Location

Are you a private school alum living in the UK? You’re in luck – a new dating app called Toffee will be launching to connect you with other private school types.

Toffee was founded with the notion that "people who hold similar views and values, and have shared the same life experiences (such as going through the same education system) are more likely to be attracted to each other and stick together," according to its website.

There has been mixed response to the buzz the app is generating. Instagram posts and a short introductory video on the app’s website point to an elite clientele, with young men dressed in suits and tuxes and attractive women decked out in evening gowns, champagne at the ready. Many reviews are labeling it as another elite dating app, geared to help connect wealthy people.

Huggle Marketing Team

Image: BusinessCloud

While Bumble battles Match Group over intellectual property, another women-led dating app is celebrating a more positive 2018. Huggle, a British friendship and dating service launched in 2016, and its all-female marketing team has been acquired by Badoo.

Huggle matches users based on the places they love to visit. Simply indicate what you’re looking for – a date or a friend – and your search preferences, including your ideal age range and how many places you must have in common. Huggle uses GPS to automatically check you into locations you visit and notifies you of profiles that share your interests.

Founders Stina Sanders and Valerie Stark believe this approach to dating offers a more effective way to assess compatibility.

There’s another new dating app with a catchy hook debuting this month, this time involving your DNA. Pheramor, described by news website Wired as “23andMe meets Tinder meets monogamy” matches its users according to their genetic compatibility. The dating app launched this month in Houston, Texas.

For $19.99, Pheramor will mail you a kit so you can submit your saliva samples for testing. Then for an additional $10 per month, you can use the service and start receiving genetic-compatible matches.

The company was founded by two genetics experts, so the science figures prominently into the matching process. If chemistry is detected through pheromones, then why not assume romance and love will follow? Pheramor is trying to separate itself from the hook-up reputation of Tinder and appeal to more serious daters.

Coffee meets… summer camp? The best (or worst) part of your childhood is getting a modern makeover this May, complete with arts and crafts, water sports, and in all likelihood, the same sloppy makeouts behind the dining hall.

Coffee Meets Bagel has announced the launch of its latest venture, CMB Experiences, to help users connect IRL. These Experiences promise to be “unique, real-world events and spaces where people can go offline and engage in a fun, novel, delightful experience together.”

And what could be more fun than sleepaway camp?

Are you watching the Winter Olympics? Maybe you’ve fantasized about what it would be like to meet one of the athletes, especially because they are competing at peak physical fitness – what’s not to love?

Some Tinder users are taking it a step further and actually changing their locations to match with Olympic athletes.

Tinder users with a premium service such as Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold have the option to use the “Passport” feature, which allows them to change their location so they can swipe left and right on matches from any other city in the world. This feature was created for those who travel and want to connect with people in more than one place.

After purchasing a majority stake in Grindr last year, ​​​​​​a Chinese gaming company has acquired the rest of the popular dating app for gay men. The acquisition means a major payday for the company, but China experts and former intelligence officials fear it could spell privacy problems for users.

Kunlun Group purchased 60 percent of Grindr in January 2016 for $93 million. The Chinese firm has now acquired the remaining stake for $152 million, according to stock filings, which some believe puts the Chinese government in a position to demand sensitive data on the app’s users, including those who are not Chinese citizens.

Kunlun Group initially indicated that Grindr founder Joel Simkhai would stay on as CEO, but following the completion of the deal, Simkhai has left the company with no explanation for his departure.