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OkCupid has debuted a new global ad campaign “Out of Home” (or OOH) to celebrate people meeting in person again - but with a focus on inclusivity.

The creative was developed by Italian artists Maurizio Cattelon and Pierpaolo Ferrari in partnership with creative agency Mekanism, and features colorful depictions of OkCupid daters in celebration of their individuality. Website The Drum also noted that the new campaign is also a nod to the diverse user base on the platform. 

One ad reads “tree hugger” and features a tree growing out of a dater’s boxer shorts, watered by someone off-camera with a watering can. “Every single vaxxer” features a couple kissing, their tongues becoming one. And another reads “every single cuddler” with a couple embracing with multiple arms. Each of the ads has bold coloring and a rich array of ethnicities, genders, and sexual preferences. 

Dating app users flocked to dating apps during the month of July, setting a new record for activity and engagement, according to a recent study from Apptopia.

The app research firm has been collecting data since 2015 and found that active daily users on the most popular dating apps – including Tinder and Bumble – jumped to almost 15 million in July, an all-time high, as reported by Bloomberg. 

This follows news from media outlets anticipating a “hot vax summer,” where singles were getting ready to meet dates in person again after a series of lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the distribution of vaccines on the rise, especially in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, dating app users were getting vaccinated and flocking to apps to connect and schedule dates. 

A new study from Pew found that almost half of dating app users still have concerns about safety and security, even as popular apps are starting to address these concerns with features like background checks.

According to the study, 46 percent of Americans view dating apps to be unsafe, for three main reasons. They are primarily concerned with other app users lying and misrepresenting themselves, as well as with people who set up spam accounts. They are also concerned about receiving unsolicited explicit messages or photos, all pervasive problems.

Apps have begun to address these issues. Tinder launched a background checks feature in recent months so users could check out matches before agreeing to meet. Dating conglomerate The Meet Group debuted face verification badges that are powered by AI technology, so that users could offer verified profiles. Bumble also debuted a new feature that uses AI technology to blur unsolicited photos that contain graphic and lude images, so its members don’t have to see the photos in order to report them.   

A new study by dating app Bumble found that getting vaccinated is a priority for singles, and if you don’t, it could cost you a date.

The dating app company surveyed about 1,000 of its American users in May and found that 30 percent said they wouldn’t consider going on a date or having sex with someone who wasn’t vaccinated. Bottom line: if you’re holding out, you might also be missing out on your love life.

According to Fast Company, the vast majority of respondents – 90 percent - want to date face-to-face, though Bumble maintains that many people like virtual dating as a way to determine whether or not to meet someone in person, so people will continue using this feature. Thirty-eight percent of respondents agreed that they prefer a virtual first date before meeting in person. Forty-six percent of users said they would be fine with a “normal” date and another 41 percent said they’d still want to keep socially distanced.

Hinge Vaccine Badge

Image: Hinge

Dating apps are offering vaccine stickers for user profiles in the U.K., so potential matches can know vaccination status right away before swiping right.

Tinder is offering an array of stickers, including “Vaccinated” and “Vaxing soon,” according to a report from BBC News. Tinder, Match, Hinge, Bumble, Badoo, Plenty of Fish, OurTime and Muzmatch will all be offering badge options for users to add to their profiles, in partnership with a vaccine push by the U.K. government.

The vaccination badge trend began for U.S. dating app users, thanks to a government initiative to get as many people vaccinated as possible. The Biden administration pursued a partnership with dating apps, hoping they would be a good way to reach out to younger people and give them an incentive to get the vaccine – i.e., they can brag that they did and potentially attract more matches.

People are flocking to dating apps, but as they swipe through profiles, many are basing their choice to swipe right instead of left on superficial factors like attractiveness and race. 

According to a new study, dating app users also make their decisions in less than a second, so their choices tend to be superficial, based primarily on photos. The researchers who shared the preliminary results of their study were Dr. William Chopik, an associate professor in the Michigan State University Department of Psychology, and Dr. David Johnson from the University of Maryland.

The researchers compared two different demographics and the results to see how dating app users of different backgrounds interact with available profiles, focusing on college students and working-class adults, on average in their mid-thirties. They found that men tended to swipe right more often than women, but most people overall did not consider any profile information, including whether someone was interested in a hookup or relationship.