General News

Are You Interested (AYI), the first online dating service to utilize Facebook connections in its matchmaking process by pairing friends of friends in the same social media circles, has announced that it has rebranded its AYI app and website.

The new service is called FirstMet, which parent company Snap Interactive says “reflects the company’s vision for making it easier for single adults to meet new people in a friendly, low-pressure environment.” At first glance, the design of FirstMet is similar, and the app still uses Facebook as a connection tool. However, the experience is specifically designed for mobile users, as opposed to AYI’s online service.

AYI launched in 2007, and has since gained about 30 million users worldwide. While the app attracted a nice user base, rivals like Tinder and the traditional dating sites like Match still cornered the market for attracting new and more active users.

Reports of online dating-related rape have risen by more than 450 percent in six years, according to the UK's National Crime Agency.

Between 2009 and 2014, the number of reports of serious sexual assaults during first face-to-face meetings following initial contact online rose in the UK from 33 to 184 – a nearly sixfold increase. With around seven million UK residents currently using dating sites, that number is a small fraction of total online encounters – but its growth is still a reminder that safety is an important concern when dating online.

“Early analysis indicates that the online dating phenomenon has produced a new type of sexual offender,” reads the NCA's report on the subject. “These offenders are less likely to have criminal convictions, but instead exploit the ease of access and arm-chair approach to dating websites. This is aided by potential victims not thinking of them as strangers, but someone they have got to know.”

Becaue online relationships tend to progress more quickly than those that begin offline, online daters often have a heightened (and misleading) sense of emotional intimacy. By the time they meet in real life, they falsely believe they are at a more advanced stage of the relationship than they really are. In turn, they are comfortable taking more risks than they normally would and can find themselves in vulnerable situations. That, the NCA posits, is why attacks are most often committed during the first face-to-face meetings.

Looking deeper at the stats, the majority of the victims were women. Eighty-five percent of those reporting rapes were female and 15 percent were men. In spite of safety warnings issued by dating services, police and rape-prevention groups, many opt not to hold their first dates in public spaces. As a result, 71% of the alleged rapes were committed at the victim's or offender's residence.

The National Crime Agency strongly emphasized that the increased risk associated with certain online dating behaviors does not mean blame should be placed on victims.

"A rape victim is never at fault and we do not want the circumstances in which these assaults take place to cause any victim to doubt that," said Sean Sutton, Head of the NCA's Serious Crimes Analysis Section. "Sexual assault is a crime, full stop, and we want victims to feel confident reporting it to the police."

For more information on preventing rape and sexual assault in an online dating context, the NCA recommends visiting Get Safe Online, an initiative supported by the government. The initiative's extenstive guidelines can help daters stay safe when meeting face-to-face.

The eHarmony free trial starts Thursday February 25th and continues to Monday February 29th, 2016. This 4 day event is available in both the United States and Canada, on the website and dating apps. This is the second free trial eHarmony has run this month.

Existing eHarmony members get access to the free trial automatically. If you don't have a membership all you need to do create one. No credit card is required for this, just the completion of the eHarmony profile questionnaire. The whole process takes about 30 minutes to complete depending on how long you spend answering each question. Most questions are multiple choice and it is important you answer them as truthfully as possible since each one affects the outcome of who the eHarmony matchmaking algorithm chooses to match with you.

Once you have completed the profile your will receive your first set of matches. You can now review those matches and start communicating with the ones you wish, starting with the guided communication process and then continuing on with email. You will continue to have new matches sent to you every day or so. One thing to note about the free trial is that it does not include photos, secure call, or the skip straight to email feature for the guided communication process.

To find out more about eHarmony and how it works, our eHarmony review is a good place to look.

Another new dating app has hit the market to compete with Tinder, the ever-popular app that is both cherished and demonized for changing the landscape of dating. Precisely takes the user-friendly format of Tinder (swiping), and combines it with a clickable menu of over 200 filters across 25 different categories, so you can select descriptions according to your preferences.

Dating sites like OkCupid and Match are two successful yet traditional online dating platforms, and their matching algorithms also use descriptions. However, these sites rely on users answering questions and writing detailed profiles, which can take a lot of time. Precisely aims to take the time-consuming part out, but still maintain the helpful filters.

So instead of writing about who you are or what you want, you can choose to “activate” or include in your profile adjectives that the app provides in a ready-made list. For instance, you can choose descriptors like: “vegetarian,” “blonde,” “curvy,” “freckles,” “tattoos.”

The app provides a variety of personality-based filters in addition to physical descriptors, covering art, fitness, politics, diet and religion, for instance. If your religious or political views are important in your relationships, you can make your beliefs known to others. Or you can choose to not make them part of your filters.

Are you a plus size dater looking for a new and better online dating experience? WooPlus aims to create a friendlier, more enjoyable time for daters who are sick of apps and online dating sites geared towards people with leaner bodies, and are looking for a more accepting environment.

Niche dating sites are a huge part of online dating. While Tinder serves the general dating market, some sites and apps prefer to focus on a certain segment of the market with particular tastes – whether it’s dating people who have the same political beliefs, eating habits, or religious views, for instance. Some dating sites even cater to hobbies, lifestyles and preferences like Star Trek fans, farmers, tattoo lovers, or those who prefer to date redheads.

eHarmony has setup a free communication trial which starts Wednesday morning on February 10th and runs for 5 days until the evening of Monday February the 15th. This event is for both the United States and Canada.

To be able to participate in the trial an eHarmony account is required. So if you haven't done it already, all you need to do is create a free eHarmony membership and fill out the profile questionnaire. No credit card is required. When you do fill out the profile make sure you have 30 to 40 minutes as there are a number of multiple choice questions. You can save a partially answered questionnaire and continue on later, but I always find it is better to finish it in one sitting. Also, make sure you have a few photos picked out for your profile before hand. A head shot for your main profile photo is good along with a few more photo's showing yourself having fun.

Once your profile and questionnaire is complete, eHarmony will then send you about 5 matches right away. These matches are created by the eHarmony matching algorithm which is based on years of research by eHarmony Labs. The information from your profile and questionnaire about what you want in a partner along with what best matches with your personality traits is used to figure out what eHarmony members, when matched to you, have the best chance of creating a long-term and happy relationship.

eHarmony free communication trials happen about once a month. The dating site and app (which is available both for the iPhone and Android devices) is always extra busy during this time especially in February when Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Features not included during the trial include skipping the guided communication process and going straight to email. The guided communication process is where you and your match each answer a couple of questions about yourself. These questions are picked out by you and your match and are designed to help break the ice before you start writing to each other via email. Viewing of profile photos is also only available to paying members during this event.

For more details about this popular dating matchmaking service, you can read our eHarmony review.