Statistics

Dating app Bumble exceeded analysts’ expectations when the company reported its first quarter earnings, with revenues and new subscriber numbers significantly higher than what was initially predicted.

Revenue for the dating company rose 43 percent from the same quarter in 2020 to $171 million, up from $79.1 million this time last year, beating expert estimates and even the company’s own predictions. According to Marketwatch, Bumble shared that the number of total paying users also rose significantly, up 30 percent to 2.8 million compared to 2.2 million from the first quarter of 2020. 

This past quarter was also good for Bumbles other dating brands like Badoo. Revenue for them increased year-over-year to $58.1 million.

Dating app Hinge is now offering prompts via their video chat feature to help guide virtual daters towards a more engaging, fun conversation.

According to The Zoe Report, once you start chatting with someone on Hinge, the new feature will let one of you swipe through prompts to ask during the call. There are eight main types of prompts to choose, starting with The Warm-Up (which are ice-breakers to get you started). Hinge then moves on to Dive in Deep (which gets into personal questions), Behind the Scenes (insight into your daily life and habits), Not So Serious (“fun and out-of-the-box” questions), Dim the Lights (if you’re looking to get romantic), Underrated or Overrated (opinions on some more controversial or polarizing subjects), and finally Let’s Delete Hinge. The last one is assuming the call is going well and you’re going to take things offline.

Hinge has called this new offering a “virtual vibe check” so daters don’t feel the pressure to meet someone in person before having a conversation and getting a sense of who they are.

Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona just signed into law a bill that requires online dating companies to inform their users when they have communicated with potential scammers, according to a report from Fox 10 News.

The bill HB2396 was sponsored by Republican lawmaker Regina Cobb of Kingman, Arizona, and requires dating services to inform its members if someone they had been in contact with was banned for a suspected scam, in an effort to reduce abusive and criminal activity on dating apps. These companies were previously prohibited from doing so.

The law requires the notice to be sent my mail or email, and according to Fox News 10 in Phoenix, it also provides immunity for dating app companies to prevent them from being sued.

Image: Bumble

Dating app Bumble has released a new safety guide for online daters in India to address safety issues and the rise of cyber bullying, which are rampant on online platforms.

The guide is part of a new initiative called “Stand for Safety” according to The Hindustan Times. The move is in partnership with Safecity, which helps women across the country to identify, prevent and combat abuse on online platforms. 

Bumble conducted a survey among its users in India and found that 83 percent of women experience online harassment of some kind, and one-third of women experience it at least weekly. Almost 70 percent feel that cyberbullying has also increased since the pandemic took hold and lockdowns began. These numbers alarmed company executives, whose mission it is to improve safety for women on its platforms, so they decided to take action by publishing the guide. 

Dating app Coffee Meets Bagel has put the Covid vaccine front and center on its app, adding vaccination status to user profiles.

According to Fox News, CMB users will be able to select from one of five options to update their status: fully vaccinated, waiting on an additional dose, planning to get vaccinated, not getting vaccinated, or prefer not to say. When they choose, it will automatically be added their profile. If at any time a user wants to change their vaccination status, they can edit their response.

The coronavirus has upended dating over the past year, with many singles turning to dating apps and virtual chats to meet people and stay connected. The rollout of the vaccine has gotten singles excited to meet in person again, and vaccination status has been a popular topic of conversation. In fact, CMB noted that user bios containing the word “vaccine” or “vaccination” have increased 220 percent since October.

LA Weekly unveiled a list of the best online dating sites for Trans singles, with OkCupid and My Transsexual Date among the top choices.

The list was created with attention to the specific needs of trans daters, notably in regard to safety, the magazine points out. While many mainstream dating platforms have a section or choices for transgender people, the transgender community is often subject to abuse from intolerant or ignorant cis users, or they are fetishized and treated as objects. This makes dating apps particularly tricky and anxiety-provoking for trans people.

Some online dating sites provide a safe space better than others, and My Transsexual Date and OkCupid are among them.