Match Group

Recipient
Match.com

For 2019 Match is the Editor's Top Pick - Paid award recipient. Since its inception Match has always been a paid dating service. It is free to look at profiles and search but a subscription is required to send messages to other members. While "Free" dating services are the latest craze their low bar of entry (i.e. no credit card required) means that scammers and bots tend to be much more prevalent. Match is very good at blocking scammers from even joining their service, thereby protecting their members. Being a paid service also means Match.com has the money to invest in the latest technology and hire some of the best trained developers.

Tech Crunch broke the news that popular dating app Tinder is teaming up with Spotify to test a new feature that allows users to share songs with each other.

The website reported that users could select songs from their own Spotify playlists to be shared via the in-app messenger, to engage users and get people to connect. Last year, the company unveiled another new feature allowing users to share Bitmoji and GIFs over the app’s messenger service, a move to increase engagement among social media savvy members.

The Spotify testing is currently taking place in different cities around the globe, but only with Spotify and no other streaming music service, according to Tech Crunch. The new feature was originally spotted by the blog MSPoweruser.

Recipient
Plenty of Fish

The 2019 Editor's Top Pick - Free award winner is Plenty of Fish (POF). This is one of the harder categories to figure out. The top 3 free dating apps have lots of members but it is the combination of features and user feedback that in the end helped us make the decision. POF does not lack the features which make it easy to use and allow its members to find matches and start conversations quickly. In fact every day on the service on average 2.5 million users message each other. If you are in your thirties to forties then you will feel right at home on POF as a large portion of members are in this age range. Remember within a month of using the service, 30% of POF members report that they have found a partner, so it does not take long before you see results.

You’re itching to book your next trip, but none of your friends are available and you don’t have a significant other. What’s a solo traveler to do? Apps dedicated to connecting travelers are on the rise. Some are explicitly designed to be digital matchmakers for singles with wanderlust, while others are intended to connect explorers looking for travel buddies or local guides. Here are five to try on your next adventure.

TourBar

TourBar is a mobile-first social network made to help jetsetters find dates or travel companions. Members can register as a solo traveler headed to a destination or as a local guide ready to reveal the best restaurants, beaches, bars and other must-see spots in their city. All users on the site are verified for a safer, less stressful international travel experience. TourBar’s ambitious goal is to become a platform for solo travelers of all kinds, where members can share travel plans and recent experiences with others looking to visit a destination.

Down Detector for Tinder

Tinder users were frustrated earlier this month when they tried to message and browse matches on the app, but instead got recurring error messages. The app was down for several hours starting at around 5:00am PST on Tuesday January 8, according to reports.

Users across Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. experienced problems sending and receiving messages, as well as server connection errors according to news website CNET. Some users also reported that they were unable to login at all.

The New Match Dating App

In late 2018 Match did a major update for both their website and dating apps (iOS and Android). They dropped a number of features and made the navigation simpler to use. In a sense Match has gone back to the basics of online dating, offering only the key features needed to search, match and message.

The apps and website more closely mirror each other now with this new version in terms of design and features. One of the main things you will notice when you first launch the new app or log into the website is the updated color pallet. Gone are the washed out darker blues. In its place you have a much more vibrant blues. This makes things pop more on the screen. Profiles also stand out more in searching and matching as they appear on screen larger. Other changes include: