Social Networks

Facebook has been forced to delay the launch of its signature dating service in Europe after failing to provide the European Union data regulator with a required assessment of privacy risks to users. 

According to CNet, The Irish Data Protection Commission raised concerns about Facebook’s privacy practices, and whether the company complied with the European Union’s data protection rules, which are more stringent than those in the U.S. 

Under these new rules, companies considered to be “high risk” in the handling of personal information of users are required to conduct a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) prior to being approved. This includes a written report addressing and outlining potential privacy risks, which the agency said Facebook did not provide, even after the agency sent regulators to Facebook’s Dublin office to gather the required documentation, according to Tech Crunch. 

For the past several months, protests have been breaking out on a regular basis in Hong Kong, thanks to young student activists who want to maintain the city’s democratic leanings over the more oppressive mainland Chinese government’s rule. But along with the students who are moved to action, dating culture in Hong Kong is also changing as a result of the protests.

Many daters use popular dating apps like Momo, Tantan or Tinder to connect with each other, and aren’t afraid to list their political feelings in their profiles or when they message other daters. (Adding a yellow ribbon to your profile means you sympathize with protestors while a blue ribbon means you support the police and the mainland Chinese establishment.) Some are even posting photos of themselves at protests as a way to attract potential dates with the same political leanings.

Tencent, China’s largest social networking platform and operator of the immensely popular app WeChat, has launched a new dating app that seems positioned to compete with both Tinder and Tantan, China’s most popular dating app.

Qingliao - roughly translated as “light chat” – is kind of a hybrid of different dating app features already on the market. There is no swiping, but users can choose to “like” or “pass” on a potential match by choosing an “X” or a heart. When two users are matched, they can start chatting, according to details described in South China Morning Post.

Tinder is rolling in cash at the close of 2019 thanks to consumer spending on its popular dating app. According to Annie’s List, it ranks as the number one non-gaming app where consumers are spending money, ahead of entertainment and social network giants like Netflix, YouTube and Tencent.

Video games are by far the most popular apps for consumers and generate the most revenue from in-app spending. However, outside of the gaming world, Tinder subscriptions have driven it to the top spot in consumer app spending.

Facebook Dating has announced the launch of its new “Stories” feature, which allows users of the service to include stories from their Facebook and Instagram feeds.

Stories can’t be directly created in a user’s dating profile, according to Forbes. Instead, when they are created in Facebook or Instagram, the feature allows for that content to be shared to the Facebook Dating profile. In order to access the new feature, users are required to opt-in by linking their Facebook and Instagram accounts to their dating profile. Once the accounts are linked, they can add any stories they’ve posted in the last 24 hours.

A revealing new study of digital sharing revealed that over one quarter of Americans continue to log in to an ex’s social media accounts after a break-up.

Cyber security company SpecopsSoft.com surveyed 2,568 participants from across the country and found that we still like to know what’s going on with our exes online. The most common account that respondents admitted logging into is Instagram, with 69 percent saying they have done so within the last week. Fifty-eight percent of respondents have logged into an ex’s Facebook account in the same time period.