General News

It’s the end of an era for denizens of the internet’s seedier side: Craigslist has axed its personal ads in the United States.

The popular classifieds website made the move after the passage of the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) on Wednesday, March 21. The act makes it easier for prosecutors and victims of sex trafficking to sue websites that fail to keep exploitative content posted by traffickers off their websites.

In a brief statement posted to Craigslist, the company said:

Blockchain technology has become a buzzword these days, thanks to the soaring popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Now, new dating app companies are incorporating the same blockchain technology into their matching and verification processes to compete with big-name brands like Tinder.

There is a growing need for dating apps to address a persistent problem in online dating: lying and misrepresentation in dating profiles. Most dating apps use social media accounts as a way of verifying profiles, but this hasn’t curbed the proliferation of fake accounts and scammers. Blockchain technology is based in a democratic oversight of users, by users, to improve the overall experience.

Tinder changed the game for online dating, creating a mainstream acceptance of looking for love by swiping over a phone. A large part of the app’s success was gameifying the online dating process – look at a picture, and swipe left or right depending on whether or not you were interested. It was possible to go through dozens of profiles in seconds, making the swiping process more fun than pouring over dating profiles.

Positive Singles earlier this month announced over 10 new features for their dating service which matches people with STDs together. PositiveSingles.com has been online since 2001 and now has over 1.3 million registered users. You can access the service via the website and dating apps which is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

On the dating service side of things Positive Singles has added a feature called "Let's Meet". This feature is like an instant match maker. It shows you another member who matches your set of matching criteria and STD status. You can then choose to like the member and then check out their detailed profile. If you decide to ignore the member you will be shown a new profile.

You can also now find on PositiveSingles.com more than 2,000 Success Stories which you can read. Members can log in and submit their own story including pictures and videos.

In the wake of the Parkland school shooting, Bumble is joining the growing number of companies that are taking a stand against gun violence. Starting this month, the dating app has banned profile photos featuring guns and other deadly weapons, and has established a team of 5000 moderators to remove any images that do not comply.

Bumble announced the ban in a statement posted to Instagram.

“We were founded with safety, respect and kindness in mind. As mass shootings continue to devastate communities across the country, it’s time to state unequivocally that gun violence is not in line with our values, nor do these weapons belong on Bumble,” reads the caption.

Tinder is taking a cue from one of its main rivals. According to a report from MarketWatch, a future update will introduce the ability for female users to decide whether they want to initiate all conversations with future matches.

The ladies-message-first arrangement was made famous by Bumble, which was launched by Tinder co-founder Whitney Wolfe Herd following her acrimonious departure from the company. Unlike its rival, however, Tinder will not make ladies-first messaging the default; instead, any user who wishes to opt in can enable the feature in their settings.

“Often, women don’t really want the pressure of kicking off the conversation, but if they want it, that’s great,” Match Group Chief Executive Mandy Ginsberg told MarketWatch. “Giving people the choice versus telling people how to engage is the big difference.”

There’s another new dating app with a catchy hook debuting this month, this time involving your DNA. Pheramor, described by news website Wired as “23andMe meets Tinder meets monogamy” matches its users according to their genetic compatibility. The dating app launched this month in Houston, Texas.

For $19.99, Pheramor will mail you a kit so you can submit your saliva samples for testing. Then for an additional $10 per month, you can use the service and start receiving genetic-compatible matches.

The company was founded by two genetics experts, so the science figures prominently into the matching process. If chemistry is detected through pheromones, then why not assume romance and love will follow? Pheramor is trying to separate itself from the hook-up reputation of Tinder and appeal to more serious daters.