ParshipMeet Group

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.

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.

The Meet Group’s revenue and profits soared past original milestones for Q2 of this year, thanks in part to so many singles turning to dating apps during coronavirus lockdowns.

The company beat Wall Street estimates, with net income at $10.3 million, up from $2.2 million in the same period last year. This was a huge jump – resulting in a 373% increase in profits for the company. According to Philadelphia Business Journal, The Meet Group did not conduct an earnings call with investors over Q2 results, nor did they speak to the publication about the increase, and what part of its business was generating the most income.

Dating app eHarmony announced it has seen an 85% increase in registrations on its UK platform since the coronavirus lockdowns began earlier this year. The increase accounted for new registrations from January – June of this year, compared with the same time period last year.

April and May were especially active, up 50 percent and 48 percent respectively compared to 2019. Interestingly, at the beginning of lockdown in March, there was an 11 percent drop in registration which quickly bounced back. 

As lockdowns have eased in the past couple of months, new registrations for eHarmony have continued to increase. In June, the company saw a 77% year-on-year increase. 

Dating app Plenty of Fish has added a new game called Blind Date to POF Live!, a streaming platform for its users.

Blind Date is a twist on the traditional real-life experience, according to the company’s blog post. Instead of seeing your date for the first time when you meet, your virtual “blind dates” are blurred out so you can’t see who you’re chatting with – so personality and conversational skills are front and center. Each virtual date is timed, and as you chat longer, your date becomes less blurred. At the end of the timed chat or when you choose to message them, your blind date’s image is revealed.

In order to play Blind Date, you can join Live! via the POF home screen on the app. When you’re in Live! select DATE, which will take you to NextDate so you can scroll through users who are playing Blind Date. These users who are actively playing are highlighted, so you can join their stream and play, too.

The Meet Group, parent company of dating apps like MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, GROWLr and LOVOO, has partnered with personal safety app UrSafe to offer users an array of new security options when they date. 

Through the “Date Night” feature on these dating apps, users will be prompted to opt in for a free 60-day premium subscription to UrSafe’s features, including Follow Me, Check In, Hands-Free SOS, and Fake Call. According to URSafe's press release, Follow Me and Check In allow the user to share locations with a trusted friend or family member while on the date, and the Hands-Free option lets users set personal trigger words that activate different responses within the app immediately, even if the user isn’t holding or touching their phone. Depending on the level of alert, UrSafe will connect the user to friends and family, or the authorities if needed. Fake Call can be activated as well, in case the user needs an “out” during the date.