General News

By now, we’ve all heard of the latest in cyber attacks; personal information from infidelity dating website Ashley Madison was stolen by hackers who have since threatened to expose its 37 million users.

However, information about what exactly was stolen – such as credit card information or social security numbers – is still a bit hazy. Ashley Madison customer service has, according to news website Inquisitr, provided customers with conflicting information about what was subject to the hack, namely because they don’t know what was stolen and sold or given to third parties. Some customers have been told that credit card numbers weren’t hacked, but others were told that third party credit card data was indeed hacked.

A few websites have emerged to help customers see if their personal data has been leaked, including a site “Was he on Ashley Madison,” (WasHeOnAshleyMadison.com). Customers of Ashley Madison and also of hacked website Adult Friend Finder could search through emails to see if theirs were compromised. However, as of July 31, that website was put up for sale, and quickly bought by someone looking to make a statement to users of Ashley Madison and Adult Friend Finder. Hours later, what appears to be a former Ashley Madison user posted a statement lashing out against the company, including this paragraph to those who were hacked:

“You have been through enough pain and anger and anxiety about their hack without having some opportunistic scammer buy this domain and charge you money for data they do not have.

I have decided that I am going to fight the AM people so I can keep this domain. They have refused to offer any of their customers any kind of solace or at least a year of identity theft protection which is standard practice when your data is hacked. They prefer to sit in their ivory tower and hide behind their lawyers.

This is not OK with me and it should not be OK with you.”

According to Inquisitr, there have been many sites claiming to provide information for those who feel their personal information could have been hacked, but many of these sites have been nothing but spam themselves. According to an investigation by BBC, Ashley Madison users were sent emails providing links to third party websites, supposedly with information about the hack. Some included the recipient’s Ashley Madison user name, giving more credence to the email, but worrying customers that their information was indeed sold to a third party. However, when people clicked on the links, they were sent to spam sites that were booby-trapped with malware and, in some cases, graphic images and videos of adulterers ‘burning in hell.’

Now Ashley Madison users are turning to Reddit to provide current information about the hack to other users in an attempt to gain information.

One Reddit user claimed that Ashley Madison sold user information to third party sites from the beginning, because that user began getting spam emails as soon as he/she signed up on the website. While it's difficult to tell where exactly information has gone, it has been compromised. We'll see what Ashley Madison does next to address the issue.

Late last year, a lawsuit was discreetly filed by Spark’s popular niche dating website JDate against dating app JSwipe. According to Forbes who broke the story, JDate claimed that JSwipe was infringing on the company’s trademark “J” by using it in the name of their app.

JDate isn’t the only Jewish online dating website that caters to the Jewish community and uses the letter “J” in its offerings. There is also JCrush, JWed, JPeopleMeet, Jewish Café, and Jewcier to name a few. In fact, it seems difficult to name a niche dating app catering to the Jewish community without using the letter J. But there is more to the story, which potentially puts all online dating sites and apps in danger of patent infringement.

In the lawsuit, JDate also claims it owns the patent on software that “confidentially determines matches and notifies users of mutual matches in feelings and interests.” JSwipe is similar in its process to Tinder, which also notifies users when matches swipe right on their picture. This is in violation of JDate’s patent.

Why then has JDate not sued other websites or dating apps, since this is such a broad definition of matching that almost every dating app and website uses? Notifying users of potential matches is the bread and butter of online dating. Why not go after an app like Tinder?

The key might lie in the competition JSwipe presents, especially if it is gaining market share in the niche online dating space. According to the Forbes writer who broke the story, JSwipe’s founder David Yarus confidentially confessed the lawsuit to him, though he is forbidden from discussing details. Instead of accepting JDate’s acquisition offer (which he considered too low), he decided to fight the lawsuit rather than sell. (For all you fans of Silicon Valley on HBO, this sounds vaguely similar to Pied Piper’s plight as an up-and-comer in the tech world.)

But JDate might have a case against JSwipe. According to Forbe’s research into intellectual property law, the language used in JDate’s patent was registered in 1999, and it is broad – broad enough (as mentioned earlier) to cover most dating websites and apps on the market today – so they could essentially claim IP infringement over any other company in the space. According to analysts, this might be a move by JDate to acquire JSwipe for a steal. Chances are if they tried to sue Match or Tinder, those companies' lawyers would be able to fight and win. JSwipe is too small a player.

Using the letter “J” in a dating app or website is apparently less clear-cut in legal terms. JDate would have to find evidence that users confuse Jswipe with JDate, which means asking users to testify that they thought Jswipe was part of JDate, or somehow affiliated, which would be trickier and more time-consuming.

JSwipe is fighting back. They have set up a crowdfunding website and asked for Jewish lawyers to take them on pro bono. 

For more on the Spark Networks dating site, you can read our review of JDate.

OkCupid has built a strong reputation for taking a more progressive approach to online dating. Back in 2014, the company began offering users more options for self-identification. Gender was expanded to include agender, androgynous, genderfluid, intersex, and more. Choices for sexual orientation were also extended, including asexual, pansexual, queer, and questioning.

Now OkCupid is continuing its efforts for more inclusive representation. The company recently launched a new project called 'Identity' to encourage conversation about sexual orientation and gender identity.

“When OkCupid expanded the available gender and orientation options,” reads the Identity website, “we realized there was a larger conversation taking place. Because dictionary definitions aren’t always able to tell a story, we went to real people to add some color to this evolving language. Here are descriptions from those who claim these words for themselves.”

Musicians are having to find new and more organic ways to promote their new albums, since people are discovering content in different ways outside of traditional radio. To capture new – and especially younger – fans, artists who are serious about promotion are now looking to dating apps, and finding some success.

