Australia

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has brought a lawsuit against dating app eHarmony, alleging the company misled consumers through false advertising. It also alleges that the company deceived its customers about pricing and renewing their subscriptions.

According to The Guardian, the lawsuit filed in Australian federal court alleges the company of “entrapping singles” by showing them only blurred photos of their matches and not allowing them to send messages without paying for a subscription. The lawsuit also accuses the company of luring customers to sign up by falsely advertising “free dating” on the platform, as well as short-term membership offers and early cancellation opportunities.

In reality, users opting for the “free service” completed an 80-question profile survey before they had access to look at potential matches. However, when users completed the questions, they were served blurry profile photos of other members, and were only able to send one message as a reply to a premium member. If they wanted to continue messaging, they were required to pay for the service.

Men using filters to enhance their dating app photos tend to attract more matches, but they also come across as less trustworthy to women.

According to a new study published in Computers in Human Behavior, women were shown 10 profile photos of single men, both filtered and unfiltered versions. Most women preferred the more attractive, filtered versions of the men, but these same women also said they didn’t seem as trustworthy as the men in the untouched ones.

Researchers also found that ultimately while the women found altered profiles less trustworthy, they were in fact more interested in dating the men behind them. According to PsyPost.org, this conclusion “ultimately suggests that the allure of heightened physical attractiveness outweighs the reservations arising from diminished trustworthiness.”

Bumble is testing its BFF (Bumble for Friends) service as a standalone app for finding friends, according to Mashable.

Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz (for career networking) have been features on the main Bumble dating app for a long time, and now Bumble intends to spin BFF off into its own entity. The new app is being tested in the UK and select Asian markets, according to confirmation from Bumble. And according to Tech Crunch, though Bumble couldn’t confirm specific countries where it’s being tested, the app is also available in Australia, New Zealand and Philippines for both Androids and iPhones.

Bumble BFF expected to launch in the U.S. this summer.

It’s likely that the dating app’s Bizz service will be a standalone app down the line as well. But for now, the company is focusing on its BFF service, since about 15 percent of Bumble’s active monthly users utilize the feature.

Tinder has become a pawn in some new intelligence tactics employed by Russian spies. They are using the app to woo German soldiers as informants, so they can obtain intelligence about Ukraine’s war strategy.

According to Insider, German newspaper Welt am Sonntag broke the story, reporting that Russian agents are specifically targeting politicians and members of Germany’s armed forces as sources of information, and they are using dating app Tinder as a tool to reach them.

Germany’s Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) confirmed at a recent NATO meeting in the country that “members of other intelligence services (e.g. Russia) use social media to specifically establish contacts with members of the Bundeswehr,” or the German armed forces, according to Insider. MAD also confirmed that Tinder was the app most used.

Australia’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has ordered the country’s top ten dating app services to hand over information on sexual violence reports, including Tinder, Bumble and Grindr.

According to Australian Associated Press, the information will include reports on “the extent of harm being experienced by users” as well as the safety protocols of these apps. Rowland has also requested data on the number of reports the app companies have received in regard to sexual harassment and abuse among users on these platforms, including during a message exchange or after a date.

Each dating app company is also required to share its protocols for preventing banned users from returning to the app under a new name and account, as well as the actions it has taken in response to reports, including police referrals or other services provided to users, according to AAP.

Tinder has announced two significant new features it is rolling out, including highlighting relationship types (including non-monogamy) and allowing members to display their pronouns on their profiles.

With the new update, Tinder users will be able to choose from a variety of terms to describe their relationship type, and it will display prominently on their profile just under their name and age. They can choose from descriptions like “monogamy,” “ethical non-monogamy,” “open relationship” or “open to exploring,” for example.

According to the press release, Tinder is making this shift to put relationship types more front and center, since it found that 41 percent of Gen Z users are open to non-traditional and non-monogamous relationships. This feature complements the Relationship Goals feature the company rolled out last year, which gave users the ability to specify if they are searching for “Long-term,” “short term” or long-term, open to short-term” among other types, like “just figuring out my dating goals.”