Spark Networks

Tinder took the online dating world by storm a few years ago when it launched, changing the way people connected for dates. Instead of crafting elaborate profiles, Tinder’s appeal was its ease and visual component, its mobile interface – you like a photo, and you swipe.

But now, other apps who have tried to copy its example, creating swipe-like features of their own, have found that this is not the best way to stay competitive in the dating app space. So instead of making as many profiles available as quickly as possible, other apps are looking to curate their offerings and make it a more selective process, specifically for female users.

Gay men and women are now allowed to search and meet through dating site Christian Mingle, one of the largest niche dating sites in the industry. The site opened its platform to gay users after settling a lawsuit that claimed that it violated California’s non-discrimination law on the basis of sexual orientation.

According to the conditions of the settlement, Spark Networks who own Christian Mingle among other dating sites, will change their homepages to allow users to specify if they are a man or a woman, and also if they are looking for men or women. While Spark also agreed to create a more comprehensive and tailored matching service for users seeking same sex relationships within the next two years, the dating site Christian Mingle as it exists for gay singles can be frustrating.

For 2 days only Christian Mingle is having a 50% off sale on their 6 month membership subscription. Starting today Saturday August 13, and running until end of day tomorrow Sunday, August 14, 2016 a Standard 6 month membership will cost only $7.49 (regularly $14.99/month). The Premium Plan 6 months membership which includes Member Spotlight and Highlighted Profile sale price is $9.99 per month (regularly $19.99/month). No coupons are required for this sale.

The 3 month and 1 month subscription plans are also discounted as well. The Standard 3 month plan which is regularly $19.99 a month is now $14.99 for the sale. The 1 month plan receives $5 off and is only $27.99 for a month during the sale.

For more information on this dating service for singles who's faith will be part of their relationship can read our review of Christian Mingle. If you have missed this sale you can also check out our Christian Mingle Coupon page for other deals.

As Pride Month ends in America, there’s big news for the country’s LGBT singles. Faith-based dating site ChristianMingle.com must now allow users to look for same-sex matches following the settlement of a class-action lawsuit in California.

The site, which bills itself as the largest online community for Christian singles, currently requires new users to select one of two options when creating an account: man seeking woman or woman seeking man. That is now set to change, following a three-year fight for equal rights.

Two gay men filed class action claims against ChristianMingle’s parent company, Spark Networks, in 2013. The suit alleged that the dating site excluded same-sex users, thereby violating the Unruh Civil Rights Act, California’s anti-discrimination law.

The State of California's website states: "Under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, all persons are entitled to full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments, including both private and public entities. The Unruh Civil Rights Act protects all persons against arbitrary and unreasonable discrimination by a business establishment."

Spark Networks agreed to the judge-approved settlement on June 27. Under the settlement, Spark Networks will only require users to identify themselves as a man or woman. The company also agreed to add new options for gay and lesbian users within two years. The settlement applies to ChristianMingle.com as well as its sister sites CatholicMingle.com, AdventistSinglesConnection.com, and BlackSingles.com.

During the two years, “Spark will ensure that the ‘man seeking woman’ and ‘woman seeking man’ options on the gateway/home pages of the Mingle sites ask only whether the user is a ‘man’ or a ‘woman,’” reads the judgment. Spark Networks must not change the match prompts to “man seeking woman” at any time in the future, unless it also “provides similar prompts which allow individuals seeking a same sex match to enter and use the sites without having to state that they are seeking a match with someone of the opposite sex.”

Additionally, the judge ordered Spark Networks to pay $9,000 to each of the plaintiffs who brought the suit, as well as covering the full $450,000 in attorneys fees incurred by the two men.

Vineet Dubey, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, expressed gratitude for the case’s resolution. “I am gratified that we were able to work with Spark to help ensure that people can fully participate in all the diverse market places that make our country so special, regardless of their sexual orientation,” he said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Spark Networks told The Wall Street Journal that the company was “pleased to resolve this litigation.”

EliteSingles is an online dating service aimed at professionals who take their love lives as seriously as their time at the office. The site's intelligent matching algorithm prioritizes long-term happiness and compatibility using a thorough personality questionnaire and profile, helping marriage-minded singles escape the casual nature of most modern dating.

