Bad news for Cupid Media and more than 200,000 of its Australian users: the online dating company has been found in breach of privacy laws.

Cupid operates more than 35 niche dating websites, including ChristianCupid, MilitaryCupid, SingleParentLove and other sites based on ethnicity, religion and location. Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim found Cupid Media breached the Privacy Act by failing to take reasonable steps to secure data held on its websites. As a result of Cupid’s lax approach to security, hackers gained access to the company’s webservers in January of last year and stole the personal information of about 245,000 users. The information included full name, date of birth, email addresses and passwords.

At the root of the security breach is Cupid’s failure to have a password encryption process in place. "Password encryption is a basic security strategy that may prevent unauthorised access to user accounts," said Commissioner Pilgrim. "Cupid insecurely stored passwords in plain text, and I found that to be a failure to take reasonable security steps as required under the Privacy Act."

The commissioner added that the Cupid Media fiasco illustrates the importance of correctly handling personal information that is no longer needed, either by securely destroying or de-identifying it. “Holding onto old personal information that is no longer needed does not comply with the Privacy Act and needlessly places individuals at risk," he explained. "Legally, organisations must identify out-of-date or unrequired personal information and have a system in place for securely disposing with it.”

While online dating companies certainly do need to fiercely protect the massive amounts of personal data they gather, it’s also up to the daters themselves to take the most secure approach possible to dating online. Anyone using an online dating site should regularly update their privacy settings and change their password. It’s also important to remain vigilant about limiting the personal information you share. Only the bare minimums required should be posted online, or you risk becoming the victim of identity theft or a scam.

Commissioner Pilgrim noted that, on the plus side, "Cupid's vulnerability-testing processes did allow it to identify the hack and respond quickly." The company has addressed the security concerns and the investigation is now closed, but the commissioner warns against future attacks: “Hacks are a continuing threat these days, and businesses need to account for that threat when considering their obligation to keep personal information secure."

Usually when we talk about online dating and hook-ups, it’s to discuss what everybody’s using Tinder for. Today, it’s about a $90 million merger agreement between Fairfax Media’s RSVP dating website and Ten Network Holdings-backed Oasis Active. The two are teaming up amid growing overseas competition in the online dating market.

Prior to the merger, RSVP was wholly owned by Fairfax, while Ten controlled about 40% of Oasis and shared the registry with other investors including co-founders David Heysen and Daniel Haigh, former Star City, Engin and Solution 6 boss Neil Gamble. Although the companies have been rivals at each other’s throats for some time, they’re now putting aside their differences for a marriage of convenience (but plan to keep their maiden names and their respective management teams).

Following the transaction (which will be conducted in a combination of cash and RSVP shares), Fairfax will have a 58% stake, Ten will hold 17%, and Heysen and Haigh will hold 14% of the company. Their combined business will be managed collectively by the RSVP and Oasis executive teams.

The merger is part of a larger trend for Fairfax over the past two years. Fairfax, the publisher of Business Day, has sold a number of digital assets in that time, including online accommodation business Stayz to United States rental operator HomeAway for $220 million and New Zealand auction website Trade Me in late 2012. Fairfax purchased RSVP, Australia’s largest dating website, in 2005.

Oasis launched in 2008 and is now one of Australia's largest free online dating sites. It has an overseas presence in countries including Colombia, Chile and Mexico, but that’s not enough to take on huge international rivals like eHarmony and Tinder. RSVP and Oasis hope that, by combining forces, they can reach new markets neither company could touch individually.

"Oasis has always admired the RSVP brand in Australia and we look forward to working with a business that has been one of the major players in the Australian market for more than 15 years," Mr Heysen says. “Together we can ensure that we continue to develop our products to cater for a wider range of the Australian singles market as well as collectively develop ways to best leverage rapidly changing technology.”

“Oasis and RSVP are two of the strongest brands in the online dating market in Australia, and together they will be even stronger,” adds Ten Network’s Chief Digital Officer, Rebekah Horne. “The partnership of Ten Network, Fairfax, Oasis and RSVP will create a powerful business with myriad growth opportunities, here and overseas.”

Online dating is about to get a major shakeup. And when I say major, I really mean major. Spark Networks, which owns popular dating sites like JDate and Christian Mingle, has put itself up for sale and has at least one prospective suitor.

The big news comes on the heels of the company unexpectedly postponing its annual shareholder meeting in June, two days before it was scheduled. The move allowed Spark Networks to put its focus on the potential deal and to sidestep a board battle with its largest shareholder, Osmium. Things have been tense lately with Osmium, a San Francisco hedge fund that has been pushing for board seats over concerns that Spark has been neglecting to allocate sufficient funds for JDate while over-spending on Christian Mingle.

Spark has spent $120 million in direct marketing on Christian Mingle since 2011, which has helped grow Christian Mingle’s subscribers by almost 700 percent since 2010. Revenue is also up, from $45 million in 2008 to $70 million in 2013, but along with those efforts came dramatically increased costs as a percentage of revenue.

Meanwhile JDate, the most famous and lucrative site in the Spark Networks arsenal, looks to be going through a rough patch. According to Osmium, the Jewish dating site posted revenue of $6.1 million in the first quarter – its lowest level since 2006. Jewish subscribers have also declined to  2006 levels.

