POF (Plenty of Fish)

CEO of POF, Malgosia Green

Image: POF

Plenty of Fish (POF) has had a reputation as a hookup app among dating app users, but under the direction of CEO Malgosia Green the last two years, the company is pivoting to create a more engaging and authentic experience for users.

In a recent interview with Green posted on the company’s blog, she discusses her primary goal to create a more authentic online dating experience at POF. The company’s research found that 84% of singles said they wanted more authenticity in dating and think all face filters should be banned. As a result, POF was the first to implement a face filter ban and committed to auditing 70 million images and removing face-filtered images. 

POF is taking virtual dating to the next level with a new initiative called NextDate Social Hours on its POF Live! platform.

NextDate is like virtual speed dating, where users have the opportunity not only to meet new people but also win prizes for participating. Users can go to POF Live! and hit the “go live” button to join while the speed dating hours are in session. They can join NextDate by clicking the heart at the bottom on their screens.

Once a user has joined NextDate, they will get paired with a potential match who has also joined. Then each of you is given some prompts to ask questions and get to know each other while other participants can watch and send hearts and other virtual gifts of encouragement, according to POF’s blog.

As dating app usage spikes worldwide in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, dating app companies are examining whether this means revenue will increase, too. Match Group recently posted a memo to all of its users that while usage is up, new (and paying) subscribers are down in the countries most affected by the pandemic, including Italy, Spain and the UK.

According to Seeking Alpha, Match Group was leading the pack a year ago with revenue increasing year over year in the billion-dollar dating app industry. And now, across the globe its star dating app Tinder is seeing a spike in user activity. It reported a record 3 billion swipes in one day on March 29th. But revenue hasn’t increased along with it.

Match Group’s revenue is gathered in two ways – from advertising on its free platform, and for charging users for premium services on its tiered services – Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold. Users can also purchase in-app a la carte options for certain features like Passport, but right now, Tinder is offering this particular feature free for all users. 

Coronavirus has taken over newsfeeds and has affected all of us, no matter where we live. Now, it seems to be changing how dating apps operate, too.

Dating.com recently reported an 82 percent increase in dating app usage around the world since the beginning of March, when countries began putting restrictions in place. And as Forbes points out - dating apps are moving fast to offer new ways of virtual connection to attract more users and to keep them engaged, now that they have your attention.

Conversations over dating apps have increased. Tinder reports a 20 percent increase in daily messages worldwide. Since March 12th, Bumble has reported a 21 percent increase in both messages sent as well as usage of its new Voice Call and Video Chat features, according to Daily News. New York City – where the current epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak is - had a 23 percent increase in sent messages. And Bumble Bizz reported an even higher spike in activity – a 57% increase in usage over the last few weeks – because people are thinking about their careers and livelihoods as well as dating.

As a growing number of people began social distancing, they are turning to dating apps for connection – and specifically, logging on to Tinder.

Tinder reported that it received over 3 billion swipes in one day – Sunday March 28th – the highest number ever recorded in the app’s eight-year history.

The company also noted in a press release that daily conversations have increased about 20% across the globe, and the average length of conversations is 25% longer. In the US, conversations have been up an average of 19% and the average length of a conversation is 8% longer.

Dating app Plenty of Fish partnered with The Meet Group to launch a new livestream video feature as more people around the world turn to dating apps for connection. But POF has a rocky history with video chat features, and had come under fire as recently as last year because scammers were creating fake invitations and taking advantage of users trying to access the feature. 

The company hopes that the newest version backed by The Meet Group, which provides livestream technology to apps, will give users a more positive and secure experience. The Meet Group also has a few dating apps of its own – Meet Me, Skout, LOVOO, Tagged and Growlr which use video features. In fact, one of the highlights of the new POF feature is that users can earn diamonds from other users in response to a livestream, which is also a part of Meet Me’s platform.