Hinge

Image: hinge

Dating app Hinge will be rolling out a new in-app video chat feature. Earlier this year, the company added an option for users to let their matches know if they were interested in a video date, and this latest option expands on that.

The company also announced the official launch of Hinge Labs, the first in-house research group to study online dating behaviors beyond just surveying dating app users. One of Hinge Labs’ first projects will be to examine how its users respond to video dating by testing in select markets, according to Mashable. These cities include Dallas, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. The company will roll out the feature globally later this summer.

Dating app Hinge has just released a new feature called Date From Home, which allows users to let their matches know they are ready for a virtual date.

Hinge’s feature is different from the new in-app video chat option Plenty of Fish is offering, though they are both owned by the same parent company Match Group. Namely, Hinge users can’t video chat over the app (at least at this point), and there isn’t a “community” of livestreams to sort through, or virtual gifts to give and earn as there are on POF.

Instead, as Thrillist described, it’s pretty discreet. There’s a menu at the bottom of the message feed with your match. You can choose whether or not you’re ready to go on a virtual date, but there’s no push notification sent to your match right away if you say yes. Instead, Hinge waits until your match says they want to go on a virtual date with you, too, at which point it activates. In other words, he will never know you wanted to virtual date him unless he says he wants to date you too. Then you are both notified and can schedule your own Zoom or Facetime session.

Coronavirus is affecting everyone around the world, and dating apps are pivoting to address the situation as it impacts their users.

Tinder has already put ads on its app that link to the CDC website with helpful tips on hand washing and social distancing. Grinder has also issued warnings to its users about practicing safe hygiene. 

OkCupid has seen an increase in use and has added some conversational prompts related to coronavirus, since that’s what daters want to talk about the most, especially in areas like New York where the virus has hit hard.

Image: hinge

Dating app Hinge wanted to get people meeting IRL back at the beginning of March. This promotional effort offered $100 to users who take a break from the app for one day to go on a date.

For those who wanted to cash in, Hinge required users to go on a date on Friday March 6th and discontinue using Hinge for the next 24 hours. The date the company chose coincided with the National Day of Unplugging.

According to Yahoo! Fianance, users were given a simple set of instructions to follow: log in to the app to set up a date for March 6th. At 4:00pm EST on that day, users were instructed to open their apps and hit “pause your account” before closing the app. Hinge asked that they note the time, because the app will need to be paused for a full 24 hours in order for the user to qualify.

Dating app Tinder raised the alarm for users of its popular dating app as reports of coronavirus spread across the U.S., with confirmed cases in most states.

Tinder has created ads that appear as users swipe through its app, providing links to the World Health Organization’s website with recommendations for preventing the spread of the virus, according to The Hill.

The ad states: "Your wellbeing is our #1 priority…Tinder is a great place to meet new people. While we want you to continue to have fun, protecting yourself from the coronavirus is more important.”

After a tumultuous year that involved an FTC lawsuit, a split from parent company IAC and the departure of CEO Mandy Ginsberg, Match Group has published its fourth quarter and full year financial results for 2019. Total revenue for the company exceeded $2 billion for the first time.

For the third quarter 2019, Match Group shared the following highlights:

• Total Revenue grew 20 percent over the prior year quarter to $547 million
• Average Subscribers increased 19 percent to 9.8 million, up from 8.2 million in the prior year quarter, and ARPU increased 1 cent to $0.59
• Operating income was $180 million, an increase of 19 percent over the prior year quarter
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 22 percent over the prior year quarter to $215 million