Online Dating

Spark Networks USA, the Los Angeles-based parent company of numerous niche dating sites including Jdate and Christian Mingle, has agreed to pay $500,000 in penalties and up to $985,000 in restitution to customers after settling a consumer protection action. The money will be paid to users whose subscriptions automatically renewed without notification or who were denied refunds.

Under federal and California state law, consumers must be notified if a subscription is automatically renewed and must give their “express, affirmative consent” before any money is collected. Spark Networks failed to provide clear notification of subscription renewals, according to the settlement, and offered users no opportunity to indicate their consent via a check-box or similar form. The consumer protection action was pursued upon discovery of this violation.

“Consumers always have the right to know where their money is going and companies must comply with California’s laws in order to ensure that consumers understand certain transactions will renew automatically,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement. “This joint effort is a great example of how our Consumer Protection Unit works to protect people from unfair business practices in the marketplace and ensure that California’s consumer protection laws are followed.”

The DNA Romance dating platform disrupts the way people connect online by using Genetics and Psychology to matchmake people based on all three elements of human attraction:

1. Personality
2. Chemistry
3. Appearance

DNA Romance enhances the transparency of online dating by providing evidence based matchmaking going beyond appearance and questionnaires.

Image: bumble

Hold the (smart) phone. After years as an app-only platform, Bumble has launched a web version of its popular dating service for use on laptops, desktops, and tablets.

Bumble announced the news with a blog post and video that offer a glimpse of the sleek, user-friendly Bumble Web experience. Current users can access their accounts on www.bumble.com by signing in via their usual method (Facebook or phone number). New users still need to create an account through the app before using the browser version, but Bumble promises that functionality is coming to Bumble Web soon. If you don't see the "Sign In" button yet on the Bumble website toolbar, check back soon as Bumble Web may not yet be available in your area.

Once signed in, the simple interface displays existing chats and matches in a column to the left of the screen. Potential new matches appear to the right. Users can scroll through a profile using the up and down arrow keys or by clicking the up and down arrows at the top and bottom of the profile. To like or pass on a profile, use the left and right arrow keys or click the two prominent icons at the bottom of the screen.

The online dating market is hot right now and projected to grow to $12 billion by 2020. This is in part thanks to bullish analysts targeting a price point of $66 for Match Group stock, based mostly on the incredible revenue growth of Tinder.

This projection by Nomura Instinet came on the heels of a downward market in early October. Match Group stock was projected to be 28% higher than what it was worth on Thursday October 11^th before the announcement. The $66 valuation gave Match Group a bump on Friday.

Facebook’s entry into the online dating market could have an effect on these projections, though Nomura Instinet analysts say the valuation is based on Match Group’s effective strategy of buying competitors before they scale. Most particularly, Match Group was very successful in its purchase of dating app darling Tinder, which has seen unexpected revenue growth since launching its paid premium service Tinder Gold.

Online dating revolutionized the way we meet and is seen worldwide as a modern approach to finding love - but according to a recent study from the University of Oxford’s Oxford Internet Institute (OII), the experience of online dating is not nearly as progressive as the technology is.

Researchers at the OII analyzed 10 years of eHarmony UK user data to find out how gender norms and social attitudes have evolved over the last decade. The study, Computational Courtship: Understanding the Evolution of Online Dating through Large-scale Data Analysis, reveals their surprising conclusion: little has changed, and what has is not for the better.

Traditional gender roles continue to dictate how men and women connect online. The study found that men are 30 percent more likely than women to initiate conversation on a dating service. The number has actually increased over time, from six percent in 2008 to 30 percent in 2018. When women do initiate, the response rate drops by 15 percent.

Bumble is on track to debut in India later this year, with an unexpected investor and advisor by its side: actress and philanthropist Priyanka Chopra.

"I've always believed that investing in women is key to social transformation and economic growth,” Chopra explained in a statement released by Bumble. “Women want love, they want friendship and they want to find a career, and that's the uniqueness of what Bumble delivers.”

“I’m inspired by the real, positive change Bumble is creating and I’m proud to have the opportunity to contribute to this movement as a partner,” she added.