United Kingdom

Online dating service eHarmony announced the launch of its new “Real Love” ad campaign, featuring candid moments of couples finding love in everyday, real life scenarios that will be broadcast on key media outlets across the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

There will be a total of seven ads according to the company’s press release, with the first three launching immediately. 

Each ad is a different scenario of love blossoming, the first of two women laughing after trying a new recipe that doesn’t taste so good, which leads to sharing a carton of ice cream and cozying up on the couch. Another features a young woman on eHarmony’s app who is messaging and sharing silly photos of herself with a love interest, with the narrator explaining that real love is “letting someone see every side of you” and “knowing you could be yourself.” The third ad shows a man surprising his date with a romantic setting of glowing red lanterns lining a patio, with a narrator saying “real love is making moments that last forever.”

Facebook has announced the launch of Facebook Dating in Europe and the U.K. following a nine-month delay from its original debut, which was scheduled for Valentine’s Day.

The new service is part of the larger Facebook Platform, and operates much the same as it does in the U.S. and other parts of the world, according to Tech Crunch. Users can pull photos and Stories from Instagram to populate their profiles. They can also use the Secret Crush feature to identify Facebook friends and Instagram followers that you are interested in without them knowing. If you both choose each other, then you are matched and can begin chatting – otherwise, your secret crush will never know you chose them.

Singles in the U.K. are on the hunt for love before the next wave of the pandemic forces people to isolate once more. 

Dating site eHarmony found that one fifth of singles (21%) are eager to find partners right now as potential lockdowns loom, and that 40% of those looking to couple up will do so because they spent the previous lockdown alone. Eighteen percent are looking to move in with a partner to escape their current living situation, whether it’s with family, roommates, or living alone.

A new report revealed that dating app scams in the UK had significantly increased during the summer as the coronavirus spread and lockdowns continued, and as more people turned to the apps for connection.

More than 600 reports of fraud a month were reported during June, July and August according to Sky News. In addition, there was a 26 percent increase in reported frauds overall during the past year. Since August of 2019, UK police have seen about 400 reports of fraud per month on average, with victims losing over 66 million pounds total over the past year.

Match Group, parent company of popular dating app Tinder, confirmed to Tech Crunch that the new premium service Tinder Platinum will be launching in Q4 of this year.

Tinder already offers two VIP tiers of service: Plus and Gold. There has been speculation for weeks about Platinum after a UK-based user said an offer popped up for the exclusive service as he was logged in over the web, but he wasn’t able to upgrade.

Dating app eHarmony announced it has seen an 85% increase in registrations on its UK platform since the coronavirus lockdowns began earlier this year. The increase accounted for new registrations from January – June of this year, compared with the same time period last year.

April and May were especially active, up 50 percent and 48 percent respectively compared to 2019. Interestingly, at the beginning of lockdown in March, there was an 11 percent drop in registration which quickly bounced back. 

As lockdowns have eased in the past couple of months, new registrations for eHarmony have continued to increase. In June, the company saw a 77% year-on-year increase.