Relationships

Match Group is taking the dating app experience to the next level by testing a new “metaverse” where users can create avatars that interact with each other over the app.

According to Tech Crunch, news of these plans came during the company’s third quarter earnings call, where despite performing below expectations, executives were upbeat and looking toward the long-term future of its dating apps by harnessing this technology.

Match Group CEO Shar Dubey noted in the call that Hyperconnect, a social discovery platform the company purchased earlier this year, was testing the avatar-based dating experience dubbed “Single Town,” where users interact in real time as they meet in virtual spaces (like a bar) and have live audio conversations. If two users express interest in each other (via their avatars), they can choose to continue their conversations through messaging. Eventually, the company plans to leverage the technology across their dating apps.

This month, Tinder launches the second season of its wildly popular in-app interactive series Swipe Night. The premise is a murder mystery, and participants are expected to guess who did it each week as the clues are revealed. 

The first season brought in over 20 million viewers worldwide for a choose-your-own-adventure style story, where viewers selected what they would do along the way, which led them to different outcomes. This time, according to Tech Crunch, users will watch the same mystery unfold, but they will be able to search rooms and examine objects for clues to draw their own conclusions. 

The series is live on the app from 6pm EST to 12:00am beginning Sunday, November 7th, and Tinder will continue to air new episodes each Sunday at the same time through November 21st, according to the company’s website. 

Image: tinder

Tinder has announced another new feature aimed at helping singles during wedding season: Plus One.

According to the company’s press release, users are now able to enlist in the Plus One option to let other Tinder users know they are looking for a date to a wedding (or that they are willing to be a plus one for someone else). Plus One is found in the new Explore section of the app, where most of Tinder’s newest features can be found.

The dating app company is also trying to incentivize people to use Plus One, offering the first 100 eligible Tinder users who join $460 to cover the cost of wedding expenses, which can add up quickly. The money can go towards travel, lodging, or even a gift for the happy couple. Tinder partnered with online wedding resource company WeddingWire, who suggested the prize money based on the average amount people spend to attend a wedding.

Dating app Hinge teamed up with US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to talk about safe dating practices during a pandemic, specifically as we gear up for “cuffing season.” Murthy stresses that dating and interpersonal connection are important, so it’s good to have some tools for doing it safely.

The six-minute video captures Murthy behind an official podium as he offers specific tips for daters meeting face to face. He advises daters to get vaccinated before meeting others, which is the “single most important thing we can do” to prevent serious side effects or even death from Covid-19. Then he advises singles to ask their dates if they have been vaccinated too, so that the risk of meeting is low for both parties.

Murthy also asks people to plan an outdoor date if at all possible to reduce risk of transmission, and also to do rapid (same day) testing to ensure neither one of you is positive and to prevent the spread of the disease further. 

LGBTQ+ dating app MyTransgenderDate shared some interesting findings from surveying its users on their experiences of coming out, including that trans women were three times more likely to come out than trans-oriented men, and that they also come out at a younger age. The company surveyed trans women and trans-oriented men only for the study.

In honor of National Coming Out Day in October, the study was intended to gauge the experiences of transgender women and trans-oriented men, and how they might differ. Researchers also endeavored to understand what motivates people to come out despite the challenges, and what fears and losses they experience when they do.

Of the respondents, 84 percent of trans women said they were out compared to only 25 percent of trans-oriented men, who indicated they won’t or can’t come out. Most trans women who hadn’t come out yet said that they didn’t think their families or co-workers would understand, while others said they wouldn’t because of the country they lived in, usually where anti-trans sentiment is pervasive. 

Green dating is becoming a trend among UK daters, according to a new study by dating app Bumble.

In recent months, Bumble added a feature for daters to include values in their profiles, not only to highlight their priorities to other daters, but also to support a cause, including for environmental, social or political justice. Each time a user sends a message to another user, the company will donate to select organizations that work for these causes. 

According to Bumble, 27 percent of UK users selected “environmentalism” as their highest value.