The formula has proved to be a winning one. EliteSingles has seen significant user growth, particularly in the UK where it reported year-on-year growth figures of 37% in Q1 2016. Overall, the company is currently growing at a rate of 25-30% each year.

The latest figures from the UK come hot on the heels of a rebrand in March. EliteSingles’ global makeover includes graphical and user experience improvements to the website and app, as well as significant improvements to the "Wildcard" function, which enables users to enjoy more potential matches every day. The UK, the United States, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa have all been updated with the fresh functionality, logo, and colour scheme.

Two years of solid growth inspired the rebrand. The site receives an average of 215,000 new member sign-ups per month across all its English speaking EliteSingles platforms, with 100,000 from the US, a further 40,000 from the UK, and 20,000 monthly sign-ups in Australia.

EliteSingles has become a premier online dating destination for professional singles looking for long-term relationships since its launch in 2013. The site’s average user is aged between 30 and 45, and the majority (85%) are university educated to at least a Bachelor degree level. All profiles on the site are manually verified and, using a sophisticated algorithm, matched based on a combination of education, profession, and personality.

New users complete an extensive questionnaire upon sign-up that analyzes unique personality traits. After completing the questionnaire, users fill out an in-depth profile that covers passions, hobbies, desires, dealbreakers, strengths, and more. From there the site takes over, presenting users with 3-7 matches each day that meet their personality and search criteria. The system is a perk for busy professionals who have little spare time to dedicate to dating.

Jeronimo Folgueira, CEO of EliteSingles, says “As our business rapidly grows, we want our brand to better reflect our positioning and to stick with our target audience. By adopting a more modern, friendlier, green logo we hope to increase our appeal among our core demographic of university-educated professionals as well as emphasise our commitment to delivering the best premium online-dating experience on the market.”

“Together with the redesign of our mobile app,” he continues, “we want our new more-recognisable brand aesthetic to embody the combination of assurance and excitement our users feel when they join EliteSingles.”

For more on this dating service you can read our review of Elite Singles.

Last year’s infamous Ashley Madison hack revealed a statistic that seemed to confirm what many already feared about online dating. The site’s database included over 31 million male users and just 5.5 million female users. Of those profiles, only a small percentage were real and active: around 20 million men and 2,500 women.

You don’t need to be a mathematician to know those numbers are bad.

The vast majority of Ashley Madison’s female users were inactive or, worse, not real to begin with. Since then, singles have become even more skeptical of the veracity of women’s profiles on dating sites. SurveyMonkey Intelligence recently put those suspicions to the test by studying which dating apps have the highest proportion of women.

The bottom of the bunch is no surprise: Grindr, an app geared towards gay and bisexual men. Some of the entries farther up on the list are equally unsurprising. Coffee Meets Bagel and Bumble, both female-friendly apps, scored relatively high. Tinder and PlentyOfFish found themselves in the middle of the pack, despite having more users than any of the other apps tested.

But the number one spot is where things get interesting. Topping the list, with a userbase that’s 58.6% female, is Christian Mingle. Christian Mingle, Coffee Meets Bagel, and eHarmony are the only apps that have a majority of female users. Who would have guessed that a niche, faith-focused dating app would rank so highly?

SurveyMonkey Intelligence also found that men and women use dating apps differently. Looking at what percentage of users engage with an app on a daily basis, the results are almost flipped. Grindr is the clear leader, with 70.3% of users engaged each day. Christian Mingle and eHarmony bring up the rear with 33.7% and 28.7%, respectively.

It could be that men are generally more engaged daters than women or, as SurveyMonkey Intelligence speculates, it could down to Grindr’s demographic. Because the app is geared towards a targeted market, Grindr users may stick to one app while other demographics spread their efforts among multiple services.

SurveyMonkey Intelligence tested a variety of other factors (read the full report here) and closed with a few tips. “Straight men may want to check out Coffee Meets Bagel, while straight women can confidently choose between a number of apps where the gender ratio is favorable,” the report advises.

It’s also important to take your dating style into account. If you’re the spontaneous type who wants dating to be part of your daily life, SurveyMonkey suggests trying your luck with the highly-engaged users of Happn. If, on the other hand, you take a more relaxed approach, the more infrequent users of Coffee Meets Bagel could be more your speed.