Features

Match Group announced that it had exceeded Wall Street revenue expectations for Q2 despite concern over drops in paying subscribers and a la carte services in April, as coronavirus began to spread through the U.S. The company also saw its stock tick up in value immediately following this news.

Match Group reported second quarter earnings that grew 15% year over year, and an 18% increase in subscribers year over year. Their earnings report also shows an increase in subscribers and downloads over pre-pandemic levels, and according to Business Insider, paid subscriptions are also back to the same level as before. 

Dating app Plenty of Fish has added a new game called Blind Date to POF Live!, a streaming platform for its users.

Blind Date is a twist on the traditional real-life experience, according to the company’s blog post. Instead of seeing your date for the first time when you meet, your virtual “blind dates” are blurred out so you can’t see who you’re chatting with – so personality and conversational skills are front and center. Each virtual date is timed, and as you chat longer, your date becomes less blurred. At the end of the timed chat or when you choose to message them, your blind date’s image is revealed.

In order to play Blind Date, you can join Live! via the POF home screen on the app. When you’re in Live! select DATE, which will take you to NextDate so you can scroll through users who are playing Blind Date. These users who are actively playing are highlighted, so you can join their stream and play, too.

Struck, a dating app focused around astrology, has launched this summer after some initial delay from Apple’s approval process.

Founded by a team of former Apple engineers made up of mostly women, including two women of color and one LGBTQ+ member, the app is notably different from mainstream dating apps in look and functionality. According to Tech Crunch, the app recommends matches based on detailed birth charts, not just your sun sign. So instead of photos being front and center, charts are the main draw. You can toggle back and forth between someone’s chart and their profile which includes a short bio, age, preferred pronouns, height and sexual preference. Nadine Jane is the company’s resident astrologer and expert.

Dating app OkCupid announced a redesign for its mobile app, which includes a new feature called Stacks to help users better sort through profiles.

Stacks organizes dater profiles into categories for easy browsing, according to CNet. Some of the categories available in the free version of the app include who’s nearby, online, or recommended. Another category the company highlighted that’s also available to all users is called “Question Pros,” and includes the profiles of daters who have answered a higher number of questions on the app than the average user. 

Facebook Redesign now Live to All

Image: Facebook

Social media giant Facebook has undergone its fifth major redesign since the company was founded, highlighting groups and invitations and taking the focus off of its news feed. This could help single users who aren’t necessarily on Facebook Dating, but want to connect with people in their circles.

The new redesign places groups front and center along with events, which are the two most heavily used features of Facebook. There are tens of millions of active Facebook groups according to the company, and more than 400 million users belong to a group that they “find meaningful,” according to the company’s blog post. 

The launch of new social app Curius offers “mindful swiping” – letting users choose what kind of relationship they are looking for up front, instead of the traditional yes or no swipe options most dating apps offer.

Curius is a dating and social connection app all in one, offering a range of relationship choices for users. The app offers six swiping options, so potential matches can let that user know what they are looking for in a relationship: serious romance, casual romance, serious commitment or marriage, quick fling, friendship, or starting a casual chat. Each choice represents a “unique social intention” as the company says – because people want more flexibility in how they connect with others over an app. The swipe choices surround each profile in the form of emojis – including toasting wine glasses, a rose, an engagement ring, and fire emojis. 

Users are also able to choose multiple intentions – for instance, they can choose friendship and casual romance with another user if they are up for either one.