Features

Dating app Once, which dubs itself the “slow” dating app, has been sold to conglomerate Dating Group for $18 million in cash and stock, according to Tech Crunch.

Dating Group owns Dating.com, Dil Mil, AnastasiaDate and ChinaLove among other online dating platforms, competing directly with Bumble and Match Group’s suite of apps as well as Facebook Dating. It currently has offices in seven countries, and around 73 million users across its portfolio. Once comes with about 9 million users.

Once positioned itself as a more purpose-driven dating app, offering only one match per day to its users, who then have 24 hours to message that match to show interest, or they disappear. This offering was an intentional tactic to compete with the frenetic pace of apps like Tinder where people are inclined to swipe through dozens of profiles each minute rather than spending time really looking at each one. On the other hand, Once forced its users to consider one match at a time.

The Lox Club officially launched this fall, but the buzz about it has been growing since the beginning of the year, with comparisons to exclusive dating app Raya.

The new members-only app accepts applications from users to join, and there’s currently thousands of people on the waiting list over the course of a couple of months, according to Jewish Insider. The company’s target market is Jewish singles looking for a different, more curated experience from a mainstream app like Tinder, but you can join even if you’re not Jewish. The tagline says the app is: “for Jews with ridiculously high standards.”

The app is similar to Raya in that you can’t just sign up, you have to be accepted. However, unlike Raya, acceptance to the club isn’t dependent on how many Instagram followers you have, (though users are required to link to their Instagram page when they join), or what you do for a living, but something more intangible - what kind of values you hold.

Dating app Hinge has rolled out some impressive new features to help users connect with matches who spark their interest, and to help them engage in conversation.

According to Adweek, the app is offering new visuals that don’t resemble a traditional dating app, intended to capture the attention of its users – specifically, hand-drawn illustrations of people, dogs and plants in a color palette of purple, green and red. These illustrated characters will also offer users prompts and tips for starting conversations. Hinge intends to create more warmth and fun to the dating app experience, which they feel will help users connect. 

My Transsexual Date, the leading online platform for transgender women and trans oriented men looking for love, is taking its web-based version to a mobile app.

The company announced that its new dating app is in development and will soon be available on both iOS and Android. It will also be connected to the dating website when it rolls out. Once the app is released, it will have the largest user base for trans daters, giving it an edge over other trans dating platforms. Currently, users can sign up online and browse via the website on their desktops or phones, but there hasn’t been a dedicated app.

The company takes security very seriously, with a moderation team that is staffed around the clock to ensure the safety of users and prevent harassment of members. Added to that, My Transsexual Date is working on a new profile verification system where members will have to take a photo or record a video to prove they are real, in order to curb the proliferation of fake profiles – a common issue among online dating platforms.

Dating app conglomerate Match Group has announced its partnership with RAINN, the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the country, to help combat sexual assault via its online dating platforms.

According to Business Insider, the company has asked RAINN (The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) to conduct a “comprehensive review” of how it handles sexual assault reporting across all of its apps, and to recommend best practices to better address the problem and keep its users safe.  

BLK, a dating app specifically for black daters, has become one of the fastest-growing apps in the Match Group suite of dating apps. Match Group currently owns a substantial portion of the dating app market, including Tinder, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish and Hinge among others.

According to The Grio, during the first two weeks when COVID-19 was spreading and people were sheltering at home, BLK saw an 18% increase in daily activity. Now seven months into the pandemic, there is a 38% increase in activity month over month. BLK launched in 2017, and since has grown to over four million users.