Dating Services

Shares of dating company Bumble Inc rose 11 percent after news of the company’s earnings were released, with revenue beating analyst expectations.

According to Reuters, the number of total paying users across Bumble properties increased by 7.2 percent to 3 million during the first quarter of this year, increasing revenue to $211.2 million, surpassing analyst expectations of $208.30 million. Bumble apps include its signature apps, Badoo, and French dating app Fruitz among others.

Research firm Apptopia also found that Bumble downloads in the U.S. increased 20.6 percent during the first quarter, and monthly average users rose 13.7 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

Match Group has sued Alphabet Inc.’s Google to avoid being kicked out of its Play Store. The dating app conglomerate has refused to pay the required 30 percent commission of its in-app sales to the tech giant. Match joined with other companies like Epic Games in fighting Google, citing its hold on app developers to prevent them from using third party payment systems.

Google said they will block downloads of Match’s dating apps starting June 1st if they don’t comply with Google’s contract and payment system and share the revenue from in-app sales, according to Reuters. Apple is fighting similar issues with Match Group in The Netherlands, where Dutch regulators have required Apple to allow third party payment platforms for dating apps. Apple has allowed third party providers but so far has not compromised on their commission, charging app developers 27 percent even if they use a third-party payment platform and not Apple’s. 

"These exorbitant 'fees' force developers to charge users more for their services and utilize resources they would otherwise invest in our employees, technologies, and user-requested features," Match Group said when it announced its lawsuit. "In addition, monopolizing the market for in-app payments will further cement Google's near-total control of the Android ecosystem."

Dating app Grindr announced it will become a public company through a merger with Tiga Acquisition, and that the combined companies have been valued at $2.1 billion.

According to Bloomberg News, Tiga is a special acquisition company and isn’t offering any private investment in public equity (PIPE) deals but will provide Grindr with an estimated $384 million in cash proceeds, which includes $284 million of Tiga’s cash in trust plus up to $100 million in a forward purchase agreement. The company will use the funds to pay down debt and invest in future growth.

Grindr had several offers from other SPACs before merging with Tiga.

Regulators in The Netherlands have just rejected another rules revision from Apple regarding how it will manage third-party payment platforms for dating apps in its app store.

According to Apple Insider, The Authority for Consumers and Markets said that the changes Apple made in its latest rules submission in March were improved but still insufficient. In that revision, Apple had allowed dating apps to use third-party payment systems, but developers had to choose between either the third-party payment system or Apple’s system, not both. Apple also required that the apps would have to notify users that they would be using a system that Apple didn’t control. 

What continues to be a sticking point for the tech giant as well is the commission it charges all developers who place apps in the app store. Apple said that even if dating apps use a third-party payment system, they would still charge developers a 27 percent commission to be able to operate in the app store. (Currently, Apple charges a 30 percent commission to developers and all in-app payments must go through its app store.)

New Match Group CEO Bernard Kim

Image: Match Group

Bernard Kim was named the new chief executive officer of Match Group, succeeding Shar Dubey who will be stepping down from the position at the end of May.

Kim is the former head of Zynga and oversaw global marketing, user acquisition, revenue, and product management among other divisions. According to Match Group’s press release, the company describes him as “instrumental in Zynga’s explosive growth” and “pivotal in the company’s expansion to new markets such as blockchain and hyper-casual gaming, as well as new platforms like the Nintendo Switch, Snapchat, and smart home devices.”

The move isn’t surprising, considering the pandemic has shifted the focus of dating apps towards more interactive and entertainment-based features. Match Group has rolled out several new options in its Explore section, including two seasons of its original interactive series Swipe Night, virtual speed dating with Blind Date, Swipe Party, and now Festival Mode to help concert-goers connect in real life. 

Alex Hofman, a tech investor and former president of Musical.ly (which later became TikTok), has launched a new dating app called Spark.

Spark employs some traditional dating app features with a twist, and with some extra safety precautions. According to Tech Crunch, when a user logs in, they are presented with a grid of potential matches who are on the app at the same time. If the user sees someone they are interested in, they can like the photo – and if there is a mutual like, they can start chatting, but they only have 24 hours to respond or the match goes away.

Tech Crunch pointed out that while there is no swiping like in traditional dating apps, it has a mixture of similar features. Grindr for example, presents users with a grid of multiple people, but they don’t have to match before being able to message each other which leads to a lot of unwanted communication. Bumble puts a 24-hour time limit on matches to encourage them to communicate more quickly.