Matching

Fourplay, a new dating app that lets friends create joint profiles and go on group dates with their matches, has become a hit in the New York dating scene. The app now boasts a waiting list of 9,000 people.

According to The New York Post, the app was created by two friends who were healthcare workers and didn’t have much time to devote to their jobs, friends, and the dating scene, so Danielle Dietzek and Julie Griggs decided to create a profile together on a dating app and look for matches who were willing to recruit their friends and go out all together on a double date. (Hint: they got a lot of positive responses which led to the idea for the app.)

The way Fourplay works is two friends set up a joint profile and then match with other pairs of daters. When there is a match, the four proceed to a group chat. The idea is to take the pressure and awkward conversation off of first dates, which can often be more stressful than fun, to make it a more engaging, communal experience. If there’s no romantic connection, then at least everyone got to spend time with friends, and maybe make new ones.

Image: Tinder

Dating app Tinder is rolling out another interactive feature for its Explore section. According to the company’s blog post, Fast Chat: Blind Date will allow users to chat without being able to see each other’s photos, so they focus on personality instead of image. 

When users opt in to the Blind Date feature, they are asked to complete a series of questions, and are paired with others based on similar responses. The questions are meant to spark conversation in an ice-breaker style, like “I put ketchup on___.” The two daters then start a timed chat in which they receive the responses as prompts, so they can have a little fun with awkward first conversations. 

When the chat time ends, they can like the other person’s profile and if they both match they can see each other’s photos and continue talking or messaging, according to the company's blog. 

After receiving numerous complaints from their users, dating apps in South Korea are cracking down on users who mask up in their profiles in an attempt to hide their faces.

According to The Korean Herald, this practice has become known as “magikkun,” from the English word “mask” and the Korean word “sagikkun,” which means fraud. People who use masks in their profile photos are assumed to be deceiving potential matches, because they are hiding what they look like in real life. 

Some users are avoiding swiping right on masked-up profiles altogether, where others use video chat or request a selfie from the user before agreeing to meet them in person.

The new year typically brings new dating trends, and according to Match, Zoomancing, icing out, and coupling season will be the breakout stars, at least in the UK.

Match Dating’s Expert Matchmaker Hayley Quinn has predicted that these trends will take off in the new year, after closely watching the pandemic alter dating habits at an unprecedented level.

“Zoomancing,” or virtual dating, isn’t going away anytime soon, she told the U.K.’s Mirror. In fact, Match reported that 18 percent of its users continue to date virtually, even when they could have met in person. This is in large part due to Covid infection surges throughout the last two years and the emergence of new variants that have continued to cause more concern, even as more people get vaccinated. Lockdowns might not be required anymore, but singles remain cautious with people they are just getting to know. Plus, dating virtually offers people a chance to get to know each other before meeting in real life.

Dating app Match has partnered with Candace Bushnell, the international best-selling author who inspired the Sex and the City series, to help its members find love during dating’s high season.

According to Tech Crunch, beginning on “Dating Sunday” January 2nd, the highest-trafficked day for dating apps, and through the following week, Candace is overseeing matches for the “Expert Picks” feature. Expert Picks allows users to take a quiz to receive hand-selected matches from Match’s team of experts, (including from Bushnell for the busiest week of the year).

"As the creator of Sex and the City, I know a catch when I see one," said Bushnell in a statement. "I can't wait to play matchmaker for Match members to help them get out on great dates and find the love they deserve in 2022."

Several of Japan’s largest companies have turned to an AI dating app to help their employees find love during the pandemic.

According to Kyodo News, about 800 companies have signed up to offer the app Aill goen to employees, with the aim that they will be happier and more productive workers if they are in a good relationship. Companies are also hoping the dating app will provide a way to help employees who might be struggling with their mental health, since they have been unable to physically interact with others because of lockdowns.

The pool of matches will be limited only to participating company employees, providing a level of safety and accountability for users of the app. Aill goen is being offered to employees as part of their benefits package at work, according to Kyodo News.