Tinder

Image: Tinder

Tinder has unveiled its first global ad campaign called “It Starts with a Swipe,” featuring vibrant and colorful artwork with an 80s pop aesthetic. The campaign celebrates different types of relationships, a pivot away from its “hook up” reputation to show a wider range of possibilities for singles.

According to Tinder’s blog post, the campaign was photographed by French photo-digital artist Pol Kurucz, and is “evocative of modern day fairy tales, featuring different possibilities, in a vibrant, electrified dating journey.”

The campaign was created in partnership with ad agency Mischief, and is directly targeted to younger Gen Z daters, who are looking for a range of relationship possibilities. The company recently surveyed singles on the app and found that globally, 40 percent of Gen Z members are looking for a long-term relationship, and only 14% are looking for a short-term connection.

Bumble surprised investors and analysts with its latest earnings report, which showed better-than-expected revenue in the last quarter of 2022. Shares of the company’s stock rose about 2 percent as a result.

According to Seeking Alpha, Wall Street analysts had expected fourth quarter revenue to reach only $235.9 million, but the company reported revenue of $241.6 million, up from $207 million in the same quarter the previous year.

Bumble also reported 3.4 million paying users during the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to 3 million in the same quarter of 2021. Total average revenue per paying user was about $23.01 for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to 22.68 the year before.

Tinder unveiled several new safety features, including “Incognito Mode” where users can control their visibility as well as how they interact with others on the app. The new features were rolled out February 6th to coincide with Safer Internet Day.

According to Tech Crunch, “Incognito” is a bit more advanced than just being able to hide your profile – users who opt for this feature can still Like and Pass on potential matches, but only those they have “Liked” will be able to see them.

The new feature is available for paid subscribers for Tinder+, Gold and Platinum members only.

Image: Tinder

Tinder announced the launch of its latest safety feature to address abuse over the app, dubbed “House Rules.”

Tinder users must agree to the list of house rules outlined in a 20-page safety guide before they can download the service. The guide highlights the app’s safety features, including photo verification, how to report and block abusive users, according to News.com Australia.

The guide also provides tips for dating in person, including advice to Tinder users to schedule a video call beforehand to “get a vibe for the other person” according to Global Dating Insights. It also provides tips like sharing details and location of the date with friends or family beforehand, and keeping track of drinks to avoid spiking.

Match Group is expected to lay off up to 200 employees, or about 8 percent of its workforce (currently around 2400 employees before the cut) after sharing a disappointing outlook for the first half of 2023 in its latest earnings call.

According to Reuters, the company blamed “significant” poor product execution at Tinder, in addition to dealing with a tough economy and a strong dollar. CEO Bernard Kim brought in a new management team and is in the process of rebranding Match Group’s star app.

The layoffs were primarily in recruiting, with CFO Gary Swidler noting that the company is restricting its hiring to Hinge and other growth businesses, with notable cuts to Tinder staff.

Representatives from dating app companies alongside ministers, victim-survivors, government officials and technology companies attended a roundtable in Sydney to discuss safety measures needed for dating apps. They discussed adding background checks and ID verification requirements, as well as increasing transparency and sharing of data between dating app companies.

According to The Guardian, Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said that “there’s no one law that’s going to fix this issue,” placing the burden of responsibility on dating app companies.

The talks were led by federal communications minister, Michelle Rowland and included representatives for popular dating apps such as Bumble and Tinder. She noted the talks were an “important first step,” according to The Guardian. The roundtable was convened after a report from the Australian Institute of Criminology found that three quarters of survey respondents had been subjected to sexual violence on dating apps in the last five years.