Milestones

Bumble beat analysts’ expectations for its first quarter earnings report, with user spending remaining strong despite concerns over inflation and a recession.

According to Reuters, Bumble saw strong user growth during the first quarter of 2023 as more people chose to pay for its features and subscriptions. The news sent the company’s stock up 7 percent in aftermarket trading.

Bumble reported revenue of $242.9 million for the first quarter of 2023, higher than analyst expectations of $241 million, according to Refinitiv data. Total paying users were a bright spot: Bumble reported 3.5 million paying users at the end of Q1, up from 3 million just a year earlier. Total paying users grew 31 percent to 2.3 million for Bumble.

Match Group has announced it will shut down operations for its apps in Russia by the end of June, including Tinder.

According to Reuters, the move is due to the ongoing human rights violations happening in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in early 2022.

"We are committed to protecting human rights," Match said in an annual impact report published on Monday. "Our brands are taking steps to restrict access to their services in Russia and will complete their withdrawal from the Russian market by June 30, 2023."

European police agency Europol has said that dating apps were among online platforms being “hijacked” by nefarious actors for human trafficking, who were capitalizing on the unstable environment in the country. This announcement also drew attention to human rights violations happening among Ukrainian refugees, according to Reuters.

Tinder has announced the launch of its new Photo Verification feature, which includes an AI-powered update and video selfie requirement.

According to Tech Crunch, the new Photo Verification is to help users prove they aren’t a bot or catfisher on the dating app by taking video selfies that can be analyzed by AI against their photos. Previously, users were required to take a selfie as instructed by the app to compare against a profile photo, but Tinder is strengthening its process even further by requiring the video selfie, so there is no room for error.

The process for verification requires the user to complete a series of videos responding to questions or prompts, and then the AI tool scans the videos and compares them to the photos the user wants to include in their profile to see if they match. The AI tool uses 3D mapping of facial geometry for both the video and photos, according to Tech Crunch.

Image: Bumble

Dating app Bumble is dipping into politics again, this time in the U.K. The company has joined forces with Grazia magazine, UN Women UK, and celebrity Amy Hart to encourage legislators to change the proposed Online Safety Bill (OSB), which deals with the issue of cyberflashing.

The proposed bill’s language includes determining whether the cyberflasher (the person sending unsolicited nudes to someone without their knowledge or consent) had harmful intent, which Bumble says would be difficult to prove. Critics say that this also gives a lot of room for the accused to claim they sent these images as a “joke,” according to AOL.com.

In March, Bumble issued a press release acknowledging the milestone that the UK government agreed to make cyberflashing a criminal offense under the OSB. In the same release, they advocated that “to drive societal change, any new law must be based on non-consent.” The company argued that instead of focusing on the intent of the sender, the law should be focused on whether or not the recipient gave prior consent. 

Tinder has confirmed it is testing a new ultra-premium service priced at $500 per month, tentatively called Tinder Vault.

According to Fast Company who broke the story, Tinder Vault is offering different perks for the price point, including a 24/7 Concierge Service for those willing to pay. The details about the service are still vague, and the company said they might not offer it if there isn’t the demand, but that remains to be seen.

Tinder’s chief product officer Mark Van Ryswyk said in an interview with Fast Company that the feature is still “in its early days,” and that Tinder could even end up drastically cutting the price. There was no word on when the company plans to release the service more broadly.

India is now among the fastest-growing dating app markets worldwide, thanks to a growing young population of singles and their changing attitudes towards dating.

In terms of year-over-year growth, India emerged as the fifth largest market in dating app spending in 2022, according to a new study by data.ai Intelligence. Researchers found that Indian users spent $31 million more in 2022 than they did in 2021 despite economic factors like inflation that affect consumer spending.

Match Group, Bumble, and other major dating app companies have made a big investment in India, hoping to capitalize on this attractive market which now brings in millions of dollars in revenue each year to dating app companies.