Blued, China’s most popular gay dating app, plans to expand in Southeast Asia and in the U.S. while the Chinese government clamps down on LGBTQIA content.

According to Rest of World, Blued’s new parent company New Town wants to make the platform “the world’s largest social network for the LGBTQIA community,” and part of its strategy is to encourage user participation and community interaction, especially outside of China.

New Town’s CEO Li Ping sees enormous potential in the LGBTQIA market, and intends to grow the platform by targeting markets in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Southeast Asia and North America. “The growth of the LGBTQ population in Southeast Asia and North America is particularly evident,” a spokesperson told Rest of World.

Image: bumble

Bumble for Friends, the new standalone app for finding friends from dating app Bumble, has partnered with holiday turkey brand Butterball to bring people together this holiday season.

The new partnership initiative called “Find Your Table” features a series of Friendsgiving events and some resources to help people make new connections ahead of the holiday season. The purpose, according to the joint press release, is to “help people make new connections and discover the joy and ease of gathering with friends and family, over turkey, this holiday season.”

The in-person event launches Thursday, November 2nd at 6:00pm EST in New York City, and will feature friendship coach Danielle Bayard Jackson, No More Lonely Friends founder Marissa Meizz and Dinner with Friends Founder Anita Michaud, along with reps from Butterball, according to the release. They will conduct holiday tastings as well as help to connect people.

Tinder has unveiled a new feature that lets friends and family choose your matches for you.

According to The Verge, Tinder Matchmaker lets users invite their loved ones and trusted friends to view and recommend potential matches, regardless of whether they are on Tinder themselves. How it works: users can start a Matchmaker session via a profile card or in the settings of the app, where they can create a link to share with up to 15 friends and family members. Matchmakers can either login if they are Tinder users themselves, or continue as a guest.

There is a time limit for sharing opinions! The invited matchmakers have only 24 hours to recommend profiles before the link expires. Then the Tinder user can look through the match list, where profiles will be marked as a “recommendation” for those who liked a particular match. (Those rejected profiles won’t be marked at all, and will remain in the running for the user to ultimately decide if they are interested.)

Match Group’s new queer dating app Archer launched nationwide on October 11th, which was also National Coming Out Day. And to celebrate, the app hosted parties at popular gay bars across the country.

The app’s headquarters is based in Dallas and Austin (also Match Group’s headquarters), which have some of the country’s most active LGBTQIA+ scenes. Prior to launch, the app was tested in the New York and Los Angeles markets and saw early success, especially among younger users. The company points out that 62 percent of people on Archer were 35 years or younger, according to Culture Map Austin.

The launch parties and events taking place in major cities (though not Austin), are in line with Archer’s mission: an app designed to foster a social environment. The app is marketed as a “social first” app, allowing users to express themselves through photos, messaging (including group messaging), and connecting without any kind of preset label. In fact, the profiles are arranged in feed and grid view options typically found in social media, rather than on dating apps.

Image: BLK

BLK dating app, a popular app for Black singles, has debuted a new animated series called Halloween Horror Stories, featuring real-life dating horror stories from users of the platform.

The new series consists of three animated shorts chronicling the dating horrors of Black singles, according to Cassius Life.

For example, one story entitled “Stolen Hearts & Wheels” features a BLK user getting picked up for a first date in a stolen car. The video is a short, only a minute long, and takes the audience through the man getting picked up by his date as she shows off how fast the car can go. There are some hints that it might not be her car – like the retirement tips book he sees in the passenger seat.

There comes a time in every person's life when they have to turn down a date. It might be because you're not interested, you're already seeing someone, or you need more time. Whatever the reason, turning someone down can be difficult. Here are a few tips on how to do it politely.

Acknowledge Their Feelings

There are a few different ways to decline a date politely. One option is to acknowledge their feelings. Thank them for asking you out, and let them know that you appreciate their interest. Then, explain that you're not interested in dating now and wish them the best of luck in their search for someone special.