Bumble Inc

Online dating corporation Match Group was reported to have made an offer to purchase dating app Bumble for $450 million this summer, according to a report by website Tech Crunch.

Match Group is the parent company to a number of dating apps, including popular Bumble competitors Match, Plenty of Fish, OkCupid and Tinder. It seems Bumble hasn’t accepted the offer, which is understandable since some analysts value the company at almost a billion dollars.

Bumble has a rocky history with Match Group as well, which could play a part in any decision about an acquisition. Bumble’s founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe sued Tinder and IAC in 2014, (when Match Group was a part of IAC). Wolfe was one of the co-founders of Tinder, and brought a sexual harassment lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend Justin Mateen, who also happened to be one of Tinder’s co-founders and the CMO. Wolfe accused him of sending her “sexist, racist, and otherwise inappropriate comments, emails, and text messages” following their very public breakup. The two parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, with neither side admitting any wrongdoing.

Badoo Look A Like

Ever downloaded Tinder or Bumble in the hopes of meeting someone who looked like Ryan Gosling or Chris Pratt? Well, look no further – dating app Badoo has launched its new Lookalikes feature to help you out.

The app provides a list of various celebrities for users to choose from (think Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Alba, Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, and even Donald Trump). When you click on that celebrity’s photo, a list of choices with profile pictures of your matches appears.

The app uses facial recognition technology to scour their database of 350 million daters to deliver the results. The matches aren’t exactly spitting images, but there are certain features that they and their celebrity counterparts have in common to consider them a lookalike. (Although I question a 40-something Jennifer Lawrence, for instance).

How to use the Bumble SuperSwipe

Dating apps are not only looking to differentiate themselves in a crowded market, they are trying to find ways to monetize without alienating customers. And now, female-friendly app Bumble is taking a leaf out of Tinder’s playbook and adding a new feature called SuperSwipe, similar to Tinder’s Super Like.

SuperSwipe allows users to call attention to someone they are really interested in, by clicking a heart on the chosen profile before swiping right and hoping for a match. The benefit is that your SuperSwipe can see that you’re interested before he swipes left or right, which hopefully increases your chances of matching with him.

Super Like on Tinder is very similar; your potential match can see that you’ve chosen to Super Like him in advance. Super Like is also only available via the app’s premium service, and it seems Bumble is following suit.

In the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend, two dating app companies have stepped forward to ban white supremacists from their platforms and offer donations to organizations that fight against hate groups.

OkCupid has offered a donation to a Charlottesville victim relief group, which is helping support victims of the attacks that shook the community in early August. Bumble has also stepped forward, announcing its partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, pledging a “zero tolerance policy against misogynist, abusive, and inappropriate behaviour.”

Bumble stated it will use the ADL’s “research and terminology” to identify and categorize hate symbols, and prevent people who use hate speech and symbols from using the dating platform.

It’s been a whirlwind week in the online dating world.

First, Badoo launched a feature to help singles hook up with their celebrity crushes… well, almost. A new search feature uses facial recognition technology to match users with dates who look like their favourite celebs. Among the most searched-for famous faces so far are Kim Kardashian West, Justin Bieber, and Robert Pattinson.

“People are looking for quick, fast, easy ways to start connections,” said Badoo's Miles Norris to the BBC, “and if the way someone looks is a good onboarding to that, then we want to make it easy for them.”

Singles in New York have a new way to date, network, recharge, and bee social in the big city. Bumble, the popular female-focused dating app, has opened its first physical location in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood. The pop-up installation has been dubbed ‘The Hive’ and is set to remain open for the month of June.

The space is decked out from head-to-toe in Bumble’s branding, featuring yellow walls, honeycomb shapes, and plenty of bee-related puns. The Hive is open to anyone who wants to stop by - users and non-users alike - whether they’re looking for a date spot, a place to hang with friends, a co-working space, or just a respite from the constant buzz of city life.

“It will follow the format of Bumble and offer something for everyone,” Whitney Wolfe, founder and chief executive officer of Bumble, told Mashable. “A place for dates to meet, friends to do activities together, and co-working for our bizz users. Bumble has allowed you to build your hive digitally, and now we’re giving you an extension of that physically.”