Animal rights activists are up and arms over the latest Tinder profile craze – posting selfies with large animals, specifically tigers, in an effort to impress potential dates.

PETA sent a formal request to Tinder asking the company to take a more active approach to condemning these photos and to ban tiger selfies altogether, citing that they are exploitative. Tinder responded in kind by posting a blog on its website, asking users to remove these selfies out of respect for other daters.

PETA noted in its letter that the practice is cruel because the tigers have to be caged, tied down or drugged in order to take the photo. Animals used as so-called “photo props” were typically taken from their mothers as babies and subject to abuse. When they grow older, they become too dangerous to handle and end up being locked in cages.

In a move that may prove we’ve reached peak Millennial, Vice is debuting a new Snapchat dating show sponsored by Match and hosted by Action Bronson. Take a moment to let all those buzzy words and brands set in.

The weekly, 8-episode show is called Hungry Hearts and features couples going on dates that are designed by Bronson himself. Over the course of the mini-series, the chef-turned-rapper will flex his matchmaker muscles as he curates dates, provides play-by-play commentary on each outing, and predicts whether the would-be lovebirds will get to a second date.

Hungry Hearts is not Bronson’s first show for Vice. His indulgent web series for Munchies - F*ck, That's Delicious - is a bonafide hit that moved to Viceland and will be printing a cookbook based on recipes from the show. It should come as no surprise to fans that his dates for Hungry Hearts will also feature plenty of delicious eats.

The dating app that started a cultural revolution, at least as far as online dating goes, is changing its focus from swiping - a fundamental part of its technology. Tinder, which made its reputation as a hot-or-not dating app thanks to its innovative swiping function, is now offering more functionality to profile viewing through tapping.

Instead of just swiping through different user profiles, Tinder is offering a deeper look and more functionality and ease to check out a person’s profile before you say yes or no. This includes toggling between a user’s photos and also between photos and written profiles.

Part of the rollout includes a new visual approach. Each profile photo extends to the edges of the phone, giving users a better, cleaner look at a potential match (as well as an even more visual experience). The look is also similar to other visual apps, like Snapchat.

OkCupid's Member Pledge

There must be something in the air. Not long after Tinder issued a statement asking users to remove their tiger photos, OkCupid has launched an attack on another infamous dating pest: the unsolicited dick pic.

The company took a stand against harassment and unwanted, sexually explicit messages in a blog entitled “Because You’re Better Than A Dick Pic.” The post announced a new OkCupid Member Pledge, which requires all users to agree not to send objectionable content before they are allowed to interact with the OkCupid community.

“While we rely in large part on our iconic questions to create potentially meaningful connections, it’s the people on either end of the app who ultimately have to cultivate a spark,” says OkCupid CEO Elie Seidman. “With the Member Pledge, we’re putting the power in our daters’ hands. This new feature reminds our members that, if you wouldn’t say it to someone you just met at a bar, you shouldn’t be saying it online.”

Popular dating app Bumble is a rising star among competitors to Tinder, mainly because of its female-friendly focus, giving women the power to initiate contact with matches. Now, Bumble is expanding beyond the dating scene with its new platform BumbleBizz, aiming to connect professionals looking for a new job, a business partner, or to hire new talent.

According to a feature in Fast Company, Bumble aims to give LinkedIn a run for their money, focusing once again on women in the workplace. Bumble itself is a female-only operation, with CEO Whitney Wolfe (a former co-founder of Tinder), at the helm. She has hired a team of women to help grow the company and launch BumbleBizz.

Notably, Wolfe is aiming to attract women. BumbleBizz works as its dating app counterpart does, where anyone can create profiles and swipe, but women initiate contact. While LinkedIn might be king of networking opportunities, Bumble aims to give it a run for its money by targeting a female demographic and giving them a leg-up.

I am always looking for the latest dating service statistics and I see that the research firm IBISWorld has updated their report on dating services in the United States for 2017. I don't have access to the complete report but they do list a few statistics on their summary page.

Now when people think of dating services they think of just online dating. In today's world online dating covers both websites and dating apps (mobile dating). This is not the complete picture though as matchmakers, and singles events (meeting people in real life) are also included in these statistics.

In 2017 revenue is expected to be over $3 billion USD. Annual growth from 2012 to 2017 is 5.3%. In all there are 6,747 companies in the dating business who employee 9,592 people.

If you are interested in more information on the dating industry you can check out our Dating Industry facts and statistics page which also includes information on the more popular companies in the dating world along with different statistics about relationships when related to meeting online.