Types (Niche)

We might be social distancing, but rest assured - singles are looking to dating apps to keep their love lives going during the coronavirus pandemic. 

A recent survey conducted by Dating.com found that there was a spike in dating app activity among users in countries around the world as the coronavirus becomes widespread. As many as 82 percent of singles are turning online as they self-quarantine in their homes.

From those surveyed, more than 50 percent of daters said that they would be interested in conducting online dates to get to know people they’ve met online to avoid spreading or catching the virus. Thirty percent of those surveyed said that they are going to just stick with messaging and chatting with matches using their dating apps until they are able to meet up in person. Notably, only 5 percent of singles reported that they are going to stop dating altogether until the virus passes.

Bumble is shutting down gay dating app Chappy, part of the suite of dating apps under parent company Magic Lab. Bumble will integrate the service into its own app, effective February 28th.

According to Culture Map Austin, Bumble is encouraging Chappy users to download Bumble and try it out, offering them a week of its premium service for free. Chappy is no longer displaying profiles so essentially the search function is turned off. By the end of February, all of Chappy’s user information will disappear from the app.

Chappy posted an FAQ about the closure on its website, stating: “We’re joining Bumble because we have the opportunity to take what we’ve built together here to the next level by creating a space for healthy and safe connections across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Bumble is committed to fighting all kinds of inequality, and we’re excited to land our spaceship safely in the Bumble Hive.”

Grindr's Descreet App Icons

Image: grindr

Grindr is upping its privacy practices by giving users the option of hiding the app on their phones.

The Discreet App Icon allows users the option of replacing the Grindr app icon on their phone with another symbol, effectively to hide the fact that they are using Grindr if someone else gets hold of their phone. The feature is accessible in the security section of the app’s settings. Grindr first made the Discreet App Icon available in countries where gay, bi and trans people are in the most danger, and now is launching the feature for all users no matter where they reside.

According to a company press release, the feature was developed with London-based human rights organization Article 19, The Guardian Project, and Grindr for Equality to help keep users safe, not only within countries where gay rights are not sanctioned, but anywhere that people are threatened due to their LGBTQ or gender status. This is especially timely as gay, trans and non-binary rights are being threatened around the world.

Facebook has been forced to delay the launch of its signature dating service in Europe after failing to provide the European Union data regulator with a required assessment of privacy risks to users. 

According to CNet, The Irish Data Protection Commission raised concerns about Facebook’s privacy practices, and whether the company complied with the European Union’s data protection rules, which are more stringent than those in the U.S. 

Under these new rules, companies considered to be “high risk” in the handling of personal information of users are required to conduct a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) prior to being approved. This includes a written report addressing and outlining potential privacy risks, which the agency said Facebook did not provide, even after the agency sent regulators to Facebook’s Dublin office to gather the required documentation, according to Tech Crunch. 

It’s been almost half a decade since news of Ashley Madison’s hacking scandal was heard ‘round the world. Now, just as memories of the hack had started to fade, data from the breach is at the center of a new cyber extortion scam.

In summer 2015, all the dating industry could talk about was The Impact Team — the group of hackers that gained access to Ashley Madison’s database of more than 37 million members and threatened to release customer records unless the dating site for adulterers shut down. The hackers made good on their threat and Ashley Madison found itself facing a $760 million class action lawsuit. Though some predicted that it could be the end of the dating site, Ashley Madison held strong and celebrated reaching 60 million members last year.

UK-based dating app Butterfly, catering specifically to transgendered daters, has just launched in India, according to Quartz.

India is becoming a hot market for the dating app industry and is a big focus for Match Group and Bumble, who have launched high-profile campaigns to promote their dating apps in the country, including investing in celebrity partnerships and hiring regional managers. 

However, transgendered daters are finding it hard to find love on dating apps, especially in India, even as they take off.