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CEO Adam Cohen-Aslatei on S’More TV

Image: S'More

Dating app S’More is testing a new feature called S’more TV, offering users access to celebrity interviews and other videos the company has produced.

S’More TV was inspired by the company’s Instagram Live feed, where CEO Adam Cohen-Aslatei has been interviewing reality TV stars, WWE athletes and models about their dating lives and other dating-related topics. After gathering more than 50 hours of content according to Tech Crunch, he decided to launch the new feature and provide the content directly to users from the app as a “conversation-starter.”

To promote the new feature, S’More users will now receive prompts directing them to watch S’More TV, where they will be able to comment on the videos. Commenting is encouraged, because the feature is intended to help users attract potential matches as well as giving them a starting point for conversation.

Match Group testified in front of the U.S. Senate recently, arguing that tech giants Apple and Google are allowing underage users to access its dating apps.

Underage users have been able to download dating apps with age restrictions even while signed into their Apple or Google accounts, simply by clicking “yes” on a pop-up verification notice that asks if they are 18 or older. Neither Apple nor Google cross-checks the verification with their own data, and neither has set up a process to prevent these users from accessing the apps beyond the pop-up notice. 

Match Group’s chief legal officer Jared Sine testified on April 21st, according to Bloomberg News, saying that Apple and Google are allowing people under 18 years of age to download their dating apps despite the age restrictions. According to Sine, these companies are aware of the problem and ignoring it anyway; and they refuse to share personal user data with Match Group to address it.

Tinder has announced a partnership with language learning platform Duolingo to offer lessons to its users and bridge the language barrier gap for long-distance dates.

The Match Group dating app has offered to give 100,000 users a free month of Duolingo Plus, an online service which offers lessons in multiple languages. According to Tinder, 76 percent of its users who wanted to match with people from other countries found that they were matching with dates who spoke languages other than their own, a barrier to connection. Tinder saw an opportunity to help them with Duolingo.

Facebook is testing a new virtual speed dating app called Sparked, an alternative to the swiping and messaging process of traditional dating apps.

Facebook describes the app as “video dating with kind people,” setting the tone for its users and to differentiate itself from other apps. The company also says that Sparked does not require its users to set up public profiles, and there’s no swiping or DMs - a departure from traditional dating apps. 

Instead, Sparked will provide a list of virtual speed dating events in different cities that users can join, according to The Verge. Once they do, they will begin the speed dating process and each date will last about four minutes. At the end of each mini-date, Sparked will ask how each person felt about the date. If they both agree that they had a “great time,” they’ll be scheduled for a second, ten-minute date. After the second date, if the couple wants to exchange information to stay in touch, they can do so themselves through Instagram, iMessage or email.

Dating app Grindr announced the premiere of its new comedy special called Gag Reflex, featuring a lineup of up-and-coming LGBTQ comedians, who share stories of dating and the queer experience.

The special originally aired as a livestream on April 1st on YouTube and the Grindr app, and is now available to watch anytime on YouTube. According to Variety, the featured comedians include Joel Kim Booster (NBC’s Sunnyside, Hulu’s Shrill), Sydnee Washington (Broad City), Jay Jurden (The Tonight Show), Jaye McBride and Zach Zimmerman.

Chispa, one of the most popular dating apps for Latinx daters, said its subscriber base has grown to over four million, a twenty-eight percent increase from this time last year, according to the company’s press release. This milestone was shared just before they announced their second piece of big news: a partnership with Tragos, a popular card game among Latinos. 

Tragos offers questions centered around Latinx culture, with some references in Spanish, like “Do you fear la chancla?” or "Ever get hit with '¿y el novio/ la novia?' at family gatherings?" The point is to spark conversation – opening the door to talk about upbringing or current social topics, and hopefully build connection.

Chispa will offer an in-app version of the game so its users can play with their matches, and hopefully forge connections.