All of this is coming at the same time as big-time changes for the Spark Networks board. When the delayed annual shareholder meeting finally took place, four of the company’s six sitting directors were nixed, including Chairman and CEO Greg Liberman. The shareholders instead picked four directors nominated by – surprise! – Osmium. One of the two Spark directors who was re-elected, Thomas Stockham, resigned not long afterwards.

“The new board is eager to work alongside Spark employees with a renewed sense of urgency, accountability and focus, in order to drive increased shareholder value,” said Osmium’s founder and new Spark director John Lewis to the New York Post.

As for what’s happening with the sale of Spark Networks, everyone involved is remaining tight-lipped for now. The name of the prospective buyer has yet to be revealed, but the New York Post notes that “the world of online dating companies is small and currently dominated by Barry Diller’s IAC, which owns popular dating sites Match.com, OKCupid and Tinder.”

If you’re one of the largest and most successful online dating sites around, what would be your next move in the ever-changing dating market? Would you focus on growing your membership, improving your technology, or ramping up your marketing efforts?

Online dating giant Match.com has decided to focus on building its app business – since that’s where most online daters go now (instead of their laptops).

But Match.com has taken things a step further, trying to get ahead of the technology curve. They’ve announced that this month they will be launching one of the first dating apps for Android Wearables, so you can effectively “wear your heart on your wrist.”

Android Wearables are small, powerful devices worn on the body – kind of like a mobile phone worn as a wristwatch. More stylish and less intrusive than Google Glass (there’s no clandestine recording of someone as you’re watching them), Android Wearables make access to your mobile information a bit easier. For instance, you can respond to texts, instant messages and emails by voice. You can also ask for directions with its handy GPS feature, or reach fitness goals if you’re a runner or biker. It connects to your phone, so you can access the same basic information that’s on your mobile device, but it’s hands-free.

The Match app for Android Wearables will cater to busy and active singles who are already purchasing this new technology. The app offers basic features that you’d find with any online dating app, but it’s driven by voice commands, which makes it easier than typing when you’re out and about. Notifications for winks and messages from other members are sent straight to your Android wearable. With pulse notifications, you’ll know exactly when someone has reached out to you. To reply, simply swipe to read an incoming message and respond directly with the app’s voice command feature. (Make sure you are in a private place unless you want the general public to know about your dating life.)

You also receive your daily matches so you can choose who to respond to, rating with a “yes” or “no” a la Tinder. You can also find singles nearby with the handy GPS feature.

I’m not sure why it’s important to check your dating app when you’re on a bike ride or jog, but it seems that would be the point of using Android Wearables instead of just picking up your phone and silently texting your matches when you’re able. But maybe that’s just me.

The app will be available for Android Wearable users this month. For more on this service please read our Match.com review.

The reach of IAC in online dating is enviable to its competition. The company owns Match.com, OkCupid, and has a majority stake in Tinder, and now they are looking to acquire a new company with a sizable chunk of the online dating market – How About We.

The buzz has already been growing about the possible acquisition, at least among the company’s employees. When there’s speculation about such a move, the first thing on employees’ minds is – will we still have a job after this acquisition happens?

According to a letter obtained by Business Insider, co-founder Brian Schechter addressed employees directly about the matter:

Indeed, we are still finalizing a deal and zero final decisions have been made. That a deal is even a possibility should remain completely confidential. I know this is a bumpy – and let’s face it – a weird moment but we should proceed in a manner that is really smart, graceful, and empowering for everyone.

It is a strange move considering the recent history of How About We. Earlier this year the company snatched up Nerve.com to compete with IAC. How About We wanted to build its brand in a different way – through its content and unique premise, including three new websites created in addition to Nerve.com. They also wanted to appeal to couples as well as singles, putting more marketing efforts into their How About We for couples date planning service. Most importantly, they wanted to distinguish themselves from the online dating giant IAC.

Despite the potentially lucrative news for co-founders Brian Schechter and Aaron Schildkraut, things have not been going smoothly, at least as far as employee trust and loyalty.

According to Business Insider, to whom the original letter was leaked, one staffer claims many employees had individual meetings with Schechter and Schildkrout last week on Wednesday and Thursday in a glass-walled conference room. During those meetings, the staffer said they were notified they could be fired due to budgetary restrictions when the company transitions to IAC. The founders relayed that after Monday they would know "how many people can stay."

However, it was also reported that three employees were later texted that they would be able to keep their jobs. However, Schechter recanted the offer when one of those employees reminded him of a recent raise.

Regardless of what ends up happening with the acquisition, the handling of it has been anything but “smart, graceful or empowering.” Maybe it’s time for How About We to end the date and move on.

I like to think we live in a world where income is unimportant compared to connection, but let’s get real: the world is nowhere even close to that. Like it or not, dating and finances are inextricably intertwined, and that probably isn’t changing any time soon.

The problem becomes even more apparent when you’re dating online, where many profiles include a section for salary. Is it really anyone’s business to know that information before you’ve even met in person? And what are the repercussions, if they do?

If you make significantly less than someone you’re interested in, will you feel inadequate? Will they think you’re only involved with them for their money?