Mobile

Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of female-friendly dating app Bumble, was just named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, and is featured on its December 2017 cover. This is no small feat – her dating app has amassed a large following with 70% year-on-year growth, according to the article, and has 22 million registered users. In comparison Tinder has 46 million registered users and last year saw growth at 10%.

The company is also being eyed by Match Group, owner of dating app rival Tinder, and is said to be in talks for over a billion dollars as an asking price. Herd turned down the company’s original offer of $450 million, according to recent reports.

Tired of swiping right and exchanging flirty emojis, only to be ghosted before you’ve ever met in person?

Craig Cole was disillusioned with the lack of face-to-face meetings in online dating, so he created Doppler Social App to get singles out from behind their screens and on dates IRL.

“In my experience, once I swipe right and match with someone, I immediately either connect with them through the phone and it fizzles out over two weeks, or we continue talking and make plans to meet up that never come to fruition,” Cole wrote for Built In Los Angeles. “We spend so much time ‘talking’ over text and through apps, that we never actually make time to meet each other in person. We are constantly canceling plans and flaking out on our friends or potential dates. I was tired of the disconnect." 

Online dating has always held some risk, and in recent years, the challenge of protecting consumers from trolls and unwanted messages has increased. Many dating apps like Tinder are finding themselves at risk to hackers who are creating fake accounts and hacking other users - this in addition to increasing problems with lewd messages. A new dating app called Hily aims to change that trend.

Many dating apps are trying to put more safety measures in place to verify their users. According to an article in TechCrunch, cyber security researchers found that hackers could create a Chrome plugin so that a Tinder user could find the locations of Facebook friends who were also on Tinder (even though they didn’t disclose this information on their social media feeds), a scary thought for online daters who are trying to keep their personal information private.

The lack of security has been especially difficult for young women who use dating apps. More and more are reporting getting trolled or harassed by other users on online dating sites, or sent unwanted messages and photos. This is one of the reasons female-friendly apps like Bumble have become so popular – women have more control of their experience on the app. But verifying profiles has remained a challenge, as hackers have found ways around protections.

How Hinge Matchmaker Works

We normally frown upon butting into the love lives of others, but Hinge has launched a new app that hopes to make it socially acceptable to hook up your friends.

Hinge Matchmaker is designed to let you pair up your pals who are already on the dating app. After downloading the app and logging in, Matchmaker will scan your Facebook friends list for people who have Hinge profiles. The app then presents two of your single Facebook friends at a time, leaving it up to you to decide whether you think they’d be a solid match.

If the answer is yes, you can suggest the match and even add an icebreaker message to get the ball rolling. Your suggested match will see each other on the regular Hinge app, along with your note, and can choose whether to continue the conversation or not. There’s also the option to focus on a specific friend’s dating life by locking their profile, which allows the matchmaker to rotate through the available matches for that person alone.

Remember when people wondered if Tinder would ever successfully monetize? Those days seem like a lifetime ago.

The company has released a string of money-making features since its 2012 launch, ranging from Super Like to the premium Tinder Plus membership. The latest to join the line-up is Tinder Gold - an optional, upgradeable tier that allows users to see who swiped right on their profile without swiping right back.

Tinder Gold was released in the United States in late August following testing in select markets around the world. The members-only service offers the app’s most popular exclusive features, including Passport, Rewind, Unlimited Likes, five Super Likes per day, one Boost per month, and more profile controls. It also includes the new Likes You feature, which reveals who’s into you before you swipe.

Online dating corporation Match Group was reported to have made an offer to purchase dating app Bumble for $450 million this summer, according to a report by website Tech Crunch.

Match Group is the parent company to a number of dating apps, including popular Bumble competitors Match, Plenty of Fish, OkCupid and Tinder. It seems Bumble hasn’t accepted the offer, which is understandable since some analysts value the company at almost a billion dollars.

Bumble has a rocky history with Match Group as well, which could play a part in any decision about an acquisition. Bumble’s founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe sued Tinder and IAC in 2014, (when Match Group was a part of IAC). Wolfe was one of the co-founders of Tinder, and brought a sexual harassment lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend Justin Mateen, who also happened to be one of Tinder’s co-founders and the CMO. Wolfe accused him of sending her “sexist, racist, and otherwise inappropriate comments, emails, and text messages” following their very public breakup. The two parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, with neither side admitting any wrongdoing.