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Raya Bans Kate Haralson

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Celebrities are making their way onto dating apps, but lately it isn’t going so well. Actors Ben Affleck and Matthew Perry were matched with young female users of Raya, who outed them on social media. 

According to The Los Angeles Times, Affleck was matched with podcaster and actress Nivine Jay, who thought his profile was a fake account and posted a TikTok saying so, but then added a video Affleck sent her over Instagram saying, “Nivine, why did you unmatch me? It’s me.” She poked fun at herself for not recognizing his account as real, but over 8 million people saw her TikTok and went after the actor, making fun of his private plea.

Jay told media outlets that she’d meant to make fun of herself for not believing Affleck could be on Raya, and that she didn’t think he should have been shamed for it. She told E! “l was making fun of myself for thinking he was a catfish and it was just supposed to be funny.”

Online dating company Match Group’s stock rose after details of its first quarter earnings report were announced. Shares were up 5.3 percent to $146.30 according to recent trading reports.

Barron’s reported that Match Group posted revenue of $668 million for the quarter, up significantly from original Wall Street forecasts of $650.7 million. And profits were also up 57 cents a share, higher than the expected 40 cents per share. Match Group owns a range of popular dating apps, including Tinder, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, and Hinge as well as niche apps like BLK and OurTime.

Tinder is still the star of Match Group’s offerings and its main revenue stream, with 18 percent growth in revenue for the dating app. However, Match Group noted that it has seen 30 percent growth in the rest of its business. Notably, some of its lesser-known apps like Hinge are seeing a surge of growth as the company invests more in its other offerings, too.

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.

NSW, Australia’s police force, was in talks with Match Group about new safety proposals to address sexual assault among daters that meet over the company’s apps, but Match Group has so far rejected implementing them.

The proposals from NSW could pose challenges regarding user privacy. The policing agency suggested using AI to scan conversations between users for potential red flags according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). NSW also proposed a portal for police to access any reports of sexual assault sent to Match Group’s dating apps. 

"We recognize we have an important role to play in helping prevent sexual assault and harassment in communities around the world,” Match Group said in a statement. "We are committed to ongoing discussions and collaboration with global partners in law enforcement and with leading sexual assault organizations like RAINN to help make our platforms and communities safer.”

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.

China-based gay dating app Blued announced that it has obtained an Internet Hospital license to offer men’s health services to its users.

BlueCity, which owns Blued, created its own online health information platform He Health in 2019 to elevate awareness of HIV and its prevention among the app’s users. The health portal will now be rebranded as He Health Internet Hospital, and in addition to providing information and consultations, the online hospital will sell HIV diagnostic kits and work with local authorities to offer testing centers around China. 

Under the new license, doctors and medical professionals will also be able to offer advice and expertise to patients directly through the dating app’s platform. Instead of turning to third party apps for this kind of service, Blued users can feel safer and more confident talking directly with doctors over the dating app about sensitive issues like erectile dysfunction, HIV testing and prevention, and access to prescription medications, according to news website Pan Daily.