Features

Image: Match

Dating app Match has launched a new feature called 72 Hours, aiming to get people off the app and into a real-life date by creating a time-limited online event. The app will gather participants in close proximity and help them connect.

The time-sensitive feature will be a weekly in-app experience. Users who participate will be able to select profiles on a map and start conversations (with a nudge to make weekend plans) before the 72 hours is up. The map will limit options to 15 potential matches, but users can adjust age and location filters to find profiles that are further away, according to Tech Crunch.

Participants will only have the 72 Hours to message potential matches, and after that, their messages will disappear. (Match will also provide a countdown to remind users the clock is ticking.)

Dating app BLK, a dating and lifestyle app for the black community, has launched a series of profile stickers in time for Pride Month to celebrate the LGBTQIA2S+ community. In addition, the company launched the #BLKVoices social media campaign to educate and dispel misconceptions surrounding the letters of the spectrum.

The profile stickers were designed by Brooklyn-based artist Thaddeus Coates, who goes by the name Hippy Potter, and are available exclusively for BLK users, according to news website Atlanta Daily World. Each sticker represents a letter from the LGBTQIA2S+ spectrum, and users can add them to their profiles to display their identities and spark conversation. The intention behind this offering is not only to connect people romantically, but also to foster engagement among users who might not know what certain letters stand for.

The idea came when BLK conducted a survey among its users and found that 40 percent of LGBTQIA2S+ individuals were unfamiliar with the meaning of every letter in the spectrum, according to Atlanta Daily World. Since so many members within the queer community on the platform were uncertain, the company wanted to raise awareness and dispel false assumptions among all users.

Tinder has added new profile stickers to celebrate Pride month, and as young LGBTQIA+ daters become the fastest-growing user base on its platform.

Young users can now add “My First Pride” as a sticker to help them connect with others attending Pride-related events, according to The Advocate. “Came Out Online” is another sticker specifically honoring younger Tinder users who first came out on a dating app or social media platform.

In fact, Tinder’s new Future of Dating Report found that 54 percent of LGBTQIA+ singles between the ages of 18 and 25 come out on dating apps first, and to friends and family later. The study also found that young singles say their sexual identity and gender identity have become more fluid over the past three years.

Match Group announced the launch of its new gay dating app Archer on June 1st, just in time for Pride month.

According to Tech Crunch, Archer is a “social-first” dating experience specifically for gay, bi and queer men. The app is distinguishing itself from other gay dating apps like Grindr and Scruff by offering traditional social media features within the app.

For example, the app has interest tags that you can search, making the search process easier and allowing filters to be set. Free-form tags will be available post-launch, so users can customize their own interests. Most similarly to social platforms, users can follow one another, paving the way for similar features. (There are plans down the line to add a Stories feature, too.)

Bumble is expanding its suite of apps with the acquisition of Official, an app that helps people improve their relationships through check-ins and date planning, according to Fast Company.

Networking and friendship building are already part of Bumble’s platform, and Official adds to the mix to encourage couples to better communicate and set intentions in their relationships.

Official will remain a standalone app for now instead of being folded into Bumble’s app, though CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd told Fast Company that there were opportunities for the two platforms to “collaborate.” Couples who met on another app will also be able to sign up for Official, which means joining Bumble’s userbase. With the addition of Official, Bumble is seizing on an opportunity to keep people on its platforms even after they’ve met and formed a relationship.

Dating app Tinder announced it will be removing social media handles from user profiles and has revised community guidelines to prevent users from advertising and self-promoting. It will also request that users not share private chats in public settings.

The dating app company said in a press release: “Tinder is not a place to promote businesses to try making money. Members shouldn’t advertise, promote, or share social handles or links to gain followers, sell things, fundraise, or campaign.”

Self-promotion has become an issue on its platform according to Engadget. To curb this kind of behavior, the company said it will be removing social handles from public profiles and prohibit the sharing of other promotional information such as links to online stores or websites.