Bumble is starting 2018 with another power move in its quest for global dating app domination. The female-focused app announced on January 23 that Bumble profiles would now support Instagram integration, allowing potential matches to scroll through each other’s photo feeds.

To activate the feature, simple visit the Edit Profile menu, select the “Connect Your Instagram” option, and grant Bumble access to your Instagram profile. Once approval is granted, your 24 most recent Insta-snaps will be displayed at the bottom of your Bumble profile.

The option is currently available for both Android and iOS, but only for Bumble Date and Bumble BFF. Instagram integration is not offered - at least not yet - for Bumble Bizz users.

Image: wired

The next time you swipe right on a Tinder match when you’re sitting at a bar, consider that hackers might be taking notes.

Website MarketWatch reported that vulnerabilities were found in the popular app, exposing users to hackers. The vulnerability stems from Tinder not using encryption on users’ photos. Instead, they use a basic HTTP, an unsecure older protocol, rather than HTTPS. This means when you swipe, hackers have the ability to see not only profiles, but the actions you take with swiping, super-liking, and rejecting photos as well. Think of it as someone looking over your shoulder as you’re swiping.

Tech Times reported that users aren’t at risk of spies seeing their actions when they are swiping at home over a private Internet connection, but they are when using public WiFi networks.

Here is the summary of the 11th annual Dating Sites Reviews Choice Awards. These awards honor the best dating apps and sites of 2017 in 11 different categories. These will be the dating services worth checking out in 2018 for those interesting in online dating.

Our top award is the Single's Choice Award and is decided by this poll that all of our visitors can vote in. This poll ran from October 1^st 2017 until December 31^st 2017. The poll asked 2 questions. The first question asks you to recommend your choice for the top dating service from a selection of the ten leading dating services on the internet. The top three dating services who receives the most votes will be the recipient of a Gold, Silver, and Bronze award. The second question is similar, but it asks you to recommend your selection from 10 of the most popular free dating services. With the free question there is only the gold award for the service with the most votes.

Single's Choice Award

Recipient Match.com

Our Gold Single's Choice Award for 2018 goes to Match.com. This dating service has been around since the late 90's and has remained the top choice for singles in North America and abroad thanks to it's easy of use and large number of members.

For full award information see the article: 2018 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award

Recipient eHarmony

Our Silver Single's Choice Award of 2018 goes to eHarmony. This matchmaking service is known for its algorithm for matching members together based on not just regular attributes like location and physical appearance but personality.

For full award information see the article: 2018 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award

Recipient OurTime

The 2018 Bronze Single's Choice Award recipient is OurTime.com. It says something when a niche dating service makes it into our Single's Choice Award. This dating service for senior singles must have struck a chord with it's members because they certainly turned out to vote them as their favorite dating service.

For full award information see the article: 2018 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award

Recipient Plenty of Fish

The 2018 Single's Choice Award for a Free Service recipient is Plenty of Fish. It is no surprise that POF continues to be the popular choice for singles looking for a free dating service. They continue to innovate the dating space and bring in new features to make it easier to find that special someone.

For full award information see the article: 2018 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award - Free

2018 is off to a rough start for eHarmony. Shortly after one of the company’s advertisements was banned in the UK for being “misleading” comes the news that the popular dating website has taken another hit - one that will cost them more than $2 million.

Last month, eHarmony settled a consumer protection lawsuit in California, agreeing to pay $1.28 million to four counties - Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Napa - and the city of Santa Monica.

The complaint against eHarmony alleged that the company failed to sufficiently explain its subscription fee policy, leading to unexpected charges for consumers. The complaint further alleged that eHarmony did not provide a contract explaining the service, nor did it explain the cancellation procedure as required by law. 

Recipient of Gold
Match.com

Recipient of Silver
eHarmony

Recipient of Bronze
OurTime.com

The 2018 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award poll was launched on October 1st, 2017. It ran for 3 months and then closed for voting on December 31st, 2017. 393 people cast their votes in the poll. The first question of the poll asked:

What paid dating site or app would you recommend for the Single's Choice Award?

Voters could choose 1 dating service from a selection of 10 of the top dating services in 2017 as selected by the Editor's. For this award the top voted dating service for the above question receives the Gold, second place gets Silver, and for third Bronze.

The recipient of the Gold 2018 Single's Choice Award is Match.com. Match received just over 27% of the votes cast in the poll which is 95 votes. This is a strong showing as it is 7% more votes when compared to last year and almost 5% more votes than our Silver recipient this year.

The recipient of the Silver 2018 Single's Choice Award is eHarmony. This popular dating service gathered 75 votes which gave it over 19% of the total votes cast. This is 5% more votes than in the previous year and 6% more votes than the Bronze recipient of this year.

The recipient of the Bronze 2018 Single's Choice Award is OurTime. This niche dating service for singles 50 years and older received 51 votes which is almost 13% of the total votes cast. This is the first time that OurTime has been a Single's Choice Award winner which is to be commended especially for a dating service that doesn't cater to the entire single pool.

Here are this year's standings for the Single's Choice award for all dating services in the poll:

After purchasing a majority stake in Grindr last year, ​​​​​​a Chinese gaming company has acquired the rest of the popular dating app for gay men. The acquisition means a major payday for the company, but China experts and former intelligence officials fear it could spell privacy problems for users.

Kunlun Group purchased 60 percent of Grindr in January 2016 for $93 million. The Chinese firm has now acquired the remaining stake for $152 million, according to stock filings, which some believe puts the Chinese government in a position to demand sensitive data on the app’s users, including those who are not Chinese citizens.

Kunlun Group initially indicated that Grindr founder Joel Simkhai would stay on as CEO, but following the completion of the deal, Simkhai has left the company with no explanation for his departure.