Australia

Bumble announced it has added ID Verification in addition to other new safety-related features to attract singles back to its app.

The new verification feature lets users submit a photo of a government-issued ID to prove they are who they say they are, and then they can earn a verified badge for their profile, according to Tech Crunch.

The female-centered app is appealing its core demographic with the announcement – focusing on its female clientele who are looking for more safety features on dating apps. ID Verification is available in 11 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Australia, France and India. The company intends to roll out in more countries in the coming months, according to The Seattle Times.

The new dating app industry code of conduct established by the Australian government has taken effect as of October 1st, requiring dating apps to adhere to certain standards in an effort to better protect their users.

The new code requires dating apps to make “prominent and transparent” to users how to report someone or file a complaint on their platforms, according to Associated Press. The code also requires dating apps to detect potential incidents of online harm, and that the accounts of offenders are terminated.

A pervasive problem is that users who have been blocked on one platform can join another, so the reporting process is key. Communication Minister Michelle Rowland said in a statement: “If there are grounds to ban a particular individual from utilizing one of those platforms, if they’re banned on one platform, they’re blocked on all platforms,” according to AP.

A majority of dating platforms have signed on to a new dating safety code in Australia, in an effort to crack down on dating app users who violate policies.

According to News.com, dating app users who “harass, threaten, or share unwanted explicit photos” could have their accounts terminated across multiple platforms at the same time, intended to create a safer space overall for online dating. Seventy-five percent of companies operating in Australia have signed on to the new industry standard, including Match Group (which operates Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid among others), Bumble and Grindr.

A recurring problem with dating apps is user safety, specifically surrounding the growing number of users who receive unsolicited images. If a perpetrator is banned from one platform, they can easily move on to other platforms, so the new safety standard is intended to prevent this from happening.

Grindr’s CEO George Arrison is planning to monetize the app more aggressively, including launching an AI chatbot and putting previously free features behind a paywall.

News website Platformer broke the news about Grindr’s plans to launch an AI-based “boyfriend” chatbot feature that can engage in sexually explicit conversations with users, for a price. Some employees have expressed weariness, as the AI-generated conversations could be based in part on private chats between other human users, pending their consent.

Platformer also learned that Grindr is revising its terms of service to ask people signing up if the company can train their AI models on their personal data, which can include direct messages. This is likely to be a privacy issue going forward for other dating apps who could pursue employing user data to train AI.

The Australian government told the dating app industry that they must improve safety standards on their apps or risk being forced to make changes through legislation. Dating app companies were given until June 30th, 2024 to develop a “voluntary code of conduct” to address user concerns about safety.

According to the Associated Press, the government was basing its decision on new research that found three-quarters of dating app users in Australia between 2016 and 2021 had suffered some form of sexual violence. The research was conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology and published last year.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland noted that dating apps have become the most popular way to meet people, and therefore must improve when it comes to protecting the people using them. “The government is concerned about rates of sexual harassment, abusive and threatening language, unsolicited sexual images and violence facilitated by these platforms,” she said, according to Associated Press.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has brought a lawsuit against dating app eHarmony, alleging the company misled consumers through false advertising. It also alleges that the company deceived its customers about pricing and renewing their subscriptions.

According to The Guardian, the lawsuit filed in Australian federal court alleges the company of “entrapping singles” by showing them only blurred photos of their matches and not allowing them to send messages without paying for a subscription. The lawsuit also accuses the company of luring customers to sign up by falsely advertising “free dating” on the platform, as well as short-term membership offers and early cancellation opportunities.

In reality, users opting for the “free service” completed an 80-question profile survey before they had access to look at potential matches. However, when users completed the questions, they were served blurry profile photos of other members, and were only able to send one message as a reply to a premium member. If they wanted to continue messaging, they were required to pay for the service.