Communication

The Democrats have launched a new series of ads on dating app Grindr to appeal to young LGBTQ+ daters, in hopes of turning out more votes ahead of election day on November 5th.

According to The Advocate, the targeted ads focus on the Republican party’s Project 2025, emphasizing that the document threatens LGBTQ+ rights. These ads urge people to vote against the extremist agenda. One ad says: “Project 2025 Rips Away Our Rights. Stop Republicans. Make a plan to vote at IWillVote.com.”

The Kamala Harris campaign has spent three figures on the ads, indicating the importance of the LGBTQ+ constituency to her success.

In time for National Coming Out Day on October 11th and Spirit Day on October 17, a new report was released by GLAAD in partnership with eHarmony that explores the way dating apps intersect with how the LGBTQ+ community shares their identities and sexual preferences.

The report details how non-binary, trans and LGB+ daters express (or don’t express) themselves and their preferences over dating apps, and their differences in experiences on these platforms.

Overall, Gen Z daters have been much more likely than previous generations to come out on a dating app. Sixty-six percent of Gen Z daters came out before they were 18 years old, and 93 percent came out by age 22, compared to only 40 percent and 76 percent of Millennials, respectively.

Gay dating app Grindr has been hinting at its development of an AI wingman, but now the company is officially testing an initial model, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ interview with CEO George Arison included more details on the AI wingman, which will keep track of a user’s matches and make conversational suggestions based on messages they have had with other users. The AI bot will even recommend matches with long-term relationship potential and suggest places where they could meet.

According to Arison, down the line, the AI wingmen of Grindr users will be able to chat with each other so they can offer a “robust view” of a match before the user decides to meet in person. “Bot-to-bot conversation not only saves the humans time, it might also spot dating deal-breakers early on,” he told WSJ.

Image: OkCupid

OkCupid has added a range of new politically-focused questions to its platform along with politically-themed badges ahead of the 2024 US election.

According to CNN, the new questions focus on voter behavior and help users choose more compatible profiles. Some questions include: “Are you voting in the 2024 presidential election?” and “What’s the most important issue to you in the 2024 presidential election?”

Other questions refer to whether singles are willing to bridge the political divide, such as: “Is it a dealbreaker if your date is voting for a different candidate than you in the 2024 presidential election?”

The new dating app industry code of conduct established by the Australian government has taken effect as of October 1st, requiring dating apps to adhere to certain standards in an effort to better protect their users.

The new code requires dating apps to make “prominent and transparent” to users how to report someone or file a complaint on their platforms, according to Associated Press. The code also requires dating apps to detect potential incidents of online harm, and that the accounts of offenders are terminated.

A pervasive problem is that users who have been blocked on one platform can join another, so the reporting process is key. Communication Minister Michelle Rowland said in a statement: “If there are grounds to ban a particular individual from utilizing one of those platforms, if they’re banned on one platform, they’re blocked on all platforms,” according to AP.

Dating app After just launched in Austin, Texas, and is aimed at ending the pervasive problem of ghosting on dating apps.

According to Tech Crunch, when someone “unmatches” a person on After, they are required to let the app know why before they can keep swiping. It can be for any number of reasons – from distance issues to just a general vibe of non-interest, and the app will send a kind message to the other user in return. The idea is to give the person who was ghosted some closure with a reason why the other person is no longer interested, while also reminding them this one match experience isn’t an indication of who they are or what they are worth.

For two people who matched on the app and neglect to message each other, the app will end the match. If one person doesn’t respond to a match’s message, the app will nudge them to send a message. If they still don’t reply to a conversation, the app unmatches them and the user who didn’t respond can’t use the platform until they provide a reason for letting the match expire.