Communication

Grindr’s CEO George Arrison is planning to monetize the app more aggressively, including launching an AI chatbot and putting previously free features behind a paywall.

News website Platformer broke the news about Grindr’s plans to launch an AI-based “boyfriend” chatbot feature that can engage in sexually explicit conversations with users, for a price. Some employees have expressed weariness, as the AI-generated conversations could be based in part on private chats between other human users, pending their consent.

Platformer also learned that Grindr is revising its terms of service to ask people signing up if the company can train their AI models on their personal data, which can include direct messages. This is likely to be a privacy issue going forward for other dating apps who could pursue employing user data to train AI.

BLK dating app has unveiled Spring Mode to help foster more connection among college students during their spring break vacations, when many are traveling and looking to meet people.

According to Blavity, the feature allows college students to place a fun badge on their profiles of the place they plan to visit over their spring break, in case other potential matches might be traveling there, too. Destinations include Hawaii, Cancun, Jamaica, Los Angeles, Cabo, the Dominican Republic, Cancun, Las Vegas, and Miami among other prime locations.

The badges all have unique personality and style, and are modeled after the famous places they represent. The vision behind Spring Mode according to Jonathan Kirkland, BLK’s head of marketing and brand, is in line with the company’s overall commitment to fostering connection and community as well as inclusivity.

Image: Bumble

Dating app Bumble launched Deception Detector, an AI-based feature that aims to cut down on bots and fake profiles.

According to ZD Net, the new feature leverages the machine learning-based technology to help identify fake, scam or spam profiles on the app before the user comes into contact with them. The feature can assess the authenticity of a profile and, according to Bumble’s test, supported automatically blocking 95 percent of accounts identified as spam or scam by the company.

Bumble was quick to add that the AI-based feature will be used in conjunction with “dedicated human support” for added safety for its members.

Bumble also said in its release that within the first two months of the technology’s introduction, the platform saw member reports of spam, scam, and fake accounts reduced by 45%.

Dating app BLK has launched a new ad campaign in support of black women, encouraging them to be their “authentic selves.”

The “New Year, Real You: #RealNotPerfect” campaign launched in January. The ad was created by Arxna in conjunction with BLK’s in-house marketing team, according to Black Enterprise magazine. The campaign is meant to encourage black women to be their authentic selves in all areas of their lives - professional, educational, and in their personal/ dating lives.

BLK also intends the campaign to challenge societal expectations and to create a “safe space” for black women to express themselves without fear of judgment, according to Black Enterprise.

Image: Tinder

Tinder has debuted several new graphics and video spots to appeal to Gen Z daters in a new global ad campaign launched this week.

The campaign rolled out in time for “Dating Sunday,” or as some call it, the Superbowl of the dating app industry. The first Sunday of January is the busiest day for dating app traffic and companies like Tinder expect this year to be no different.

According to AdWeek, Tinder has reported the number of messages sent across the app surges by 22 percent on Dating Sunday, and likes increase by 18 percent. Dating app’s busiest season extends from Dating Sunday through Valentine’s Day, when people are making New Year’s resolutions to find love.

Image: Hinge

Hinge is launching a million-dollar social impact fund called One More Hour to help encourage people to meet in real life in response to the loneliness epidemic. The fund will offer $10,000 to $25,000 grants to 501(c)3 groups in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York to develop “fresh, free/low-cost and recurring in-person connection opportunities” for young adults, according to Fast Company.

The idea is to get people engaging more with each other in real life and not just online. The program is intended to fund events that will be organized and ongoing, so that people will feel more encouraged to show up and see what happens.

Hinge’s social impact director Josh Penny told Fast Company that social clubs stand out as a way to combat the loneliness epidemic because of “their welcoming, low-pressure nature.” He adds that telling people to hang out in person doesn’t necessarily work, that you need to offer the structure and support to encourage people to do it.