How to use BumbleVID

Do you think a few photos provide enough information to determine whether or not someone is a good match? The makers of dating app Bumble think they aren't, and that video can help.

The popular female-centric dating app will soon release BumbleVID, which will allow users to create a video "story" with unlimited 10-second videos, which will each delete after 24 hours. According to Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe, the video feature was inspired by Snapchat.

To make sure the videos are current, Bumble asks users to record their 10-second features within the app, which then posts to their profiles. If someone wants to use a pre-recorded video from their phone or another source, it has to have been recorded within the last 24 hours. These videos will also be marked with a tag saying they weren’t posted “live.” The new BumbleVID feature also lets users send their videos to specific matches.

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.

Recipient of Gold
Match.com

Recipient of Silver
eHarmony

Recipient of Bronze
Elite Singles

The 2016 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award poll was launched on October 13th, 2016 and in two and half months closed for voting on January 1st, 2017. By this point it had 407 people cast their votes. For the first question of the poll, it asked our visitors what paid dating site or app would you recommend for the Single's Choice Award. Voters had an option to select from 10 possible answers of the top dating services of 2016 (as chosen by the Editor's). This is 2 more dating services to choose from compared to last year. For this award the top voted service receives Gold, followed by Silver, and for third, Bronze.

The recipient of the Gold 2016 Single's Choice Award is Match.com. Match received a total of 83 votes which worked out to 20.4% of all votes cast. This gave match a strong 6% lead in votes when compared to the dating service which received the Silver.

The recipient of the Silver 2016 Single's Choice Award is eHarmony. This year eHarmony received 57 votes which is 14% of the total votes cast. This gives them a solid position over third. At the end of this year eHarmony went through a number of changes including updates to their relationship questionnaire and expanding how matching works. It will be interesting to see how this affects things next year during voting.

The recipient of the Bronze 2016 Single's Choice Award is Elite Singles. Elite Singles received 49 votes which is 12% of all votes cast. This is the first time Elite Singles took part in the Single's Choice Awards showing that their members believe in this new service.

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

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.”