General News

The good, the bad, the ugly - it’s all part of the online dating experience. At their best, dating platforms help people connect and communicate with compatible partners they might never have met otherwise. At their worst, dating websites and apps are ground zero for ghosting, curving, catfishing, orbiting, breadcrumbing, prowling, pocketing, scrooging, cookie jarring, you-turning and countless other cutely-named but distressing dating behaviors.

Dating services are taking an increasingly strong stand against users who have forgotten their manners. Bumble has led the charge for years, making headlines by banning mirror selfies and profile pictures with deadly weapons. Other companies followed Bumble’s lead. Tinder asked users to swipe left on tiger photos. OkCupid introduced a Member Pledge to encourage more civil conversations. Grindr launched an initiative to curb racism and discrimination on its app.

Bumble is aligning itself with the stars in more ways than one – the female-friendly dating app now offers a new feature to let you filter your matches according to their astrological signs.

Bumble has allowed users to identify their own astrological signs in their profiles, but this marks the first time members will be able to filter matches by zodiac preferences. Bumble offers the filter across its platforms, including Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz.

The new feature is Bumble’s response to young daters’ growing interest in astrology when it comes to forming relationships. It’s trendy now to analyze your astrological sign to determine your behavioral tendencies and who you are most compatible with, and many users are embracing the move by expressing their support over social media.

Down Detector for Tinder

Tinder users were frustrated earlier this month when they tried to message and browse matches on the app, but instead got recurring error messages. The app was down for several hours starting at around 5:00am PST on Tuesday January 8, according to reports.

Users across Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. experienced problems sending and receiving messages, as well as server connection errors according to news website CNET. Some users also reported that they were unable to login at all.

Bumble CEO and Serena Williams

Star athlete Serena Williams is making her next move as Bumble’s global advisor. The company announced that its new ad campaign featuring the award-winning tennis champion will debut during this year’s Super Bowl.

The theme of the campaign is in line with Bumble’s female-friendly focus, called “The Ball is in Her Court.” It will feature Williams making the first move in every aspect of life: dating, friendship, and business, according to the release, according to AdWeek.

Partnering with a high-profile, empowered female is a consistent reflection of the Bumble brand. In its press release, Bumble stated that Williams’ role will include enforcing Bumble’s “mission to end misogyny and empower women around the world.”

Sunday January 6^th is the busiest day of online dating’s high season, with many people downloading apps and swiping right, hoping to find love in the cold winter months, also known as “cuffing season.”

More people are also motivated to find love thanks to New Year’s resolutions (and the cold weather). With the holidays behind us, January is the perfect time to adopt new habits, including trying a new dating app or rejoining one you’ve used before.

Research has shown over the years that the first Sunday of January is generally the best time to download a dating app and start swiping. Most apps have reported a surge in activity on this particular day, as well as generally increased activity during the month of January through February 14^th.

Love is one of life’s most inscrutable experiences, but that hasn’t stopped scientists from trying to solve its mysteries. With each study that’s conducted, we get closer to understanding love, sex, dating, relationships and breakups - and knowledge, as they say, is power. Here are some of the insightful and interesting findings scientists shared about these topics in 2018.

People Aspire To Date Partners Who Are Out Of Their League

One of the year’s most viral studies revealed that the majority of singles who use online dating services tend to message people exactly 25 percent more desirable than they are. The study also found that singles switch up their messaging strategies based on their target’s desirability and that, though the odds of winning over a match who is out of your league may seem slim, it’s not a hopeless cause if you’re willing to make an effort.