Tinder

App companies are growing frustrated with splitting their increasing revenues with Google Play and the Apple Store, as they continue to pay 30 percent to the tech giants on every transaction made through their app stores. But now, Tinder is offering its customers a direct payment method, a way to bypass Google Play altogether.

The popular dating app is allowing its Android users to enter their credit card information directly into the app rather than using Google Play to buy premium subscriptions like Tinder Gold and Tinder Plus. Once you’ve entered the information, the app automatically defaults to this payment system for all future in-app purchases and renewal fees as well.

According to The Verge, Tinder isn’t the first company to side-step app stores. Epic Games, a popular video game developer, last year released its hit game Fortnite via its own downloadable launcher to avoid giving Google 30 percent of its revenues. Popular music service Spotify has filed an anti-trust complaint against Apple with the European Union for alleged anti-competitive tactics. Apple is now being investigated by the Union for disadvantaging other companies in favor of its own offerings, specifically Apple Music, which competes directly with Spotify. Netflix is also looking at options to avoid the Apple and Google Play stores, especially with Apple now entering the content business.

Image: Tinder

Tinder has announced a new safety feature for those in the LGBTQ community who are traveling abroad.

The new “Traveler Alert” feature allows users to hide their profiles on the app when they feel unsafe traveling in countries and regions that criminalize same-sex acts, according to website Lifehacker. International travelers are subject to the laws of other countries, so it puts LGBTQ folks especially at risk. There are currently 69 countries that persecute same-sex acts, and nine of these allow the death penalty to be imposed, including Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Tinder’s website stated: “It’s important to exercise extra caution if you choose to connect with new people in these countries - as some law enforcement have been known to use dating apps as tools for potential entrapment. Some countries have also recently introduced laws that criminalize communications between individuals on same-sex dating applications or websites and even aggravate penalties if that communication leads to sexual encounters.”

With the proliferation of retouching apps like Facetune and “pretty” filters on Snapchat and Instagram, we have constant access to an idealized image of ourselves. It’s easy to imagine what we might look like with cosmetic tweaks - a little filler here, a little Botox there, resculpt the nose and suction out that stubborn pocket of fat that no amount of diet or exercise can get rid of.

A new study published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery finds that social media and online dating aren’t just changing how we want to look in the digital realm. They might also have an effect on our openness to changing our appearance in the real world.

Tinder Lite on Google Play

Tinder has unveiled its new streamlined app after announcing its debut earlier this year. Tinder Lite will be available as a separate app for Android phones and can be purchased through Google Play.

The new Lite app was designed specifically for users in countries and regions where Internet connectivity is slow and most people have lower-cost phones. According to Tinder CEO Elie Seidman, who spoke at the 2019 Rise Tech conference in Hong Kong in mid-July, the new app “would run faster, consume less battery and reduce network usage by about 20 percent,” as reported by The Jakarta Post.

Dating app Tinder has a hook-up reputation – and because of this, users in more conservative countries in Asia might be hesitant to try the app. In response, Tinder is revamping its image to maintain its growth streak.

Dating app growth overall has slowed in the U.S. as the market becomes saturated, and it is expected to slow even more through 2022. In order to expand its opportunities, Match Group – Tinder’s parent company, has put a lot of resources into the Asian market, including hiring key executives to oversee the region and advertising its suite of apps.

Image: Cosmopolitan

Single life is full of ups and downs, and while the dramatic moments are not always fun to live through, they make for great entertainment. Tinder has partnered with women’s lifestyle magazine Cosmopolitan to create a branded podcast that digs into what dating is really like across the United States.

‘Single, Swipe, Repeat’ is a 12-episode audio show hosted by Faye Brennan, Sex & Relationships Director of Cosmopolitan. Brennan is joined each week by a celebrity guest host to break down the most memorable, hilarious, emotional, romantic and relatable dating stories shared by Tinder users throughout the country.