Online Dating

Is the end in sight for the legal battle between Match Group and Bumble?

According to documents filed in Texas last month, Bumble is looking to drop its $400 million countersuit against Match Group, which alleged Match interfered with its business operations, fraudulently obtained trade secrets, and intentionally tried to make Bumble less appealing to other potential acquirers. The countersuit was filed in response to a lawsuit from Match that claims Bumble infringed on several patents related to Tinder.

Initial attempts to settle failed and the war appeared poised to rage on, but a statement released by Match Group in early November indicated that Bumble will drop its lawsuit. A notice of non-opposition filed by Match confirms the company’s intent to support Bumble dropping its claims, provided the court issues declaratory judgments validating Match’s patents and Bumble’s alleged infringement of them, and absolving Match from allegedly stealing Bumble’s trade secrets.

Since the announcement of Facebook Dating at the company’s annual F8 developer conference in May, the online dating industry has anxiously awaited the arrival of its newest competitor. Facebook began testing its matchmaking product internally in August, revealing a few key features in leaked screenshots, then went live for users in Colombia in September.

Canada and Thailand are the latest nations to take Facebook Dating for a test drive. The feature launched in the two countries earlier this month, along with several updates that aim to enhance the dating experience.

The first update is Second Look, a tool that will be familiar to some users of other dating services. Second Look, as its name implies, allows users to reconsider matches they have previously passed on by going back through their Suggested Matches or reviewing profiles they may have accidentally rejected. Similar “do-over” features can be found on services like OkCupid and Tinder, but it is often limited to members with paid subscriptions.

“Get swept away. Not swiped away.”

That is the promise of Cove, a new members-only dating app that aims to provide a more engaged experience for singles who are tired of wasting their time with idle conversations and hookup culture. The app offers users three opportunities to establish chemistry through an innovative level system that must be completed within 10 days.

"Random hookups can threaten one's physical and psychological health. While other dating apps may foster this sort of behavior, we believe that there is a large segment of the population hungry for something more meaningful in the online dating experience," says Cove founder Charles Messow. "We created Cove to guide matches through more meaningful conversation within 10 days while respecting the premium of everyone's time and attention."

Starting Friday November 9^th eHarmony members can get 20% off any subscription upgrade. The sale lasts for 5 days and ends in the late evening of Tuesday November 13^th. It also is only available in the United States.

With this sale, the discount is automatically applied when you use the code below. Depending on the term of the subscription you select, you can save over $40.

To obtain the 20% discount use the code: JOIN20

New and existing eHarmony members can take advantage of this sale. if you have not joined eHarmony before all you need to do is visit eHarmony.com and create an account. You can do this by connecting your Facebook account or by using your email address. Once you have logged in you can then create your profile and take the personality questionnaire. The whole process will take about 30 minutes to finish. The length of time takes longer than most other dating services. This is because eHarmony wants to truly understand what type of person you are and what your ideal match would be based not only what you want, but what is most compatible with your personality. Once your profile is complete you will then receive your first selection of matches (this happens daily). At this point you can review your matches profiles and photos to determine if you would like to contact any of them. If you do then at this point, you will need to purchase a subscription which are available anywhere from a 1 month term up to 12 months.

For more details about this dating service which specializes in finding it's members long-term relationships, you read our review of eHarmony.

Image: BFA.com/Zach Hilty

Bumble announced the launch of its female-friendly app in India with a celebrity dinner at the Gramercy Hotel in New York.

CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd joined Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, who just partnered with Bumble to bring the app to her home country. They hosted a dinner for women of Indian heritage who are at the top of their respective fields to celebrate the launch.

According to Forbes who reported on the event, attendees included Vanity Fair’s Radhika Jones, Hillary Clinton’s former political staffer Huma Abedin, Teen Vogue’s Samhita Mukhopadhyay, Saks Fifth Avenue’s Roopal Patel, fashion designer Anita Dongre, and Girls Who Code co-founder Reshma Saujani. The Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi was also in attendance.

MeetMe Live Video Streaming

In the pass year The Meet Group has doubled down and put the focus on live video steaming for their social entertainment apps including MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, and LOVOO. Live video streaming from real members keeps everyone engaged and has increased their mobile daily active users significantly. With the introduction of Live streaming last year and with the final roll out for all apps in August of this year with LOVOO (there most trafficked app), The Meet Group has been able to diversify revenue mix consisting of in-app purchases, subscription, and 3rd party advertising.