Bumble

Grindr has become the most popular dating app in the U.K. among singles aged 54 and older, according to a recent study from Ofcom, the country’s communications regulator.

According to The Pink News, Tinder was still the most-downloaded dating app in the UK, with 2.5 million users, followed by Bumble at 1.7 million U.K. users. Grindr has grown in 2023, but it still captures only about 1.9 percent of the U.K. adult population, or 924,000 users. But as far as time spent on the apps per user, Grindr wins hands-down.

In fact, the average user of the gay dating app spent seven hours on it in May of 2023, according to Ofcom, compared to only one hour on Tinder, and a bit more than two hours for each Bumble and Hinge.

Dating app giants Bumble and Match Group have pulled their ads from Instagram after The Wall Street Journal reported that they were appearing next to inappropriate and explicit content.

According to The Times of India, the Wall Street Journal found that the ads of several major brands were being served next to explicit and sexualized content on the social media app, including those of Disney and Walmart.

The Journal set up Instagram test accounts alongside The Canadian Centre for Child Protection which followed young gymnasts, cheerleaders and influencers. When its investigative team looked through Reels on these test accounts, they discovered that Instagram “served jarring doses of salacious content.”

Image: Bumble

Dating app Bumble conducted a new study to understand what daters are seeking in 2024 and discovered some interesting results, including that they are more open to dating someone older or younger. Also, a majority of daters are trying to be happy with where they are now instead of constantly trying to improve themselves.

According to Mashable, Bumble found that for 63 percent of respondents, age doesn’t matter, including 59 percent of women who say they are more open to dating younger men. About 35 percent of women say they’ve become less judgmental of age gaps in relationships.

There has also been a trend in recent years, especially among younger daters, to prioritize mental health and take steps to “better” oneself - and expect the same from their dates. A key difference now, according to Mashable, is that a majority of daters – 68 percent - are trying to be happy with who they are now.

College students are turning away from dating apps and prefer to meet others in person, according to a new study by Axios and Generation Lab.

The study polled almost 1,000 college students across the U.S. and found that an overwhelming majority of 79 percent do not go on dating apps or use them less than once per month. According to Axios, Tinder is still the favorite among young daters. Twelve percent of college students use Tinder at least once a month, with Bumble and Hinge close behind at 8 percent of students logging on at least monthly.

A caveat for the study: 55 percent of respondents said they were in a relationship already, so they didn’t need to use a dating app. But at least 64 percent of those met their partners outside of a dating app – either through classes, a party, or an introduction from a friend to name a few. Only 15 percent said they’d met through a dating app, according to PC Magazine UK.

Bumble’s founder and longtime CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd will step down from the helm, and Lidiane Jones, the CEO of workplace messaging tool Slack will take over in January. Herd will move to Executive Chair of the company.

The news comes as Bumble’s stock price has fallen over 80 percent since it went public two years ago (from $76 to below $14). The dating app is not alone. Match Group is also going through a rough period, thanks to inflation and other economic concerns. Members are dropping their subscriptions and not using paid services on the apps, causing a decline in revenue the last few quarters.

Herd supported Jones in a statement: “This move to Executive Chair gives me the ability to step forward into a new and exciting role, get back to my founder roots and bring immense passion and focus to this next chapter of growth,” According to CNN, Wolfe Herd also added that she and Jones would be “fantastic partners.”

A new survey of Bumble’s Indian users found that 63 percent want a date for Festival Season. Many singles work and live away from their hometowns, and crave companionship at this time of year.

According to Hindustan Times, the study also found that 36 percent of respondents like to enjoy festival season with friends, and 27 percent with their partners.

Festivals occur in India year-round, but perhaps one of the more famous festivals, Diwali, is a five-day festival that takes place in October/ November and represents the start of the Hindu New Year. Specifically, it celebrates Lord Rama and his wife Sita’s return to their kingdom after defeating evil demons, according to Hindu tradition. The festivities are planned around the lunar cycle.