Industry

Regulators in The Netherlands have just rejected another rules revision from Apple regarding how it will manage third-party payment platforms for dating apps in its app store.

According to Apple Insider, The Authority for Consumers and Markets said that the changes Apple made in its latest rules submission in March were improved but still insufficient. In that revision, Apple had allowed dating apps to use third-party payment systems, but developers had to choose between either the third-party payment system or Apple’s system, not both. Apple also required that the apps would have to notify users that they would be using a system that Apple didn’t control. 

What continues to be a sticking point for the tech giant as well is the commission it charges all developers who place apps in the app store. Apple said that even if dating apps use a third-party payment system, they would still charge developers a 27 percent commission to be able to operate in the app store. (Currently, Apple charges a 30 percent commission to developers and all in-app payments must go through its app store.)

New Match Group CEO Bernard Kim

Image: Match Group

Bernard Kim was named the new chief executive officer of Match Group, succeeding Shar Dubey who will be stepping down from the position at the end of May.

Kim is the former head of Zynga and oversaw global marketing, user acquisition, revenue, and product management among other divisions. According to Match Group’s press release, the company describes him as “instrumental in Zynga’s explosive growth” and “pivotal in the company’s expansion to new markets such as blockchain and hyper-casual gaming, as well as new platforms like the Nintendo Switch, Snapchat, and smart home devices.”

The move isn’t surprising, considering the pandemic has shifted the focus of dating apps towards more interactive and entertainment-based features. Match Group has rolled out several new options in its Explore section, including two seasons of its original interactive series Swipe Night, virtual speed dating with Blind Date, Swipe Party, and now Festival Mode to help concert-goers connect in real life. 

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.

Match Group has won the lawsuit it brought against dating app Muzmatch for trademark infringement violation.

According to The Guardian, the UK intellectual property and enterprise court ruled in favor of Match, which owns popular apps like Tinder and Hinge. Muzmatch, a niche dating app for Muslim singles, could now be forced to change its name or pay damages, according to The New York Times.

Match Group claimed in the lawsuit that consumers might think Muzmatch was a “sub-brand” of theirs targeting Muslim daters because of its name. Deputy high court judge Nicholas Caddick QC agreed, stating that using “match” in its name “would have led some consumers to assume that the goods and services offered by Muzmatch were somehow connected with or derived from Match,” according to The Guardian.

Dating apps are having a moment since the pandemic began, and new ones have launched this year that are expanding options for how to connect with others beyond just a swipe. 

Tinder and Bumble are by far the most popular apps, but many singles are looking for something different than your typical swiping experience that instead caters to social habits and lifestyles. Elle Magazine highlighted a few new apps to watch in their latest dating app round up, including some noteworthy ones that are following post-pandemic dating needs:

Dating app Bumble has been urging states to pass bills similar to the one it initiated in Texas, which makes it illegal for people to send unsolicited nude photos electronically. In mid-April, Virginia passed such a bill into law.

According to the new law, any adult sending an unsolicited “intimate image” electronically to another adult could be fined up to $500. The law defines intimate image as a “photo, film, video, recording, digital picture or other visual reproduction of a person 18 years of age or older who is in a state of undress so as to expose the human male or female genitals.”  

USA Today spoke with Bumble about how company's head of public policy for the Americas, Payton Iheme, reached out to Virginia Senator Jennifer McClellan for help with the legislation, since the company had success a few years ago passing a similar bill in Texas. The Virginia Senate had voted down another lewd photos bill two years before that carried criminal penalties, but since the new bill introduced civil penalties only, lawmakers felt more comfortable passing it into law.