Coffee Meets Bagel

Users of the popular dating app Coffee Meets Bagel woke up to a surprise on Valentine’s Day. Instead of looking at matches, they were greeted with a notice from the company saying some of their personal data had been hacked.

According to a report from CNN, the data breach occurred a few days before on February 11, but CMB executives were trying to assess the situation and the extent of the damage. In their notice, the company stated that an “unauthorized party gained access to a partial list of user details.”

Their email goes on to say: “The affected information only includes your name and email address prior to May 2018. As a reminder, we never store any financial information or passwords.”

Dawoon Kang hosts Reddit AMA

Image: dawoonkang

What can users do to increase their success on a dating app? What advice do you have for someone who is trying to get a startup off the ground? Is the first Sunday of the year really the busiest day for online dating? Why made you turn down $30 million from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank?

When Dawoon Kang, co-founder and co-CEO of Coffee Meets Bagel, hosts a Reddit AMA, no question is off limits. The entrepreneur went live on r/IAmA on Tuesday 22nd January to answer users’ burning queries about getting noticed on a dating app, the ongoing battle against bots, starting a business, what the name ‘Coffee Meets Bagel’ means, and more.

Dawoon launched Coffee Meets Bagel with her sisters, Soo and Arum, in 2012. Since then, CMB has made over 50 million matches with a focus on meaningful connections and an algorithm that prioritizes quality over quantity. Though turning down a multi-million dollar offer from one of the world’s biggest investors may seem mad, the Kang sisters have proved they’re a family force to be reckoned with.

In the increasingly crowded dating industry, the only way to stay relevant is to differentiate yourself from the competition. Coffee Meets Bagel initially set itself apart by focusing on quality over quantity, providing users a limited number of curated matches each day at noon. Last year the company introduced an ephemeral video feature and an ongoing series of real-world events called CMB Experiences.

Coffee Meets Bagel’s latest updates come in response to an extensive user study conducted earlier this year. The app’s interface now boasts a cleaner, more modern aesthetic and a new comment feature has been added to help members make more efficient use of their time.

Co-CEO and cofounder Dawoon Kang told VentureBeat in a phone interview that users in the study repeatedly expressed frustration at matching with someone in the app only to have their messages go unanswered or the conversation fizzle quickly.

Image: CoffeeMeetsBagel

Dating App Coffee Meets Bagel no longer requires a Facebook account for users to login to the app. Now, customers can sign up using their mobile number instead, bypassing Facebook completely.

The change was effective on August 20^th.

Typically when customers sign up to a new online dating platform, they have to verify that they are a real person (to avoid the proliferation of fake accounts). Facebook has typically been part of this verification process, and provides an easy way for users to pull photos, profile information, and link personal connections with other networks of friends.

Dating services are invaluable resources for scientists interested in unraveling the mysteries of human relationships. Countless researchers have turned to these digital matchmakers to extract information about how we mate in the modern age.

Sometimes the dating companies themselves get in on the action. Sites like Zoosk and Plenty of Fish regularly release the results of small-scale polls and surveys, while OkCupid earned widespread acclaim for the edgy investigations of its OkTrends blog.

Coffee Meets Bagel is the latest industry player to share insider insights gleaned from six years of observing singles in action. Dawoon Kang, a CMB co-founder and the company's co-CEO, recently revealed to Business Insider that men and women use the app in distinctly different ways.

Coffee Meets Bagel introduced ‘#LadiesChoice’ in 2016, a new format that offers men and women customized user experiences more in line with their preferences.

Coffee meets… summer camp? The best (or worst) part of your childhood is getting a modern makeover this May, complete with arts and crafts, water sports, and in all likelihood, the same sloppy makeouts behind the dining hall.

Coffee Meets Bagel has announced the launch of its latest venture, CMB Experiences, to help users connect IRL. These Experiences promise to be “unique, real-world events and spaces where people can go offline and engage in a fun, novel, delightful experience together.”

And what could be more fun than sleepaway camp?