Online Dating

Facebook has come under fire, with many longtime users debating whether or not to delete their accounts, rather than make their personal information vulnerable to third parties. But something you might not have considered, brought to light by a reporter from Mashable, is how deleting Facebook might affect your love life.

Many dating apps rely on Facebook to verify profile information – that is, to make sure you really are a person and not a bot or an advertisement. With this in mind, many apps require that you use your Facebook account to login, including Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and other really popular apps.

Research firm Cambridge Analytica was accused of hijacking data from 50 million Facebook users and using the data to influence the 2016 U.S. election. This information breach was made possible because Facebook relies on third parties for ad revenue, and also partners with research firms like Cambridge Analytica, which leaves its platform open to security problems. Facebook maintains it didn’t know about the information grab, though evidence has come to light via whistleblower Christopher Wylie, who developed the strategy for hijacking and using the data to create targeted political profiles of Americans.

Worried about finding a date for your next event, a wedding, or even a dinner party? Apply to Date is a new dating platform that wants to help you put the word out, and like The Bachelor, encourages other seeking singles to compete for a chance to date you.

Similar to networking apps like LinkedIn, the platform lets you build a sharable web page (like a resume) that allows people to submit applications to date you. You can add your social media, including tweets, Instagram bios, and Snapchat stories on your webpage profile, according to website Mashable.

Apply to Date was created by Lucy Guo, who was looking for a date to her company’s office party and grew tired of swiping and messaging over apps like OkCupid and Tinder. Seeking a new strategy, she turned to her own personal networks, and eventually created a webpage asking people to submit their applications to go on a date with her. She was surprised when she received over 250 applications, and some from former friends she knew back in middle school.

Tinder stalkers of the world, rejoice! After testing a chronological feed with users in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada late last year, Tinder has announced it’s rolling out the feature to all users worldwide.

A December 2017 blog post describes Feed as “an exciting new way to see more of what someone is all about by giving you a true glimpse into their world—their passions, their personality, their latest adventure—all leading to better conversations and deeper connections.”

Feed aggregates real-time updates from your matches, including recent photos and Spotify Anthems, to present “a visual and interactive experience that helps you spark conversation with the people you want to meet most.” Posts appear in the timeline in order beginning with the most recent changes to a profile. A match’s occupation and distance from you (the last time they opened the app) is also listed beneath each entry.

If cosplay is your idea of dressing up and your ideal vacation is a trip to a galaxy far, far away, a new app wants to help you meet your nerdy match.

Cuddli, available on both iOS and Android, is a self-described “dating app for geeks” where single oddballs can bond over common interests, a shared culture, and that most important predictor of compatibility, fandom.

Co-founders Steve Tauber, Robert Walker, and Pinguino Kolb designed Cuddli to be a safe and fun space where geeks are the popular kids and interests like gaming and Comic Con are celebrated, not ridiculed.

The relationship between Bumble and Tinder took a toxic turn last month when Match Group, Tinder’s parent company, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against its female-friendly competitor.

The suit, filed in Texas on March 16, accuses Bumble of copying key elements of Tinder’s functionality and alleges that trade secrets were stolen by Bumble employees who previously worked at Tinder. Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble’s founder and CEO, was herself a Tinder executive before filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against the company in 2014 and leaving to start her own venture.

Herd was initially silent when news of the Match Group lawsuit broke, but has since responded in grand, defiant fashion with a full page ad in the New York Times as well on their blog.

eHarmony is having a free communication event this Easter long weekend. It starts Thursday March 29^th and runs to end of day on Monday April 2^nd for eHarmony members in the United States.

This event is for existing and new eHarmony members. Creating a profile is free and no credit card is required. During the holidays dating services usually are extra busy as members log in and look to communicate with matches. This means it is an ideal time to try out eHarmony as it allows you to create a profile (and fill in the personality questionnaire), receive matches, and communicate with those matches at no cost to you. The whole process only requires about 30 minutes to complete. After you will receive your first batch of quality matches from eHarmony in witch you can send messages too (and receive messages from). You also receive new matches every day which are determined by eHarmony's matchmaking algorithm. eHarmony not only takes your requests about the type of person you like into account but determines matches based on 29 dimensions of compatibility.

Please note free communication events do not include profile photos. To view those you must be a subscriber to eHarmony. For more about this online dating service with automated matches, please read our eHarmony review. The eHarmony dating service can be accessed via their website along with phone apps which are available at the Apple App Store and Google Play.