Safety

Tantan, the popular dating app often referred to as China’s Tinder, was recently removed from the Chinese app store in an effort by the government to “clean up content in cyberspace,” according to ZDNet.

There were no specifics given as to why the app was removed, but the company issued a statement saying that it is complying with the government’s requirements. The app was removed from both the Apple and Android stores in China.

Momo, Tantan’s parent company, also issued a statement saying it was "proactively communicating with the relevant government authorities" and will "fully cooperate" to restore the app's availability "as soon as possible," according to Yahoo! Finance. Shares of the company tumbled after the app’s removal.

Early in May, Apple and Google removed three dating apps from their stores after the FTC declared them a danger to children. By Friday May 10th, the updated apps were available again in Google Play, but not in the Apple Store.

According to The Hill, the FTC issued a consumer advisory for dating apps, and named three apps specifically - Meet24, FastMeet, and Meet4U – because they put children at risk of exposure to potential predators. Children under 13 years of age were able to sign up for these apps and communicate with other users, including adults, a violation of a law that requires parental consent before collecting information on underage people.

Jiayuan now allows users to livestream.

In technology-forward China, single people are looking to new ways of connecting with each other via dating apps beyond the traditional swipe. Now, online dating companies in China are experimenting with livestream, and soon U.S. companies could follow.

Gizmodo reported on the trend of Chinese dating apps integrating livestream features into their platforms. Jiayuan, China’s largest dating app, launched its new livestream feature this past January with an interesting twist. Instead of two users opting to chat with each other over the app in private (like with Facetime), a user can set up a chat topic and see if someone wants to join. Once one person accepts and the two start a chat, it becomes a broadcast where other users can watch and comment.

Popular dating app Bumble has launched a new filtering tool for its career networking app Bumble Bizz, which allows users to exclude men from their searches.

The new tool is a filter that can be turned on or off in the app settings. When it is activated, the filter excludes men from searches. The reason for the new tool is to help women find opportunities in careers where they’ve been traditionally underrepresented, such as the tech industry.

The idea is to help women build a strong network of contacts to support their career growth and shrink the gender gap. Bumble Bizz is often used by employers to find new hires, as well as job seekers looking for something new. This could give women more visibility in industries where they’ve traditionally been overlooked.

Is OkCupid the latest dating platform to fall victim to hackers? That depends on who you ask.

A news story from TechCrunch reports that an OkCupid user reached out to the tech news site after a hacker broke into his OkCupid account, reset his password and changed the email address on file. OkCupid instantly accepted the address change, he said, without sending an email asking for confirmation that the change was correct. When he contacted OkCupid’s customer service about the issue, he was told the company was “not able to provide any details about accounts not connected to your email address.”

The user is now locked out of his account with no way to reset his password and regain access. Making matters worse, the hacker began harassing him with “strange text messages” from his phone number that was taken from one of his private messages.

Image: WongMJane

Details continue to surface about Facebook’s much talked about dating service. The latest news comes courtesy of tech tipster Jane Manchun Wong, who revealed that Facebook Dating will allow users to share information about their dates with friends and family on Messenger. The innovative feature is a precaution designed to keep singles safe as they use the dating platform.

Wong shared a screenshot from Facebook Dating on Twitter. “Share your plans in Messenger,” reads the screen’s headline. “Let your friends and family know when and where you’ll meet your date. Choose whether to share your live location and provide updates in Messenger.”

Meeting a stranger in person after you’ve matched on a dating app is an inherently risky proposition. Though most users are genuinely interested in making connections, the potential dangers shouldn’t be overlooked. Dating platforms have taken an interesting array of measures to increase safety for their users, including verified profiles, anonymous browsing, behavior pledges and strict punishments for terms of service violations.