Types (Niche)

The Meet Group has announced that it has added a 3D face authentication-powered verification badge to its platforms. The new badge will use AI technology in authenticating that the account belongs to a real person.

The activation process begins when a user chooses the badge, prompting them to take a selfie in that moment. The AI software from FaceTec then scans and confirms the authenticity of the selfie to “confirm the user’s physical living presence, and perform age estimation” according to Mobile ID World. This is a strategy to prevent underage users and those who engage in catfishing with fake profiles from using the app.

Match Group criticised Apple's App Policies

Match Group CEO Shar Dubey recently voiced criticism of tech giant Apple’s policies in regard to their app store.

In an interview with Axios, she claimed that the way the store operates is “inconsistent and unfair” in terms of the percentage of revenue Apple takes from every app store purchase (30%). While this is definitely a disadvantage for Match Group’s revenue stream, Dubey pointed out that consumers lose, too because they don’t have as much choice as they otherwise would have.

When Match Group customers have issues with subscriptions or billing, they have not been able to help them directly either, and instead have to refer them to Apple for any refunds or payment issues. In other words, it creates a big headache for customers who would rather just deal with one company in one interaction, rather than going back and forth.

Dating app Match has launched a timely feature for these times. “Dates” allows users to share their social distancing practices and what they feel comfortable with from video chats to meeting in person.

The spread of the coronavirus has impacted societies across the globe and forced people to stay in their houses instead of gathering together, which has impacted dating. Many singles turned to dating apps for connection and to meet people virtually, and a number of apps launched video chat features to keep people connected. Match however is being proactive as we start to go out by offering tools to help people navigate meeting each other in person, since there are different levels of comfort people have right now in getting together.

Tinder’s popular original interactive series Swipe night will debut In India this month, almost a year after its initial U.S. debut.

India’s Tinder subscribers were supposed to see Swipe Night earlier this year in the spring, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed the premiere until now according to Gadgets 360. The premise of the series centers around the apocalypse, and Tinder didn’t think it was the right time for the subject. India is still dealing with 90,000 new cases of the virus each day, more than any other nation, and is one of the hot zones for virus spread, along with the U.S.

Pakistan has banned five apps on the grounds of having “indecent and immoral content,” including popular dating app Tinder and gay dating app Grindr.

According to CNN Business, the country’s oversight agency for Telecom services, The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, also blocked Tagged, Skout, and SayHi, noting that these apps had violated local laws. The Authority said it had given notice to these companies to remove the dating services and to moderate livestream content on their platforms. When the companies didn’t respond in enough time, it blocked them.

BlueCity, parent company of China’s largest gay dating app Blued, has just announced its acquisition of popular Chinese lesbian dating app LESDO, marking the first-ever deal within the country’s LGBTQ market.

LESDO is an app created specifically for Lesbian users and one of the most popular lesbian social apps in China along with Rela. No financial information was disclosed about the deal. 

"We can see the scale of existing lesbian apps are not big enough to meet the demand of a sizable market," BlueCity's founder and chief executive Ma Baoli said in an interview with Reuters. He added that BlueCity could offer algorithm support, marketing, and financing to boost customer retention and visibility as well as increase new subscribers of the app.