Millennials are the largest group of consumers of music, and they also tend to be on dating apps like Tinder and Grindr. So it only makes sense that music and dating apps would eventually come together.

Some recent examples: Madonna's latest album was advertised on Grindr, a dating app for gay men, while Jason Derulo debuted a music video on Tinder. PlentyofFish was one of the first dating sites to link itself to an artist, by making an appearance in Derulo’s 2010 video for his song “Ridin Solo.” POF also worked with Lady Gaga during a U.S. tour, offering fans a chance to win tickets and backstage passes.

Other popular dating sites are linking to musicians, too - Mariah Carey premiered her music video for the single, "Infinity" via her new profile on Match.com, and DJ-producer Afrojack answered questions about love and relationships for eight hours on Match’s Twitter account to promote his new single.

The latest musician to take advantage of the wide reach of dating apps is Zedd, the Grammy-winning DJ-producer. He worked with Tinder to promote his album, "True Colors," released last month, by setting up his profile on the dating app. While Tinder users searched for dates, they would come across Zedd's promotional profile. They could swipe left or right, as with any other potential match. But instead of messaging him or setting up a date, if they swiped right, they could purchase his new album at a discounted price of $3.99 (compared to $7.99 on iTunes).

According to a recent story from Associated Press, “True Colors” debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 albums chart its first week with 39,000 copies sold. While no specifics were given about how many sales were the direct result of Tinder users swiping right on Zedd’s profile, chances are the app had something to do with the album’s popular debut.

According to Tinder, eighty-five percent of its users are between the ages 18-34, and the average user spends about 11 minutes on the app each day — one of the main reasons artists are looking to work with Tinder in particular. It makes sense. Since users’ engagement with dating apps is pretty high, artists have their attention, at least for a few seconds, which is long enough to swipe right and learn more.

It’s a revolutionary time in online dating. Now your physiology will be making decisions about who you should date, instead of having to rely on your own decision-making process to swipe left and right.

The new Tinder app debuting on Apple Watch called Hands-Free Tinder, created by developers from Austin-based integrated marketing and advertising firm T3, links a person’s heart rate to their interest in potential matches. Since pulse rates quicken when you are attracted to someone, the technology tracks this and suggests that you are a match. If there’s no quickening of heart rate? Then it’s an automatic rejection.

The process is entirely automated, meaning you don’t have to do the swiping yourself. The watch app does it for you. (Which kind of takes the fun out of Tinder, doesn’t it?) By simply looking at someone’s picture, the app will determine whether to reject or accept a match, all based on the user’s heart rate.

The Apple Watch won’t be the only wearable technology getting the new Tinder app – it will also become available soon on Google Play, so Android wearables will offer Hands Free Tinder, too.

“Swiping left and right is a thing of the past,” explained the developers to the UK’s Daily Mail. “After we found out that the Apple Watch could detect heart rate, we went to work developing hands-free Tinder. Now you can follow your heart to the right match.”

An article in Tech Times pointed out the precariousness of relying on heart rates to monitor attraction or interest in a potential date. Hands-free Tinder does not discriminate. If you are excited in that moment, whether it’s because you saw an old friend or took the first sip of a delicious drink, then your watch will right-swipe for you. The same thing goes if you are excited in a bad way, like if you witness an accident or suddenly remembered that you didn’t turn the stove off when you left the house. It will swipe right for you in these instances, too, because your heart rate goes up. So it’s important to not allow yourself to be distracted while you’re using the new app.

The smartphone helped propel online dating into the mainstream, making it easier than ever for people to choose or reject matches based mostly on a few photos. It has also encouraged our tendency toward laziness, especially when it comes to dating. Instead of manually accepting or rejecting matches, the next evolution of online dating says it will be done for us. Where’s the fun in that?

For more information on this dating app you can go ahead and read our review of Tinder.

Anupam Mittal, Founder and CEO of Shaadi.com, has stepped down from his role as CEO of the company. According to reports, he will now focus on Shaadi's corporate developments, new businesses, and international expansions. Gourav Rakshit, former chief operating officer, will take over Mittal's role as CEO of Shaadi.com.

“Day to day responsibilities will now move to Gourav, while I still continue to guide the company with a focus on corporate development and acquisitions,” said Mittal.

Rakshit, who has already been looking after day to day operations of the venture, will take on full responsibility for Shaadi.com. He is an MBA alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad who has held various positions at Shaadi since October 2007. Previously, he worked at Infosys, Planetasia, and Nestle.

The change comes after a few major moves in Mittal's world. His People Group, which includes app store Mobango and mobile media firm Mauj, merged its property listing portal Makaan with online property broker Proptiger for an undisclosed sum. Makaan continues to operate as an independent entity following the deal.

In January this year, People Group acquired a 25% stake in dating app Thrill, which merged with People Group's dating website Fropper.com.

People Group hopes its next big move will be a new round of funding for Shaadi. The company is looking for at least $100 million to finance its expansion plans.

In preparation, Shaadi has hired Aditya Save, former head of Marico's global centre of excellence for digital and media, to replace Abhishek Maloo as chief marketing officer. Maloo will join Mittal in the corporate development team.

Finally, Shaadi has brought on Ketan Doshi as chief technology officer. Doshi is an IIT-Bombay and Stanford graduate, as well as the former director of product development at BMC Software. Both Save and Doshi will report to Rakshit.

Mittal started Shaadi.com in 1996 before forming People Group to look at other opportunities in the technology arena. He is an active angel investor who has contributed to over 60 startups. According to reports, Shaadi has made over 3.2 million matches as of 2013.