Technology

The United States military has allegedly run an ad campaign on dating app Tinder in Lebanon warning the app users that it is “fully prepared” to “protect its partners” according to The New York Post.

The news comes as tensions are rising in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war rages on. One journalist Seamus Malekafzali posted on X that he was on the dating app while in Lebanon, but instead of being presented with potential matches to swipe through, he saw an ad from CENTCOM (US Central Command).

The ad he saw read that CENTCOM is: “fully prepared and ready with F-16 Fighting Falcons and A-10 Tudor Bolt supersonic fighters currently in the region,” written in Arabic, along with a photo of an A-10 warplane, according to The New York Post.

Starboard Value has taken a stake in Match Group, the latest firm to join the company’s activist investors and criticize executives for its financial performance.

According to The Dallas Morning News, Starboard has built a 6.6 percent interest in Match Group, the parent company of dating app Tinder. The popular dating app has seen a drop in paying customers for six straight quarters, with little sign that things will turn around soon.

Starboard joins Elliott Investment Management LP and Anson Funds Management LP, two other activist investors who have demanded changes in Match Group’s operations. Starboard is planning to push for selling Match Group if it fails to turn things around, according to Dallas Morning News.

Bumble has announced a new reporting feature for users to alert the app if they suspect a profile of displaying AI-generated photos and videos.

“Fake Profile” allows users to flag and report accounts that they think are AI-generated and being used to deceive other app users. According to Tech Crunch, people using AI to beef up their profiles is creating a new problem on dating apps (aside from the typical bots, spam accounts, and safety issues that have been around for a while) – and that is whether or not to believe that the person in the profile they are seeing is actually that person, or an AI-enhanced version of them.

For example, someone could generate a photo of themselves to make them look more like Taylor Swift, or alter their bodies to show muscles they don’t have in real life, hoping to attract more matches through deception. In other words, they are gaming the system with AI.

A majority of dating platforms have signed on to a new dating safety code in Australia, in an effort to crack down on dating app users who violate policies.

According to News.com, dating app users who “harass, threaten, or share unwanted explicit photos” could have their accounts terminated across multiple platforms at the same time, intended to create a safer space overall for online dating. Seventy-five percent of companies operating in Australia have signed on to the new industry standard, including Match Group (which operates Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid among others), Bumble and Grindr.

A recurring problem with dating apps is user safety, specifically surrounding the growing number of users who receive unsolicited images. If a perpetrator is banned from one platform, they can easily move on to other platforms, so the new safety standard is intended to prevent this from happening.

Young singles in China are taking to social media platforms like Xiaohongshu (also known as RED) to participate in livestreamed blind dates.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Network (ABC), livestream dating is “romantically themed video conference calls” where up to nine people can join a so-called “dating room” and talk with each other. But instead of a closed and private Zoom call, it is open to the public for any number of people to watch.

The concept is similar to a game show, where the participants give a little background on themselves and are often asked to “demonstrate a talent,” according to ABC. The participants have to be willing to make an effort to represent and “market” themselves, whether it’s through a talent or charm or other ability.

Image: Grindr

Grindr has announced it has partnered with Equality in Movement in Georgia and MPOWER in Ireland to connect its users in these countries with at-home HIV testing kits.

According to the company’s blog post, Grindr says it wants to address the global HIV epidemic by making it easier for its users to have access to testing. While many countries have local testing centers, they can still be difficult to access, expensive, and many people still don’t want the stigma of going to a public place to get tested.

Users in Georgia and Ireland will have dedicated buttons on the app’s interface to order at-home self-test kits, any time of day. The app wanted the access to tests to be as simple as Covid tests have become for most folks. The company also wants to encourage more people to test for HIV by alleviating the stigma with in-person tests and allowing them to test in the privacy of their own home.