Design

Online dating company eHarmony, who built its reputation for more serious daters, was recently acquired by German media company ProSeibenSat.1. The media company are the producers behind “Married at First Sight,” and have already expanded beyond television with the acquisition of Parship Elite Group, an online dating platform for long-term relationships similar to eHarmony.

It left many wondering what future plans were for eHarmony, which has seen competition lately from apps like Tinder and OkCupid, and how Parship fits into the mix.

Online Personals Watch recently interviewed Tim Schiffers, the CEO of Parship Elite Group about the acquisitions and Parship’s future plans. Schiffers said Parship plans to bring eHarmony to its platform instead of offering competing services. “We have invested a lot into our technical setup over the past few years and are happy to harness synergies in that area.”

In the increasingly crowded dating industry, the only way to stay relevant is to differentiate yourself from the competition. Coffee Meets Bagel initially set itself apart by focusing on quality over quantity, providing users a limited number of curated matches each day at noon. Last year the company introduced an ephemeral video feature and an ongoing series of real-world events called CMB Experiences.

Coffee Meets Bagel’s latest updates come in response to an extensive user study conducted earlier this year. The app’s interface now boasts a cleaner, more modern aesthetic and a new comment feature has been added to help members make more efficient use of their time.

Co-CEO and cofounder Dawoon Kang told VentureBeat in a phone interview that users in the study repeatedly expressed frustration at matching with someone in the app only to have their messages go unanswered or the conversation fizzle quickly.

New Branding Effort for Tinder

Match Group is looking to differentiate their suite of dating apps acquired over the past few years, including star Tinder and relationship-focused app Hinge.

On a call with investors, Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg shared that the company is looking at better defining their brands, according to website Tech Crunch. This means that Match Group has decided to embrace the hook-up reputation of Tinder to attract younger users from 18-25, who aren’t necessarily looking for a long-term relationship.

Match Group will launch a new branding effort called “single lifestyle” with billboard campaigns and digital initiatives. It’s begun publishing content on the “Swipe Life” website with stories about travel and dating. Recent articles have included “7 Exit Strategies for Terrible Dates,” and “Study Abroad Hookup Confessions.”

Facebook Dating recently launched in Colombia, months after the company announced the new service at its developer conference in May. There’s been a lot of speculation, but now the first users are getting a taste of how the service will work.

According to Mashable, Facebook Dating is completely separate from your traditional Facebook profile, so you can feel free to search for potential dates without your activity showing up on your main Facebook page. Users can opt-in from the main menu where you find groups, Marketplace, and events. Then you can create a profile by adding photos and information, like where you went to school.

One of the main differences of Facebook’s service (as pointed out by Business Insider), is that Facebook is not matching people within their social media circle like other apps, so there’s no concern you’ll be matched directly with your online friends, which was an initial concern among users. Instead, Facebook Dating is connecting users according to interests and activities. Based on these attributes, Facebook by default will include friends-of-friends as well as strangers unless you only want to see people with no mutual connections.

Popular dating app Bumble has decided to nix mixing business with pleasure. It will now enable users of Bumble Bizz and BFF to search for new relationships outside of dating by turning off the app’s dating mode.

Bumble Bizz, the networking platform to help people find new business opportunities, and Bumble BFF, which helps people connect with others seeking friendships, were both launched in 2017. However, they were connected to the original Bumble dating app, so if you were looking for a job or a friend, you also shared your profile with potential dates. This wasn’t ideal for those who were only looking for platonic connections.

Now that Bumble has officially separated these areas, they are looking to expand their user base beyond singles.

Image: Recode

Last month, Facebook announced that it will be launching a new online dating feature, and since then details have come out about what it will look like. According to website Recode, an interesting benefit to users is that the new dating service won’t include ads.

Specifically, Facebook stated that it won’t be running ads alongside dating profiles, and they won’t use personal data associated with users’ dating profiles to send targeted ads to these users.

According to Recode, Facebook will provide users with a separate dating profile page, distinct from a personal Facebook page. It will match users according to location and interests, typical for most dating apps. (With Facebook, the more groups you “unlock,” the more matches you can potentially meet.) Facebook will also provide a separate messaging service specifically for dating, so you won’t have to message matches over your personal account. The dating messaging feature will be text only – no videos or images can be shared. (This seems intended to make it a more female-friendly experience, since women often get unsolicited photos and videos over online dating apps.)