TV Shows

Filteroff, a new dating app that targets communities of singles, offers virtual speed dating events to set itself apart from traditional swiping apps like Tinder.

The app launched a series of speed dating events specifically for Orthodox Jewish singles starting August 30th, where participants can join from the comfort of their own couches. Each couple is given three minutes to chat over the app, with the option to keep chatting if they connect, or move on to the next.

Other Filteroff virtual speed dating events have been targeted towards vegans, dog lovers, or even Yankee fans, providing services to concentrated communities of singles who have specific needs for matchmaking, according to news site Forward. Events for Jewish singles are meant to compete directly for users of popular Jewish dating app JDate, along with other niche apps.

Image: Amazon Studios

Cosmic Love, a new astrology-based dating reality series launched by Amazon Studios, has become a hit among young Gen Z daters. Instead of experts doing the matchmaking, the show leaves it to the contestants’ birth charts.

The premise is already popular – more than a third of Gen Z singles use astrology to decide who they date. Dating app Bumble announced it is rolling out astrology-based features for its platform based on its own user surveys.

According to website Her Campus, the new series was developed in part by celebrity astrologists the Astrotwins, also known as Tali & Ophira Edut, the official astrologers for Elle magazine and who co-founded an entire astrology-inspired brand called Astrostyle (which includes a series of astrology-based novels). They wanted to extend their brand to television, and despite being Gen Xers themselves, have drawn young Gen Z viewers.

Emma Hernan, one of the stars of reality show Selling Sunset, created an Internet frenzy when she revealed in a new episode that she and Ben Affleck matched on dating app Raya.

She told fellow reality star Chrishell Stause in the episode that the actor “may or may not have asked to grab coffee a few times” as they were messaging over the app. She also noted that he initiated conversation by bringing up their shared background of growing up in Boston. Stause replied that Hernan could have “foiled Bennifer,” and Hernan agreed that “maybe that wouldn’t have happened” if she had followed through and kept messaging him, according to E! News.

Affleck is now engaged to actress Jennifer Lopez, which caused fans to speculate on the timing and whether or not he cheated on Lopez if he was still texting with Hernan. The rumors grew when Lopez posted a photo on Instagram wearing a short red dress and boots stating that she was going out for a “girl’s night.”

Mad Realities, a production company that funded a dating reality show with cryptocurrency, has raised $6 million from investors to expand its platform, including from reality star and socialite Paris Hilton. 

The company’s first show, Proof of Love, features a bachelor or bachelorette who gets to choose from 4 eligible singles, much like a typical dating reality show. According to Fortune, the difference is that Mad Realities’ show is built around its audience, and those who pay to participate (by purchasing the company’s NFTs) get to choose who competes, be a host themselves, or put a friend on the show, depending on how much crypto they are willing to pay.

Episodes are streamed live and posted on YouTube later, and while the show itself has much lower ratings than the average network show (about 6,400 views total), it has built an avid fan base that’s willing to invest and participate, including 1,000 active members in its group chat.

Image: Tinder

Dating app Tinder is rolling out another interactive feature for its Explore section. According to the company’s blog post, Fast Chat: Blind Date will allow users to chat without being able to see each other’s photos, so they focus on personality instead of image. 

When users opt in to the Blind Date feature, they are asked to complete a series of questions, and are paired with others based on similar responses. The questions are meant to spark conversation in an ice-breaker style, like “I put ketchup on___.” The two daters then start a timed chat in which they receive the responses as prompts, so they can have a little fun with awkward first conversations. 

When the chat time ends, they can like the other person’s profile and if they both match they can see each other’s photos and continue talking or messaging, according to the company's blog. 

The infamous “Tinder Swindler” has been banned from several dating apps. Match Group, which owns several popular dating apps including Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and PlentyofFish, announced that he was no longer welcome on their platforms.

According to Match Group, Shimon Hayut (who also went by Simon Leviev) violated their terms of service, which includes impersonation and asking for money. He created fake profiles on the app using other names in order to keep his con going, according to The Washington Post.

Match Group also said that ahead of the documentary’s release, the company published new guidelines for users to better protect from scammers and exploitation on its apps.