Communication

Hinge has teamed up with renowned psychotherapist and relationship expert Esther Perel to create new prompts for users to engage in conversation.

Perel was involved in creating new “Your World” prompts, including a collection of ten questions designed to help Hinge users share more about themselves in their profiles and hopefully attract better matches.

“[The prompts] are intended to help someone reading them have a bit more imagination about how your world and their world might connect,” Jackie Jantos, Hinge’s president and chief marketing officer, told Fast Company. “Esther contributed what she knows about getting into deeper, more intimate conversation.”

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico has issued a critical security alert for Americans using dating apps when traveling in Mexico due to several confirmed reports of kidnapping.

According to Newsweek, the Guadalajara Consulate confirmed reports of US citizens being kidnapped by people they met via dating apps, particularly in popular tourist destinations like the Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Nayarit areas.

"Victims and their family members in the United States have at times been extorted for large sums of money to secure their release," the security notice said.

A recent study by OkCupid has found that above all else, singles want to know where people stand politically, and more specifically, if their matches’ views align with their own.

According to OkCupid's blog post, 6 in 10 women around the world want their partners to share their political views. In the U.S. which has become more divided since Trump took office, that number climbs as high as 70 percent. More than half of Gen Z men and women want to share the same political views, as do 63 percent of Millennials and 64 percent of Gen X daters. Among LGBTQ daters, that number goes up to a whopping 80 percent.

According to OkCupid, today’s singles are more interested in where someone stands on issues like climate change or reproductive rights, rather than something benign like where they last went on vacation. And if their politics don’t match, it can be a dealbreaker.

Bumble appears to be matching its users with people they have already blocked, according to a report from Rolling Stone.

The app has come under fire after this practice came to light over social media. According to Rolling Stone, professor Jennie Young at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, who specializes in rhetoric and gender studies, shared a post on Instagram with a screenshot from Bumble’s support center after asking them why she was matching with users she previously blocked.

“Bumble will show you people you have swiped left/blocked on in the past — in case you have changed your mind,” the screenshot captured of Bumble's response.  

Tinder has launched a new game featuring AI bots that users can interact with to practice flirting, enact meet-cute scenarios, and get suggestions on how they can improve their skills.

According to Tech Crunch, “The Game Game” as Tinder calls it, is accessible over the app. When a user clicks on the Tinder logo in the top left corner, the game is activated and provides the user with a set of cards, each one featuring a different AI persona in a different scenario.  

Users can respond by talking and flirting with the bot directly and seeing if they can score a “date.”

Dating app Hinge announced that it is adding a $1 million fund for in-person events and social group gatherings in New York, Los Angeles, and London.

According to CNBC, the money is to subsidize free or lower cost events to attract young people. The fund is part of their One More Hour social impact initiative which the company launched last year. Hinge says it recognizes Gen Z’s need for more tangible ways to connect than just over a dating app, and wants to create more spaces for them to get together.

The groups will focus on a range of activities that include food, nature, and reading, for example. The purpose of the groups is to highlight an interest to attract people and give them something to do while they are meeting other people, taking the pressure off.