Reviews

Image: Match Group

Match Group has announced the launch of its new dating app Stir, specifically designed for single parents looking to date.

The dating conglomerate which owns popular apps like Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid is expanding its suite of apps to focus on certain demographic markets with specific needs, such as single parents. The company found in its studies that many single parents have a hard time on traditional dating apps, and often get ghosted by other members when they say they have children.

"Having kids shouldn't be a dealbreaker when dating," Dinh Thi Bui, Vice President of New Verticals at Match Group, said in the company’s press release. Match Group also noted in its announcement that there are 20 million single parents in the U.S., and that they are often underserved on mainstream dating apps. 

New dating apps like Thursday and POM are focusing their efforts on pandemic-weary singles ready to connect via in-person events.

According to a profile of the apps in Business Insider, the apps’ founders saw opportunity as singles grew tired of virtual dating during pandemic lockdowns. As restrictions are starting to lift across the globe, singles are eager to mingle in person again, which is providing new opportunities.

London and New York have both become test cities for Thursday’s events, according to Business Insider. The app has been hosting events in these locations, up to 15 per week that are surpassing venue capacity. This might change in the coming weeks with the latest Omicron surge, but so far it hasn’t slowed the company down.

Nevermet, a new dating app that operates exclusively in the metaverse, aims to help people cultivate virtual relationships instead of encouraging them to meet IRL.

Nevermet was designed specifically for VR users who are looking for a virtual dating experience. Users can create a profile with traditional dating app preferences like age and gender filters, but the big difference is no physical address is necessary because the app isn’t location-based. Instead, users add a virtual location like Rec Room, Horizon Worlds, or VRChat where they can be found. 

When the profile is complete, users can swipe through potential matches, but instead of real-life photos, they see only a VR avatar of their matches. According to Virtual Reality Times, the app is monitored to ensure people aren’t posting real photos.

Fourplay, a new dating app that lets friends create joint profiles and go on group dates with their matches, has become a hit in the New York dating scene. The app now boasts a waiting list of 9,000 people.

According to The New York Post, the app was created by two friends who were healthcare workers and didn’t have much time to devote to their jobs, friends, and the dating scene, so Danielle Dietzek and Julie Griggs decided to create a profile together on a dating app and look for matches who were willing to recruit their friends and go out all together on a double date. (Hint: they got a lot of positive responses which led to the idea for the app.)

The way Fourplay works is two friends set up a joint profile and then match with other pairs of daters. When there is a match, the four proceed to a group chat. The idea is to take the pressure and awkward conversation off of first dates, which can often be more stressful than fun, to make it a more engaging, communal experience. If there’s no romantic connection, then at least everyone got to spend time with friends, and maybe make new ones.

The Right Stuff, a new dating app to help conservatives connect more easily, is set to launch this summer. Peter Thiel, a billionaire tech entrepreneur who founded PayPal, has already signed on as an investor, according to Axios.

Thiel has invested $1.5 million in the new app, whose target market are conservative daters who live in large cities that tend to be more liberal. The app will debut in Washington D.C. and at first will be invitation-only. It will be free to download and use, with paid and subscription options added later for those who want access to more features.

John McEntee, a former political aide for the Trump administration, founded the dating app to help conservative singles find like-minded partners. “Conservatives deserve an easy way to connect,” McEntee said to Axios.

Audio-focused dating app Heart to Heart, created by former TikTok product and operations lead Joshua Ogundu, raised $750,000 in seed money towards its launch goal.

The funding was initiated by Charles Hudson at Precursor Ventures, according to dot.LA. The seed money will go toward research and development of the app, which is expected to launch in beta form for iOS users by the end of the year.

Ogundu first came up with the idea because of audio-based social media platform Clubhouse’s popular speed dating rooms. Seeing an opportunity for audio connection in a dating app, he took to Twitter to find engineers to make Heart to Heart possible. Twitter now offers live audio group chats along with Clubhouse, and demand is still growing. Podcasts have persisted in being widely popular, paving the way for other audio applications.