General News

Tinder sociologist Jessica Carbino

Tinder is making some bold moves lately, with the introduction of Tinder’s Apple TV app and a new profile feature that allows users to choose from over 30 gender identities. While Tinder has a reputation for being a hook-up app, the company is focusing its efforts now on helping users connect and find relationships. Its latest move: hiring an in-house sociologist.

It’s no secret that Tinder has revolutionized the online dating industry in engaging new users who were once weary of online dating. In fact, 70% of online daters only use mobile apps thanks to Tinder’s popularity, quite an increase from just a few years ago when most preferred looking for love from the comfort and privacy of their home computers.

Which is why Tinder wants to remain a trendsetter for the industry. In another bold move, the company recently hired an in-house sociologist to help point users in the right direction for making connections. In recent interviews for Grazia magazine and Fast Company, Tinder sociologist Jessica Carbino shares some tips on what makes a good profile, according to her research.

Christian Mingle and JDate are having a sale on subscriptions to celebrate Valentines Day. The sale starts February 9th and runs to February 14th, 2017. During this time you will be able to receive 20% off a 3 month and 30% off a 6 month subscription. No coupon is required for this sale which appears automatically on the upgrade page.

• Visit JDate now and receive up to 30% off a subscription
• Visit Christian Mingle now and receive up to 30% off a subscription

Both Christian Mingle and JDate have been matching singles since the late 90s and are Spark Networks flagship online dating services. You can access the faith based services via their websites and dating apps which are available for Android and iOS phones.

For more information about these popular dating services please read our Christian Mingle review and our JDate review.

Just in time for Valentines Day, eHarmony is offering free communication for 5 days staring Thursday February 8th and running until the end of day on Monday February 13th, 2017. No credit card or code is required and the offer is available in both the United States and Canada.

The sooner you sign up as a free member the longer you can take advantage of this Valentines deal and communicate with your matches at no charge. The time between New Year's and Valentine's Day is the busy season for online dating services. This means you will find a lot of members actively looking for a partner on eHarmony.

eHarmony recently went through a number of changes making it easier for new members to receive matches faster. For new users who have not finished the Relationship Questionnaire, they will receive standard matches which are based on just preferences like age and location. Once you have finished the full questionnaire which takes about 40 minutes you will then receive "Compatible" matches which are based on the 29 Dimensions of Compatibility and give you the strongest chances of finding a long term relationship. Remember you cannot search for members on eHarmony so completing the Relationship Questionnaire is the preferred way to go.

During this event viewing of photos are not included with the free trial. For more details about this popular dating service please read our review of eHarmony.

Binging on Netflix has become a social occasion, with friends gathering together to watch their favorite shows and movies in the comfort of home. Now, Tinder has proposed that online dating can be a social occasion, too - and like Netflix, experienced via your TV.

This past December (notably in time for the holidays), the company launched Tinder for Apple TV, which allows you to search for dates on the big screen, presumably with your friends gathered round to comment. The tvOSapp for Apple TV allows you to swipe left and right on potential dates on the big screen to make it a group activity. Perhaps while you’re opening presents or eating turkey and pumpkin pie with your family?

It’s the same Tinder as the version that lives on your phone, but available for display so your friends and family don’t have to squint or pass your phone around to give you their opinions.

“With a new, swipeable remote control and the world’s hottest app now in HD, modern dating is taking a page from the age-old book of matchmaking,” reads the Tinder announcement of the new tvOS app. “Let’s face it—the people who know you best have traditionally had a high rate of success when helping you pick a partner.”

It’s no secret that online daters place a lot of importance on how their potential dates look, swiping left and right based on profile pictures. As it turns out, beauty is only part of the equation. Smarts count, too. For many online daters, the level of education you’ve attained matters – as long as it matches theirs.

A recent study by Queensland University of Technology found that online daters tend to select partners who have completed the same level of formal education; in other words, like attracts like.

Researchers studied the interactions of almost 42,000 online daters from Australia with a large age range, from 18 to 80. They gathered data from participants using the dating site RSVP.com during a four-month period in 2016.

Dating services have had a historically difficult time cracking the Southeast Asian market. While the stigma of online dating has disappeared in the West, it remains alive and well in much of the East. Cultural norms have largely kept the region’s dating rituals in the past.

Things may finally be ready to change. According Forbes, an increase in developer tools has brought more discreet dating options to Southeast Asia, and that may be the key to cracking the market.

Paktor is one of the apps leading the charge into the sector. Since launching in 2013, the company has built a network of around 15 million users and more than 5 billion swipes, making it the largest dating app in the region by both downloads and usage.