Matching

Tinder announced that it is testing its newest feature Swipe Surge – inspired by popular ride-hailing app Uber’s surge pricing when it operates at the busiest times.

Swipe Surge will offer push notifications to users when Tinder usage spikes in a specific geographic area, alerting users to dating opportunities (rather than traffic jams). As Tinder noted, when more people are on the app, the chances of matching increase.

It works like this: if a user opts in to Swipe Surge, their profile goes to the front of the line (virtually speaking), so other users who are also swiping during the surge will see them first. (This advantage is normally reserved for those paying for it at non-peak times.) Those participating in Swipe Surge will also be identified by a badge on their profile.

“Get swept away. Not swiped away.”

That is the promise of Cove, a new members-only dating app that aims to provide a more engaged experience for singles who are tired of wasting their time with idle conversations and hookup culture. The app offers users three opportunities to establish chemistry through an innovative level system that must be completed within 10 days.

"Random hookups can threaten one's physical and psychological health. While other dating apps may foster this sort of behavior, we believe that there is a large segment of the population hungry for something more meaningful in the online dating experience," says Cove founder Charles Messow. "We created Cove to guide matches through more meaningful conversation within 10 days while respecting the premium of everyone's time and attention."

Dating app Hinge is getting serious with its mission to help people form long-term relationships. This week, it became the first dating app to launch a breakthrough feature called “We Met,” offering its users an opportunity to give feedback on their dates.

“We Met” will allow two matched members to privately confirm if they actually went on a first date and share how the date went. Hinge will then use this information to suggest better matches, with the goal of refining its algorithms to yield better first dates – ones with relationship potential.

The information users share is kept confidential, so no need to worry about whether your date will find out what you said. The main idea is for Hinge to improve the matchmaking process with more real-world data. (Though if your date gets too drunk or stands you up, for instance, Hinge also allows its users report disrespectful behavior.)

The DNA Romance dating platform disrupts the way people connect online by using Genetics and Psychology to matchmake people based on all three elements of human attraction:

1. Personality
2. Chemistry
3. Appearance

DNA Romance enhances the transparency of online dating by providing evidence based matchmaking going beyond appearance and questionnaires.

Celebrities aren’t immune to the pervasive popularity of online dating. Despite their fame, stars like Tiffany Haddish, Charlize Theron, Zac Efron, Martha Stewart, Chace Crawford, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, and Andy Cohen have admitted to experimenting with dating apps. There’s even Raya - an exclusive app designed just for celebrity singles.

But here’s a name we never expected to see associated with online dating: Norm Macdonald.

The Canadian comedian has made a radical departure from stand-up and SNL to co-create a dating app with serial entrepreneur Vivek Jain. The app, called Loko, places the focus on meeting face-to-face with video-only profiles. This helps matches make genuine first impressions based on personality, the founders claim, and eliminates several major problems faced by online daters.

Are you more progressive or conservative? Turns out it makes a difference in your love life. OkCupid recently found that among its members, ACLU supporters, who are generally associated with more progressive political views, get more dates.

Talking politics on a date has historically been tricky, especially now with the U.S. so divided. Because politics is front and center in our lives today, online daters like to know where allegiances lie before they decide whether to like or pass on a person. Political beliefs do matter when it comes to dating, which is why OkCupid came up with a way for users to identify someone’s politics up front, offering badges to show what causes the user supports, like the ACLU.