Types (Niche)

Dating app Grindr, currently owned by Chinese company Kunlun Tech, might be off the market soon thanks to a bid by the Milan-based app design company Bending Spoons.

According to Global Dating Insights, Bending Spoons has offered $260 million for the popular gay dating app, headquartered in West Hollywood. Reports are also linking investment firm H14 to the deal, which is headed up by Barbara, Eleonora, and Luigi Berlusconi, children of Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. The app’s original founder Joel Simkhai sold his company for $93 million to Kunlun Tech in 2016. 

For the past several months, protests have been breaking out on a regular basis in Hong Kong, thanks to young student activists who want to maintain the city’s democratic leanings over the more oppressive mainland Chinese government’s rule. But along with the students who are moved to action, dating culture in Hong Kong is also changing as a result of the protests.

Many daters use popular dating apps like Momo, Tantan or Tinder to connect with each other, and aren’t afraid to list their political feelings in their profiles or when they message other daters. (Adding a yellow ribbon to your profile means you sympathize with protestors while a blue ribbon means you support the police and the mainland Chinese establishment.) Some are even posting photos of themselves at protests as a way to attract potential dates with the same political leanings.

Tencent, China’s largest social networking platform and operator of the immensely popular app WeChat, has launched a new dating app that seems positioned to compete with both Tinder and Tantan, China’s most popular dating app.

Qingliao - roughly translated as “light chat” – is kind of a hybrid of different dating app features already on the market. There is no swiping, but users can choose to “like” or “pass” on a potential match by choosing an “X” or a heart. When two users are matched, they can start chatting, according to details described in South China Morning Post.

Got the hots for your married boss? Or the cutie in accounting? If you’ve fantasized about having a fling with a taken colleague, a naughty new dating service is here to help.

Affair at Work is designed to help attached employees “safely” cheat on their partners in the workplace. Although dating services for affair-seekers are nothing new (Ashley Madison is the most notable among them), Affair at Work takes a slightly different approach. The service works via Instagram and is centered around the idea of verifying if an office crush shares your interest.

Tinder is rolling in cash at the close of 2019 thanks to consumer spending on its popular dating app. According to Annie’s List, it ranks as the number one non-gaming app where consumers are spending money, ahead of entertainment and social network giants like Netflix, YouTube and Tencent.

Video games are by far the most popular apps for consumers and generate the most revenue from in-app spending. However, outside of the gaming world, Tinder subscriptions have driven it to the top spot in consumer app spending.

S'More Dating App Launching Soon for iOS

Adam Cohen-Aslatei, the former Managing Director of gay dating app Chappy, believes today’s singles are looking for “something more” than mindless swiping and superficial, appearance-focused dating platforms. That’s where S’More comes in. Cohen-Aslatei’s new dating app is designed to prioritize getting to know someone before deciding if you’re interested in them — and before you’ve even seen what they look like.

“Ten years ago, casual dating apps made it easy to find people nearby and the hook-up culture was born,” said Cohen-Aslatei. “Then came the second generation of dating apps with a lifestyles appeal, still for casual connections. However, most of the apps were still based on a ‘Hot or Not’ game, and while fun, left the majority of people hopelessly single. A reliance on dating the perfect selfie hasn’t worked, and today millenials are transitioning to relationships apps that focus on getting to know the whole person, which is critical when you’re looking for a relationship.”