Tinder

Some female Bumble app users are purposely matching with Trump supporters to identify participants in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and then promptly turning them into the FBI.

One Twitter user posted that she had seen dozens of rioters using dating apps in the DC area and wondered whether it would be useful to law enforcement to gather evidence from these platforms. Immigration Attorney Allison Norris responded, saying her friend was already collecting evidence against them: "She's matching with MAGA bros and they’re bragging and sending her pics and videos of them in the Capitol," she tweeted. “She's sending them to the FBI." 

Image: Tinder

Dating app Tinder released its annual report The Year in Swipe, and found that while the pandemic dominated the year, dating apps benefitted with an increase in subscriptions and user activity. 

While many singles were stuck at home they chose to connect virtually, with messages and swipes up by double digits compared to back in February, according to Inside Hook.

“Travel” was the most-used term this year, especially around March and April when the first lockdowns began and people had to cancel their plans. Also popular in 2020 were pandemic-related ice breakers, with many using the phrase “quarantine and chill” and discussing mask wearing habits and protocols with their matches.

Image: Tinder

Dating app Tinder partnered with star rapper Megan Thee Stallion for its “Put Yourself Out There” Challenge, a way to encourage Tinder users to be more authentic in their profiles. 

The promotion is helping users gear up for online dating’s most active day, the first Sunday in January also known as the dating Super Bowl, where people flock to dating apps looking for a new relationship. The campaign is to encourage people to revise their profiles to be more creative and to showcase their unique personality traits, according to Fast Company. Tinder is offering $10,000 to 100 users in categories such as most personality, most creative, most original, most real, and others.

To enter, participants must take a screenshot or video of their new profile and post it to Instagram by December 31st, tagging @Tinder, #PYOTChallenge and #contest.

Dating app usage has increased significantly this year, in part due to the global pandemic. But as we go into cuffing season and usage continues to skyrocket, privacy experts from the Brookings Institute are cautioning dating app users to be careful with sharing their personal information.

The research firm notes that online dating has been increasing rapidly in the last decade, especially since the debut of dating app Tinder in 2012. Thirty percent of American adults had tried online dating in 2019, compared to just 13% in 2013.

This year however, there has been an explosion of new online daters. Match Group (which controls 60% of the dating app market with apps like Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge), reported a fifteen percent increase in new subscribers in the second quarter of 2020, and a record-breaking 3 billion swipes on Tinder in one day in March when lockdowns began. From March to May of 2020, OkCupid saw a 700% increase in dates and Bumble had a 70% increase in video calls, Brookings points out.

Dating app conglomerate Match Group has announced its partnership with RAINN, the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the country, to help combat sexual assault via its online dating platforms.

According to Business Insider, the company has asked RAINN (The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) to conduct a “comprehensive review” of how it handles sexual assault reporting across all of its apps, and to recommend best practices to better address the problem and keep its users safe.  

Match Group has had a stellar year, with its most recent earnings surpassing last quarter’s by 3.8 percent. Analysts however pointed out that the stock has underperformed based on year over year analysis, despite the company’s increased revenues.

Match Group reported third quarter earnings of 45 cents per share, which was a decline of 13 percent from third quarter 2019. However, Match Group’s revenue paints a different picture of the company’s success, with third quarter reports of $639.8 million, an increase of 18% year over year according to Yahoo! Finance. This was driven by an increase in the average subscriber base this year, likely with more people flocking to dating apps overall as the pandemic raged on.

The average subscriber base increased 12 percent to 10.8 million according to Yahoo!, and average revenues per user (ARPU) were up 4% year over year. Still, analysts are considering how much the pandemic is affecting revenue growth in 2020, and if it will continue as we go into the new year.