enter his correct height.